Wineries Can Close so Drink Local Might Help

Unfortunately it’s a fact of life. Businesses open and close all the time due to various reasons. The winery business is not exempt from this process. In the effort to maintain the “latest and greatest” list of all Texas wineries, in addition to adding new wineries which are opening, we also have to update the lists as wineries can close.

Sometimes it is known why a winery has closed and other times it is not disclosed. Perhaps there may have been personal reasons or perhaps there just weren’t enough customers buying their Texas wine. With the DrinkLocalWine 2012 conference next week, it has brought to my mind how we all should support our local wineries as much as we can. Maybe our little effort of supporting our local winery might help them remain in business.

Khatter Vineyards

The picture above was taken when we visited Khatter Vineyards before opening hours. Unfortunately now it represents the winery’s state since their website now says they are closed.

Khatter Vineyards was our first experience of visiting a boutique winery located in a neighborhood subdivision in Parker. A small vineyard was in the house’s half-acre lot and a building had been built next to the house which housed the tasting room. We had a nice visit with owner Carolyn Khatter and enjoyed her Texas wines. Khatter Vineyards was on the Munson Wine Trail.

Lost Creek Winery

Lost Creek Winery unfortunately had their loss due to Mother Nature. The winery was owned by David Brinkman in Sunrise Beach.

On June 26, 2007, floods reaching 30 feet tall invaded Lost Creek’s tasting room. The flood destroyed almost everything in the building and washed away thousands of cases of wine and inventory.

In January 2008, David Brinkman started rebuilding on higher ground and in June they were finished with the lower level and reopened to the public. Now Lost Creek Winery is primarily the Tree House Bistro which is a restaurant. They still serve their original wines and wine from around the world with a full bar. Be sure to stop at their restaurant when you are near.

Lost Creek Vineyards & Tasting Room & Gourmet Foods

In the meantime, Lost Creek opened Lost Creek Vineyards & Tasting Room & Gourmet Foods in Johnson City. We stopped there a couple times on the way back from Fredericksburg. They sold other Texas wines along with sauces, oils, and other food products. When we drove by last week we were going to visit and take some photos but unfortunately they have now closed. The closure must have been recent as there is still a wine barrel by the curb with Lost Creek wine bottles glued to the top.

D’Vine Wine of Austin

When I visited Lakeview Winery, I was also planning on visiting nearby D’Vine Wine of Austin. I’m glad I visited Lakeview Winery first as the owners told me D’Vine Wine of Austin had just closed. They were not certain why but it is unfortunate another winery had closed its doors.

Texoma Winery

Texoma Winery is another unfortunate closure. The winery was located in Whitewright and was owned by Bob and Lisa White with Bob White doing the wine making. When we visited, it took a few emails until we finally understood you could not go to their winery to do a tasting, but had to do their tastings at the Dallas Farmer’s Market in Shed 2. This was a unique experience for us, but the foot traffic was probably very good at the Farmer’s Market. Texoma Winery closed in November 2011.

Help Us Help You: As mentioned previously, we are trying to maintain the latest list of Texas wineries on the website. The above closed wineries are still listed on a lot of locations on the Internet. If you see any new ones we do not have or unfortunately hear of any that are now closed, please let us know so we can update the lists. By helping us keep the correct information, we can all help one another learn about new wineries to visit and ones which have closed.