The Weimary

The Weimary has closed.

The Weimary is located in Weimar on the grounds of The Vineyard at Grohmann Farms and Sue and Patrick Gibson are the owners. The winery officially opened on May 26, 2012 and that is when we visited.

When we arrived at the winery there was a sign for AgriLife Extension and later we learned that Texas A&M is testing some trellis systems on their property. While driving up the road to the winery, we could see some tree damage. A tornado had hit the property a few weeks prior and caused damage to some roofs and a few other things. Fortunately the winery was spared and the vines held on to their trellis while bending horizontally.

We parked and encountered a beautiful large building and tasting room. A greeter was outside directing us where to go for a tasting. The large building was the event center. We entered the tasting room and were the only customers at the moment and were greeted by at least five employees ready for the day. We met Sue Gibson who directed us to a table to do a tasting. She said they like people to enjoy themselves instead of standing at the tasting bar. By the end of our visit, the tasting room tables had gotten full and they started putting people in the event center.

There is one tasting fee for five wines and a higher tasting fee including wine glass for eight wines. Since there was a selection of ten wines, Gloria and I split up the selection so we could taste all wines. If we wanted an additional tasting, that would be an extra dollar per wine.

Sue brought our first wine and explained the clever wine labels. All wine labels have a photo on them in old-time black and white style and the majority includes a family member, usually from their younger days. For example, the wine Sweet Cheeks has a photo of a baby. It turned out it was Sue as a baby and that was the only label she had a problem getting approved. They were told with a photo of a baby people might think the product (wine!) was made for children. They had to submit the photo again with an explanation of who the photo was and other information and did get it approved.

We met Sue’s father, Jack Smith, who was the subject of two wine labels, Strong Arm Jack and Dry Wit. Before we knew what the labels looked like, we asked him which wine label was his, and he brought back Strong Arm Jack. Sue told us later he was most proud of that one and was there ready to autograph any bottles. Another label for the wine Fred & Frieda was in honor of Fred and Frieda Grohmann, the original owners of the property.

On the back of the wine bottles a fun suggested pairing is described. For example, Strong Arm Jack “pairs well with embellished stories of athletic glory.” Needless to say, Sue is a very fun and bubbly person!

Tastings include a bowl of crackers to cleanse your palate and a little dump bucket for each table. The Weimary uses corks in their bottles and the tastings are poured from the bottle. Tasting notes for all wines are provided at each table. You could tell the building was new and very modern in style, and a lot of thought had gone into the winery.

Regarding the wines, 50 percent of the wines are Texas wines using Texas grapes and the other 50 percent use New Mexico fruit. The Texas fruit comes from either their four acre estate vineyard on their 37 acre lot or the High Plains. In their vineyard they grow Blanc du Bois and Lenoir.

The Weimary outsources all their winemaking and no wine is made on the premises. All of their Texas wines are made by Haak Vineyards and Winery. The majority use Blanc du Bois and they wanted the area expert on Blanc du Bois to be involved. The rest of the wines are made by winemaker Philippe Littot who works with the Lescombes family of Southwest Wines in Deming, New Mexico.

You can buy a snacking tray for two which includes cheese, Genoa salami, crackers, fruit, nuts, and chocolate. The tray we received had three types of cheese and plenty of food for the two of us to enjoy during the tasting.

The event center called Grohmann Haus is a 3,200 square foot facility and can handle 200 people. Weddings and other events will be held in the event center.

This winery is into fun which is also shown through their wine club called the Weimary Winos. Wine club members receive discounts on food and beverages, first tastes of new wines, invitations to events, and more.

We had a great visit at The Weimary and enjoyed the wines. If you are ever near Weimar, please make a point to try and stop at The Weimary.