Update: The original winery is now closed.
Piney Woods Country Winery and Vineyards is located in Orange and is owned by Alfred J. Flies (pronounced like “fleece”). The winery was bonded in 1985 and opened for business in 1987. It was the 14th winery in Texas at the time.
On my last visit to the winery Jim, Alfred Flies son-in-law, handled my tasting. Jim told me that the winery is for sale, primarily because Alfred Flies is now over 90 years old but still doing well. The winery, 6 acre vineyard, and house sit on 8 acres and are being offered for $495,000.
Piney Woods grows red and white Muscadine grapes in their vineyard so they only use estate fruit. They only use Texas peaches, blueberries, and plums in their fruit wines.
Tastings are done while standing at their tasting bar. The bottles use corks and the tastings are poured from the bottle. There is a tasting fee for as many wines as you prefer and the fee also includes your tasting wine glass. Crackers are provided for cleansing your palate.
At the time of my visit, Piney Woods had 14 wines available for tasting.
- Heart of Texas Noble – red Muscadine using the Noble grape
- Texas Moon Magnolia – 2009 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo International Wine Competition Top Texas wine, white Muscadine
- Muscadine Rosé – from Noble grape, very popular seller
- Pecan Mocca – sweet wine with coffee added
- Peach
- Baked Peach – wine is baked after fermented at 90 degrees
- Blackberry
- Sweetheart Magnolia – a little brandy is added for 14% alcohol
- Ports of TX Red
- Cherry Chocolate – biggest seller made with red Muscadine
- Light Ruby Port – 16% alcohol
- Amber Port – 18% alcohol
- TX Tawny Port – 19% alcohol aged in oak
- Orange Wine – Mandarin oranges with 16% alcohol
The last four wines are all fortified with Brandy. Jim said the Heart of Texas Noble and Texas Moon Magnolia are the only wines Alfred Flies drinks except for the TX Tawny Port when he’s ready to go to sleep. Piney Woods produces 1,200 cases of wine a year.
The winery has won many wine competitions in the past and still continues to win medals. If you like fruit or Muscadine wines, take a trip to Orange, or perhaps you might want to become the new owner of an established winery.
Thank you for the blog!
We get a lot of newspaper stories and we’ll use your copy for stories in the future. It’s the best written most accurate write up we ever had. The photos are well done, it must be because you know the wine business. Thanks for the winery for sale pitch.
Alfred J Flies, owner/winemaker
Thanks for the nice comments Mr. Flies!
Can you ship outside Texas? To Arizona??
Hi Ellen. I see their website isn’t working, but you may want to contact them from the information on their Facebook page.
What’s the website to order??
The winery closed August 2016. Some of their wines can still be found at Spec’s.
Sad!! I can’t find the chocolate cherry wine anywhere!
Cherry Chocolates will have a rebirth, under a new name. Revamped Free State Cellars is scheduled to open this month. You can keep up with them on their Facebook page.
where can we find the wines, Specs no longer carries them and I need some for a Christmas present for a very dear friend.???????
Unfortunately the winery has closed.
Any idea of what the shelf/refrigerator life of the cherry chocolates wine is, I have a few bottles, and I’m not sure if it will still be good or not.
Sorry, I do not know. Unless it is fortified as a dessert wine with a higher alcohol percentage (example: 18%), they would last just like other wines. If you have a few bottles, I would suggest trying one and that may help you decide how much longer to keep the others.
Thanks! Yes, I planned on maybe opening one tonight to see what we find. 🙁 hate that they closed the place, Loved the pecan wine!! When we couldn’t find it anymore, we got a few of the choc/cherry.
New owners have purchased the old Piney Woods Winery and are rebuilding the tasting room and revamping the place for a Fall 2018 reopening. Free State Cellars is the new name
Thank you for the update. When it gets closer to opening, we will create a winery page for Free State Cellars.
Just opened a bottle of Texas Tawny Port. It is smooth and mellow, and thereby quite good.
Enjoy!
My late mom and I met Albert & his wife and son on a cruise and he was kind enough to share some of his delicious port with our table at dinner one night. I’m sorry to hear that the winery has closed; I was thinking about ordering some of the chocolate cherry
He did make some good port. The winery closed but the same location was bought, remodeled, and opened as a wonderful Free State Cellars. Check them out!