Wineries are opening all the time in Texas and it sometimes gets difficult keeping track of who is going to open and when they are officially open. The bar has been set high by many established Texas wineries, but the best thing is they give great examples of what a new winery may want to do once they open.
It is very tough to come up with a “best of” list, especially one with wineries, since there are so many great ones, and then of course it is all subjective. A number of new wineries opened in 2015 and some came out of the gate being winners praised by many Texas wine lovers. Others are favorites of local fans or are yet to be “discovered.” Any Texas winery that has been around a long time will tell you the first years are difficult because you need to provide wine initially that will attract customers but also provide a great customer experience to keep them coming back. Some of the wine may not be Texas wine or perhaps the business model for the winery may be to not provide any Texas wine.
With that said, these are just some of the wineries we have visited that opened in 2015 and have gotten praise from other wine lovers. There are other wineries that opened in 2015 definitely worthy of visiting (we’ll be visiting those again too!) and we recommend for you to visit any Texas winery regardless of when they opened. You never know when you may find your next favorite winery!
(This list is in alphabetical order)
3 P’s in a Vine
Have you heard of 3 P’s in a Vine? The local people in the Athens area certainly have and after our visit, we will be visiting again in the future too. Besides the usual friendliness of the Texas winery owners and staff, they decided to work with two of the best winemakers in the state to offer their initial wines. That means you get great wine and a great experience when you visit 3 P’s in a Vine.
Armadillo’s Leap Winery
Pedernales Cellars has offered the Armadillo’s Leap label for a few years, but now there is a dedicated tasting room available off U.S. 290 just for Armadillo’s Leap Winery. You will be able to taste wines from David Kuhlken, the same winemaker for Pedernales Cellars, but in slightly different varieties and blends. Enjoy the wines in a rustic looking tasting room.
Barons Creek Vineyards
Even though the winery started providing soft openings at the end of 2015, they have already been a big hit with wine lovers. Barons Creek Vineyards currently offers mostly Californian wines, but with a quality winemaker, a gorgeous facility with beautiful lodging on-site, we can only see great things ahead for Barons Creek.
Bingham Family Vineyards – Grapevine
Anyone who has been drinking Texas wine for any length of time most assuredly has heard of Bingham Family Vineyards who provides some of the best grapes to many wineries in Texas. Now they have opened their own winery and the Bingham Family Vineyards – Grapevine tasting room has opened where you can taste the wine directly from the family growing the grapes. The tasting room provides another reason why you should make plans to visit Grapevine.\
Old Man Scary Cellars
Wedding Oak Winery has become very popular in their short time with an experienced staff and excellent winemaker Penny Adams. When they announced they would be opening Texas’ first incubator program, the excitement started to build to see what was to be unveiled. Old Man Scary Cellars opened late 2015 and you can see the quality instilled in the winery by Wedding Oak. Penny Adams is also the winemaker for Old Man Scary Cellars, and we can only expect excellent things from the winery as they establish their presence in San Saba.
San Ducerro Vineyards
In case you did not hear about it yet, there is a little destination being built off I-10 between Houston and San Antonio called the Texas Independence Wine Trail. San Ducerro Vineyards is one of the later wineries to open on the wine trail and they firmly established themselves as a winery with quality wines and excellent service when you visit. Events are always being planned which makes one other reason to visit San Ducerro Vineyards.
Torr Na Lochs
The excitement for the opening of Torr Na Lochs began when you could see their winery being built via webcam on their website. After Texas Wine Lover’s preview visit of the winery, the anticipation for the opening only grew. Once open, everybody was amazed at arguably the best view provided by any Texas winery, not to mention the 100% Texas wines made with the help of excellent west Texas and Hill Country wineries. Torr Na Lochs is definitely one winery you will want to visit.
Thanks for the top notch info!
Thanks!
Enjoyed!
Thanks Vijay!