Rancho Loma Vineyards

Rancho Loma Vineyards is located in Coleman and is owned by Robert and Laurie Williamson. The winemaker is Kyle Johnston. The winery opened January 20, 2017.

Robin English-Bircher was able to attend the Rancho Loma Vineyards (RLV) open house and wrote a great story on the background of the winery along with photos of the Williamsons and Johnston. Please read her story for that information. I will tell you what you will experience today for a normal winery visit.

The winery is in the center of town and like Robin, I drove past it too while trying to find it along with a parking space. A parking space along the street was not a problem though on the day I visited after I located the winery. As I walked up to the winery, I could see the Rancho Pizzeria also owned by the Williamsons across the street. It was lunchtime so I was seriously thinking about making a trip there after my winery visit.

Upon opening the winery’s glass doors, which were massive, the large tasting room is to the left. Beyond the tasting bar is some comfortable seating, a fireplace, and at the far end of the room are two conference tables with seating for 11 each. There was already a group of people enjoying the couches, and I could see how that would be a very comfortable place to enjoy a glass of wine.

There is a tasting fee for five wines. You can either stand or sit at the tasting bar, and the tastings are poured directly from the uncorked bottles. I sat down for my tasting and enjoyed these wines:

• Small Lot Muscat (off-dry 66% Muscat Blanc, 34% Orange Muscat, Texas High Plains)
• Cinsault Rosé (Reddy Vineyards)
• III 2016 (white still wine 45% Viognier, 39% Roussanne, 16% Marsanne. Reddy Vineyards)
• Blend 1 2015 (Montepulciano, Mourvèdre, Malbec, Petite Syrah, Tannat, Sangrantino[sic]. I am not sure if Petite Syrah and Sangrantino are spelled incorrectly on the bottle as I did not see the label, but they are spelled that way on the tasting menu and website.)
• Montepulciano 2015 (Texas High Plains)

As you can see, all the grapes used are 100% Texas. From Robin’s previous post, Dr. Bob Young from Bending Branch Winery helped with the 2015 red wines, whereas Kyle Johnston did the others. I should make note that the wines from RLV are winning a lot of awards at wine competitions for such a young winery.

There seemed to be a missing number between 1 and III, and the staff was wondering where number 2 was also. While you are tasting, you can purchase a cheese board to enjoy some food. I did not really see a gift shop available, although there were some RLV t-shirts in the back of the tasting bar.

Tours are available sometimes when you visit. While I was tasting, the group that was seated was invited to enjoy a tour of the production facility. The barrels and some tanks are visible from the tasting room, and not long after, I could not hear the voices of the tour anymore. I mentioned that the production facility must be pretty large and was told it does wind around in the back. Maybe next time I’ll get the chance to take a tour.

If you enjoy the award-winning wines, there is a wine club available so you do not have to visit Coleman if you live farther away.

If you are still hungry after the cheese board, there is the aforementioned pizzeria directly across the street. The Williamsons also have accommodations along with a restaurant at a location 11 miles from Coleman.

Make the trip to Coleman to visit Rancho Loma Vineyards when you get the opportunity.