New Visit to Houston Winery

My wife Maria and I recently had the opportunity to visit Houston Winery in the Houston neighborhood of West University, nestled in a strip center on Westpark Drive. Houston Winery is co-located with Water 2 Wine Houston, part of the family of Water 2 Wine custom winery locations. Houston Winery has a cozy tasting room with a large bar and some of the production equipment in sight for customers to see.

Having two labels sharing a location gives customers a wide variety of wines to try. The Houston Winery wines are predominantly made with Texas grapes with some sourced from other locations to round out their portfolio. The Water 2 Wine wines are made from grapes with a very wide range of sourcing.

Houston Winery’s tasting room offers both individual tastings and tasting flights. We worked our way through their menu by going with a range of individual tastings, giving us a chance to try a wide array of Houston Winery’s offerings. The large menu of offerings and reasonable pricing makes Houston Winery a very customer friendly spot.

On our visit we tried:

• Roussanne – Texas – Just won a Silver at the Houston Rodeo
• Dry Riesling – Grande Valley AVA, Colorado
• Shiraz Rosa – Texas
• Roughneck Red – Texas – Blend of Norton, Petit Verdot, Cabernet, Black Spanish, and Tempranillo – Won Class Champion, Texas Class Champion at the 2018 Houston Rodeo
• Petit Verdot – Texas – Bingham Family Vineyards – Gold, Texas Class Champion at the 2018 Houston Rodeo
• Petite Sirah – Napa Valley – Silver at the 2018 Houston Rodeo
• Cabernet Franc – Yakima Valley, WA – Water 2 Wine Label
• Spanish Schwirl – Texas – 100% Black Spanish dessert wine
• Houstonian Port – Texas – 100% Black Spanish – made in the style of a Ruby Port – Bronze at the 2017 Houston Rodeo

Yes, Houstonians, you have an award-winning winery right here in town. You don’t even need to leave The Loop. We found Houston Winery to be a fun place to not only enjoy Texas wines, but also to explore a wider variety of wines. It’s easy to find a favorite, enjoy a glass in the tasting room or take a bottle home.

After our visit, I had the chance to chat with Jon Burger, Houston Winery owner and winemaker. Jon shared the story of the start of Houston Winery. Jon and his wife Edie, visited wine bars regularly back when they first started dating. This growing interest in wine eventually led them to plant a vineyard west of Houston of mostly Blanc du Bois and Black Spanish grapes. Edie got a job working in winemaking at Water 2 Wine, and when the original owners wanted to sell in 2013, they jumped at the chance to buy. They worked out an agreement with Water 2 Wine to start their own label to coexist with Water 2 Wine, hence the start of Houston Winery. Jon also mentioned they have some new wines coming out soon, including a Mourvèdre, so be on the look-out!

Wine lovers can not only try Houston Winery wines at their West University location, but at several farmer’s markets in the Houston Area. Houston Winery participates in The Market at Sawyer Yards, The Woodlands Farmer’s Market at Grogan’s Mill, and have recently joined the Tomball Farmer’s Market. You can check out their schedule here. The Tomball Farmer’s Market is one of my favorites, so I’m sure I’ll see them there soon!

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