Texas Wine and Renaissance Go Together Naturally with Haak

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Why is a business focusing on Texas wine telling you about the Texas Renaissance Festival? Because Haak Vineyards & Winery is located in Santa Fe, just south of Houston. And they are the wine sponsor of this year’s festival. Every weekend of the event, Haak will be pouring wines at Odin’s Table wine bar.

The Texas Renaissance Festival is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed Renaissance-themed event. The event attracts over half a million visitors yearly to its 55-acre recreation of a 16^th Century European village with New Market Village and Fields of New Market Campgrounds in Todd Mission, Texas. And can you believe it all started back in 1974? This immersive experience features world-renowned live entertainment works by master artists and craftspeople, award-winning food and drink, hand-powered rides and games, and hundreds of interactive characters. This year, weekends from October 7th through November 26th are sure to be full of fun at the Texas Renaissance Festival.

I learned more about the winery’s involvement from Kyle Johnston, co-owner and Head of Wine Production at Haak Vineyards & Winery. The event has been running for 49 years, so quite a few vendors and businesses have held their space for a long time making it tough for a new vendor to squeeze in. In 2021, the previous wine sponsor left the event, and the opportunity was beckoning.

It just so happens Kyle is a big fan of all things Renaissance. He attended the festival for years and thought it would be a fun fit for Haak. A wine club member was lined up as a vendor and wanted to serve Haak wines. Long story short, Haak secured a spot serving their wines at Odin’s Table booth for wine tasting.

Haak Vineyards & Winery created wines just for the Texas Renaissance Festival – Huginn Red, Muninn White, Renaissance Jacquez Madeira, and the Haak Mjod mead-style Riesling. These wines are only available at the event or at the winery. Some real thought was put into these special wines. Kyle tole me, “Odin was also called Raven-God because of his connection with two ravens, Huginn and Muninn. These ravens played a vital role in Odin’s rule by keeping him well-informed on the endeavors of Mankind. Each morning, Odin released his loyal servants to descend onto the realm of men, where they would look, listen, and gather information before returning to Odin with any new knowledge they gleamed. The two dry wines, one red and one wine, were created in honor of the tale of Huginn and Muninn.”

In addition to these special wines, some of the traditional Haak wines will be poured. Tickets for a tasting are $30 and five wines, a logo wine cup, and a bit of a show that brings Odin’s story to life. Pre-sale discounts are available at 20% off. What makes it even better, Kyle is there every weekend running the show.

Because the Renaissance is all about history, it’s fitting to learn the festival occupies land that was originally part of Gladys Haak’s family. She and her husband Raymond first planted grape vines in 1969, and Haak Vineyards & Winery became a commercial label in 2000. And to highlight the history of the winery, the original solid wood bar from the tasting room is now the bar at Odin’s Table.

If you’re intrigued and want to plan your escape to the 16^th Century, take advantage of specials now. Different weekends have different themes and some weekends sell out well in advance. There are 21 stages with performers, jugglers, bards, acrobats, games, rides, food, pubs, wine, and more than 400 shoppes and artisans. The festival is family friendly with children five and under free every Saturday and those 12 and under free every Sunday.

Check out the Stay-and-Play options and make a weekend of your Renaissance experience. Opening weekend advance special pricing starts at $17 for Saturday and $12 for Sunday. For details on each weekend and day-of pricing, visit texrenfest.com/tickets. Just be sure to stop by Odin’s Table and raise a glass of Haak wine with Kyle.