One of the newer wineries in downtown Fredericksburg is Ferris & Fletch Wine Co. Rarig and Ellery Ross owned a custom crush company in California and after visiting Fredericksburg and the surrounding area, they knew they wanted to raise their children in Fredericksburg. They started Ferris & Fletch Wine Co. in 2021 and Ross began making Texas wines with a local winery. They loved the area so much that they are in the process of building Fitzwilliam Sparkling Wines behind their current tasting room on Main Street in Fredericksburg. Rarig Ross has been very busy, and we are proud to present Rarig as this month’s featured winemaker profile!
- What did you do before becoming a winemaker?
Placeholder jobs in my late teens. I began in the wine industry as early as I could. The first job was in the tasting room & wine production.
- What is the toughest challenge about being a winemaker in Texas?
High pH x high TA dilemma, and seeking out vineyards that are able to produce fruit with full physiological ripeness.
- Is winemaking an art or a science or both?
Absolutely both. They are both tied together, but not one without the other.
- What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
Anything with salt, acidity, and freshness of fruit. I’m undecided on this one because food and wine is limitless.
- If you didn’t make wine, what would you do?
If I had chosen another career it would have to be an aerospace engineer. Second would be marine biologist. I think the first would pay more but be equally fulfilling.
- What first attracted you to winemaking and how long have you been doing it?
I tried an early 2000’s Buoncristiani Napa Valley Bordeaux blend with one of the Buoncristiani brothers in Lake Tahoe. I have been making wine for 15 years.
- What is the most common question you are asked as a winemaker?
Many ask where our vineyards are located assuming we’re growing grapes as well. Maybe we can change that sometime in the near future. I believe every winery should eventually be able to manage and own their own growing sites if possible.
- After a long day in the winery or vineyard, what do you do?
Sometimes it’s nice to sit down and just be silent, crack a nice Belgium beer, and take it all in.
- What’s the greatest part about being a winemaker?
The nostalgia of harvest. Seasonal changes in daily responsibilities (you never get bored). Listening to an abundance of audio material while working solo. Revisiting your life’s work when you pull a cork. Understand other’s lives through pulling a cork. The idea that you can never stop learning because each vintage is different.
- What is your winemaking philosophy, that is, what are you trying to achieve with your wines?
Every seasoned winemaker is respectfully different. What I like to see in my wines is refinement, and nothing that’s too disjointing. Aromatics are big for me. On the mouth I like to see the natural balance with acidity and tannin. I like fruits to taste delicious and not too rounded out. Terroir is key here. How do you transcend fruit into wine while maintaining the integrity of its uniqueness from site, slope, soil, sun, elements, etc.?
- Anything else you would like to add?
I’m really excited to be making wines from Texas fruit. I look forward to more vineyard sites coming online and all of the possibilities this industry has to offer in the great state of Texas.
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