Bingham Family Vineyards has been making award-winning wines for years and there is a new winemaker at the helm. Rogelio Orocio is the new head winemaker, and we met him at the recent Hill Country Wine Symposium. Let us introduce you to Rogelio Orocio as this month’s featured Winemaker Profile.
- What did you do before becoming a winemaker?
I was attending college and majoring in landscape architecture.
- What is the toughest challenge about being a winemaker in Texas?
The weather. It’s always unpredictable out in the High Plains.
- Is winemaking an art or a science or both?
In my opinion, it’s both. I’ve worked with a few winemakers in my past and have seen some of them rely more on the scientific aspect of winemaking to create amazing wines. While others have focused mainly on the artistic side of winemaking and created big bold wines with minimal science used.
- What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
I would definitely have to pick my mom’s homemade chicken and green salsa tamales paired with Albariño or Vermentino.
- If you didn’t make wine, what would you do?
I would have continued my degree in landscape architecture or have started my own landscaping business.
- What first attracted you to winemaking and how long have you been doing it?
Being hired as a cellar assistant at a young age, I fell in love with the whole process of how winemaking works and seeing how every time we worked with the wine, it changed. It’s truly a rewarding process getting to see people enjoy what you’ve spent so much time and dedication to make.
- What is the most common question you are asked as a winemaker?
“How and why did you get into winemaking?”
- After a long day in the winery or vineyard, what do you do?
It depends on my mood, but most days I find myself just relaxing with my dog Milo, working on cars or trucks, hitting the gym, or going to the driving range and hitting a few golf balls, and listening to some good music.
- What’s the greatest part about being a winemaker?
Being able to be creative and create a wine that is able to be shared with others, and seeing their expressions, whether it’s good or bad.
- What is your winemaking philosophy, that is, what are you trying to achieve with your wines?
Just keep things simple! The more you overthink the process, the harder it will be, so that’s why I like to keep it simple. Every varietal has its own unique and distinct characteristics, and those are the flavors and aromas I like to bring out in my wines.
- Anything else you would like to add?
It’s truly an honor to be a winemaker in Texas. I think that we have the ability to make world-class wines and become a powerhouse in the wine industry. We just have to keep our faith in God and work together!
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