Dry Comal Creek Vineyards (Hill Country)

[00:00:06] Howdy Vine Trippers, I wanted to take just a moment to talk to you about the Texas Wine Lover website and their phone app for both iPhones as well as Google devices. You can actually download this app, put it on your phone or just go to the website if you're not an app person. And if you ever want to go visit some of these great locations that we've been talking about in the podcast, this will give you a great information about the place before you go. And you'll be able to find other wineries in the area.

[00:00:33] So if you want to make a day of it, go see several other places as well. You can search by region. You can sort the listings, find ones that are kid friendly, family friendly, even ones that host RVs. All kinds of different sortable listings you can find there in that app and on the website. You can find other things as well in the area like restaurants, accommodations, maybe events that are going on at the different wineries.

[00:00:56] So it's your one-stop resource that goes hand in hand with this podcast to be able to find those great places to go visit. So check out the Texas Wine Lover website. It's txwinelover.com or go to their app. You can find it on the Google Play Store or the Apple Store as well. Enjoy your trips among the vines and use that app.

[00:01:17] Welcome to Texas Undervine, an exploratory podcast to scout out the best Texas wine country has to offer.

[00:01:47] I'm your wine guide, Scott, and I'm here to lead you on an auditory expedition to the vineyards and wineries across the great Lone Star State. Each episode will cover a different vineyard, winery, or wine-related business operating in Texas. You'll hear interviews, descriptions, and details about each location. It will excite you to visit and experience them for yourself. Ready to plan a wine tour? Use these episodes to choose the most interesting spots for you and your friends to check out.

[00:02:15] Most of all, enjoy hearing about the rapidly growing wine industry in the state and what makes our wines and wineries the best. Howdy, fellow Vine Tripper. Welcome to episode 58 for the Texas Undervine podcast.

[00:02:41] And for this episode, I stayed again in the central Texas area. But this time, I wandered a little bit less far off the beaten path here to the I-35 corridor in between Austin and San Antonio. To the little but thriving town of New Braunfels. And there in New Braunfels, I was able to find my way to a little place called Dry Comal Creek Vineyard. Right there in New Braunfels.

[00:03:10] And it was this little space of beautiful country right there next to the bustling city of New Braunfels. Not far at all from, of course, San Antonio and from Austin. So, very convenient little place to go out. But feels like you're kind of in the hill country area. You're kind of out in the countryside. Beautiful oaks all around the property. Really fun little place that I got to visit.

[00:03:35] And I was able to sit down with their general manager, Sheila Legel, to talk a little bit about their storied past. Their current present of their wines they're offering now. As well as their hopes for the future. What they would like to see happen there at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards as time progresses. But without further ado, let's talk a little bit about the winery and the vineyard there itself.

[00:03:58] So, the vineyard itself that was planted on the property there was actually started back in 1998 by a fellow named Franklin Hauser. And it was kind of a getaway property for he and his family to get out and enjoy the countryside a little bit. Have a little respite from the craziness of the city. And he actually planted the vines as kind of a hobby. Had some fun with those.

[00:04:25] In the 1990s began producing some wine from those vines. And he actually was using both Texas as well as other places. So, he would get some California grapes and things like that from other locations. It wasn't solidly 100% Texas at the time. But around 2017, he wanted to retire from that process. And he ended up selling Dry Comal Creek Vineyards to the Romero family.

[00:04:53] Now, the Romero family were very familiar with the service industry and restaurants and things like that. They're actually in the Fort Worth area. They took over Dry Comal Creek Vineyards at that time. And they decided to turn it into definitely 100% Texas focus. So, going from that point forward, 2017 on, they have solely been able to source all of their fruit from their own vineyard.

[00:05:19] As well as places like the High Plains and other hill country areas to be able to get all of their fruit. Making themselves 100% Texas with their wines. Now, although the Romeros, like I said, live in Fort Worth. The day-to-day operations are actually governed by Sheila Legal. Who's been actually with Dry Comal Creek. I think she said since 2015. So, quite a while there. You'll get to hear more of her story today.

[00:05:45] But the winemaker for the vineyard is, for the winery, there is Seth Urbanic. And he is making all of their wines. They do kind of some custom crush with that with William Criss and other places. So, they don't have the production facilities on site just yet. That's a goal down the road for them. But Seth Urbanic is the one who's their winemaker. And Sheila, who, again, has been there at the winery for quite some time.

[00:06:14] Runs all of the day-to-day operations. Makes all the decisions. Keeps the tasting room running smooth. And she's the one who I got to sit down with to interview, as I said earlier today. Interestingly, the original owner and vineyard planter, Franklin Hauser, that I mentioned a while ago, is considered by some people the father of the black Spanish grape here in Texas. It's also called Lenoir.

[00:06:36] And that particular grape varietal is an interesting grape varietal for Texas, especially because it does have resistance to Pierce's disease, which we have mentioned on this podcast before. It's definitely a troubling problem for a lot of vineyards in Texas, especially ones that are outside of the West Texas High Plains area. They don't really deal with it. But here in central Texas, we struggle with it.

[00:07:02] And especially in the eastern parts and the southern parts of Texas, it can be very hard to work with. So it's a very sturdy, kind of hardy vine for those areas that do struggle with Pierce's disease. It's kind of been made in a lot of different ways. It's used a lot of times by a lot of wineries as a port type of wine. But that's what they actually have planted on site there at Dry Kamau Creek Vineyards.

[00:07:29] They originally had things like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay and all these other things. But being in a dry creek bed, Dry Kamau Creek, they would suffer from floods a lot of times in the vineyards, which caused a lot more disease pressure and just really had a hard time with a lot of those original varietals. So eventually, Mr. Hauser pulled all that up and just planted the black Spanish. And that's what they have exclusively right now on their site.

[00:07:56] They have about four acres of black Spanish grapes there on the vineyard property. But that's not the only wines that they provide. They do have a great palette of wines. Everything from whites to rosés, reds. They have sparklings. They even have some sweet wines. So they have something to satisfy almost any palette if you're a wine drinker there. And again, they are all 100% Texas. So you'll be able to find most anything that you would like when you go to visit Dry Kamau Creek.

[00:08:24] They also host some really fun live events on site with live music. They bring in food trucks. They're kind of a big, really cool event that they do pretty frequently, these happy hours and things. Some of those are members only, but some of them are open. I would check their website. You definitely want to look at their event calendar because you don't want to miss one of those hopping parties that they have there at Dry Kamau Creek Vineyards as well. Now, something to take notice of before you go. They do have a policy of only 21 and over at the winery.

[00:08:54] So this isn't a place to take the kids. There are a lot of great family-oriented places there in New Brothels where you can take the kids and have a lot of fun with them. Dry Kamau Creek is not that place. So make sure that you get somebody to take care of the kids for you when you go to get a little bit of a getaway from the hustle and bustle of parenting and enjoy your adult entertainment there more without the kids around. And so, again, just keep that in mind before you go. It is 21 and over.

[00:09:21] And when you do your tastings there, you have the option of either sitting inside their seated tastings so you can sit indoors in their tasting room if you would like, depending upon the weather, of course. But if the weather is nice outside, like we do get a lot of the year here in Texas, you're more than welcome to do your tasting outside. They have, like I said earlier, some beautiful oaks on the property. A lot of great seating outside in the patio, places to go sit outside and enjoy your wine and do your tasting outside in the beautiful Texas weather as well.

[00:09:50] It's kind of up to you what you'd rather choose. And, of course, depending upon what Texas is giving us on that particular day. And as I said, I was able to go visit and sit down with Sheila that I mentioned earlier, the general manager. And we got to talk all things wine and the wine industry.

[00:10:07] We got to talk a lot about Dry Kamau Creek and learn a little bit about that history with Mr. Hauser and now the Romeros and where they've come, where they're going, some of their ideas for the future, as well as these great wines that are winning awards. So without further ado, let's go hear from her. Howdy, ViTrippers. Welcome to Dry Kamau Creek Vineyard.

[00:10:36] So I'm here with Sheila Legel. And we are here to talk about this vineyard and this winery and kind of what they have going on here. And I'm excited to bring that to you. So without further ado, Sheila, tell me a little about yourself. How did you get into the wine industry? Hi there. Well, Scott, I don't know. I would say my wine journey probably started when I was a kid. Okay. And it would have been Easter's because that was the only time we were allowed to drink wine. And I grew up in upstate New York.

[00:11:02] And so it was usually Finger Lakes wine and usually Riesling. Riesling. So, but that's when it started. I went to college at Syracuse University and went for therapeutic recreation because I was going to teach everybody how to have fun. That sounds like a great career. My mom and dad always said, well, you're not working in your major. Well, I kind of am in line. So I started out with that and life evolves.

[00:11:32] Careers come and go. So I ended up being a manager for a dental company. And so I was a manager for that and I was just getting burnt out and done. And so my husband came home from work one day and said, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, I want to be Rachel Ray. So I went to cooking school. I quit my job and went to cooking school, jumped in with both feet. And every Friday was a great day because we did wine all day.

[00:12:01] And so that's how I ended up getting my level one through school. And so that was really cool through cooking school. And then I spent a couple of months overseas and I went to France and Italy and studied there in Piedmont and in Provence. So hello, hello. And the bug bit me and I got hooked. Well, I decided after cooking school, I'd work as a chef and you make little money to none.

[00:12:28] And you're working huge hours and it is a lot of work. It's brutal, right? And I was in my 40s and I'm like, I'm not ready to work that hard. I already did this. So I thought, you know, wine was the part I loved the most. So then I ended up going to the International Sommelier Guild in Denver and did that and really fell in love. And I did that back in 2010. Okay.

[00:12:58] And fast forward, my husband got relocated his job and we ended up in Florida. And I worked for a couple wine shops. And so that's when I jumped in with both feet and got out of dentistry for good because I did go back a little bit because the money was good. Oh, sure. But so started working in Naples. And I don't know if you know this, but that's where all the people from the wine industry go to vacation because they can write it off because they're tasting vacations usually.

[00:13:27] And so the wine shop really afforded me to meet some really great people and winemakers. And it was really cool. And I tasted some fantastic wine throughout the world. And my boss was just has the best palate in the world and had a great mentor there and wine who had studied with Kevin Zarelli. And it was just really cool. And he was so not pretentious.

[00:13:54] And for Douglas to pour wine, he would do it in a decanter, which would some of these people that our customers were, you know, had their nose out of joint a little bit. So Douglas always was good. And that was probably the biggest lesson he told me, that everybody has their own palate and you have to respect that. And sometimes you have to knock people down a notch because wine is for everybody. It's very social and everybody wants to have fun with it. Everybody has a smile on their face.

[00:14:23] And it's like, okay, a smile on their face. Huh. This goes back to what I went to college for. Therapeutic recreation. Uh-huh. So that is wine for sure. So I ended up moving here again for my husband's job and started working here at the winery with Sabrina and Mr. Hauser back in 2015. And 2017, new owners purchased the winery and they asked me to come work full time. And so I've been here since.

[00:14:51] Kind of by default, I was assistant tasting room manager and things just happened, circumstance, and I ended up being general manager. Yeah. So I'm really fortunate that the owners entrust me to do everything. They live in Fort Worth. Okay. They're first generation Mexican Americans, very proud of their American heritage and Texas. Yeah. And so that was one of the things that Mr. Romero wanted to instill in the winery.

[00:15:19] He really wanted to bring Texas back because Texas had done so much for him and the mother business he's done very well with. They express oil out of seeds. Oh, wow. And so they opened the vineyard kind of as an interest. And so he wanted to get back to Texas. So he's like, we are going 100% Texas at that time. So we've been doing that since 17. So really proud of that fact. And Mr. Hauser, or Mr. Hauser, that's the old owner.

[00:15:47] Mr. Romero passed away from COVID back in 21, 20, 20. No, 21, 21. And so his family, they're still running it. But I'm really blessed that they say, Sheila, go with it. You've got boots on the ground. I do. I'm able to do the labels. I work, you know, really hand in hand with our winemaker to pick out what varietals we want. And so pretty much everything.

[00:16:15] I clean the bathroom to do plumbing to whatever I knew to do was glamorous. So and so I've been here since 2015. So, yeah. Yeah. I was talking with somebody just a couple of days ago about there were, again, going on with me about, oh, wine. The wine industry is so glamorous to work in a winery. I said, let me tell you about really what it means to work in a winery. Yeah. Yeah. You don't know.

[00:16:42] You got 10% glamour and then the rest 90% is very unglamorous. Absolutely. Absolutely. We have actually a pasture up on the hill and we have several cows up there. So the cows are also my responsibility. Never did I think I would have a gentleman named Bubba John in my Rolodex of names. And he's our guy that comes to tend the cattle and comes and checks them out when we have issues.

[00:17:10] So it's like, never did I think that. So maybe I should put your title as rancher slash general manager. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. That's the next evolution. Absolutely. Well, tell me a little bit of it. You've already kind of gone into some of it. But the history of this place, how did it get started? Talk to me through its history and kind of its evolution to where we are today. Absolutely. Mr. Hauser, Franklin Hauser, who's kind of the pioneer we know of Black Spanish here in Texas. Mr. Hauser started the winery in 1998.

[00:17:40] So we just celebrated our 25th anniversary. And he started it because his wife, Bonnie, was tired of him moping around the house. And she was really tired of Oprah on the TV. So he said, she told him, you have got to find an interest because Oprah is getting on my nerves. And so he decided to start researching it. Of course, one of the first wines he planted, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Thank goodness they were destroyed in 1999 with a flood.

[00:18:10] Oh, no. So that kind of had him, it provoked him to start looking at other varietals that would grow well here. Because we are a dry creek bed, so it's very susceptible to disease. And so he decided to go with Black Spanish because it has a resistance to Pierce's disease. So that's what all the vines are on property. We have right now four acres of Black Spanish. Mr. Hauser was a very tall man.

[00:18:40] He was well over 6'5". And he was a retired gentleman. So if you look at Vineyard 1, we call it in front of the house, you'll notice the vines are very high. I did see that on the way in. And those are Black Spanish. He just pruned them very high so he could pick them for ease. The only problem is, as he got older and wasn't able to take care of them, most of the people he hired were shorter in stature. Stepladders. Yeah, and so he ended up planning the rest of the vineyard is lower.

[00:19:08] And it's actually probably a hair lower than usual because most of them were shorter. So interesting because people are like, why are the grapes so different? No, they're all the same. But Mr. Hauser and his family ran the vineyard from 98 until 2015. And then Mr. Hauser decided to retire for good. He was an attorney from San Antonio. And this was their family place that they would come on the weekends to get away from the big city.

[00:19:37] So now we're all part of the city and it's slowly coming out this way. So at that time, a lot of the grapes were from here, the Black Spanish. And he was sourcing some of them from New Mexico and some from California, of course. So, you know, still was very deep with the Texas roots. But then fast forward, the 17 is when the Romero family took over.

[00:20:01] They came here and as the story goes, Mr. Hauser and Ralph Romero Jr. were up on the patio of the apartment. That's the next building over. They were on the patio and they sealed the deal with a glass of the old sangria that we used to think. There you go. We used to sell. How appropriate. Yeah. So it's really, really nice. Yeah. When I started here, there were 11 wines on the tasting menu.

[00:20:29] And I think now we're about 20. Okay. So a different varietals. So really exciting. And for that, it's a nice broad selection of a lot of different things. A nice selection. Nice selection. Very popular. Before we did a lot of sweet oriented stuff because that was kind of the palate at that time. And now we're doing much more dry. So we are 100% celebrating dry January by having most of our wines being dry. There you go. I love it. So our winemaker currently is Seth Urbanik. Okay.

[00:20:58] And he is amazing. Silly story, but I graduated from, my degree is from Syracuse University, but actually went to a small college that had less people. But my degree is through Syracuse, but it was Utica. Okay. And really small. And Seth's father-in-law was my dean of students. I know. What are the chances? Small world, right? Small world. Small world. So really kind of cool that it comes back.

[00:21:27] And so one thing that Seth needed just because he knew I was from upstate, and that's kind of where he cut his teeth is in the Finger Lakes. So he's like, you have to have a Riesling. That's all there is to it. And as we know, Riesling was the wine that got me into it. Yeah. So really proud to have that. Well, and I take it the name, you mentioned being on a Dry Creek, Brad. This is Dry Comell Creek. Dry Comell. And so the name is just derived from the area. Uh-huh. Okay.

[00:21:51] And we looked at changing our name when the new people bought the vineyards, the Romero family. We decided not to because people were familiar with it, and Dry Comell Creek isn't going to change. Yeah. That's one thing that's always going to be here, so we might as well just use it. Do you know if there was a reason why Mr. Hauser chose this particular location or just happened to be available? It was his family house. Oh, really? That's their vacation house that they use, so he added everything out of here. He just said, well, let's get away from Oprah and go play it right outside the backyard. Absolutely.

[00:22:21] So the tasting room where we're sitting right now, this was the loading dock. Oh, wow. Okay. And we had benches here at one time. This was open. Yeah. And it said that Mr. Hauser used to sit up here and shoot hogs. He'd sit here on the patio and shoot because this was all a recent enclosure. The winery was actually up in the front room, and you could still see the glycol lines up there. Oh, yeah. We cut those. But that's where he made his wine, and he did the tasting room right out of there.

[00:22:50] Very small, very quaint. Yeah. So. And we are in New Braunfels. We are. We're just kind of north, I would say more north of San Antonio. Yep. And just a little south of Austin in San Marcos area in New Braunfels area. So perfect. Just not far off of I-35, really, to get over here. So if you're heading north or south through the main corridor through Texas, very easy to make a little. Very easy. And 281, and they're doing lots of improvements there. So it's getting easier access. Right up towards the line node. And right off 3009.

[00:23:20] So we're really a convenient location. Well, you've talked a little bit about your fruit and the Texas, all Texas. Where do you source your fruit for your wine? On the High Plains and Hill Country. In here, of course. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. In here. So High Plains, several different vineyards, all the way from Del City. That's where our Riesling is coming from. We're out by El Paso. Yep. A little bit of salinity on that palate from the soil.

[00:23:46] But some up there, some Lost Straw vineyards. So pretty much everywhere. Okay. So I'm really excited. Our winemaker does a lot of his work out of William Criss. Okay. So that does make us have some vineyards that we normally wouldn't have. Access to things. So he has great relationships with those growers. So we're really blessed. Cool. And then does he do all the wine processing out there? Yes. He does right now.

[00:24:13] We're still in the process of updating that facility. It's very outdated. Yeah. So we need to get it up to snuff. So until we have that done, we're sourcing that with stuff. Okay. But your goal is eventually to move that production. I hope so. I hope so. Got you. Well, so what about some of the wines that you offer? We'll just ask from your perspective. What are some of your favorite wines that you offer here? We all know wine is living and breathing, and it is wonderful, ever-changing, which is so wonderful.

[00:24:43] Right now, my favorite is probably our Blanc de Noir, which is our sparkling. Okay. And it's Petit Noir, which we know is one of the three champagne grapes. So that is a really cool wine, and it's done in the natural, the traditional method. Yes. So that's one of my favorites. I also like the Blanc de Blanc, too. And that is a Blanc de Bois, which grows considerably well here in Texas.

[00:25:11] And that is like mimosa without the orange juice. Yeah. It's just delicious. So those are probably my two favorites. Okay. And I love our Herbalin, which is the name of our road out here. Oh, yeah. And Mr. Herbalin is actually a neighbor that lives down the road. And he is the cutest man, but he will send us a text or call us and say, Hey, gal, I'm ready to pick up a six-pack. And so he picks up a six-pack of his Herbalin. Of his own named wine. I love that. So he's really cool. Really neat man.

[00:25:39] And then right now, my favorite is the Medra, and I'm really proud of it because of the San Francisco gold medal we got on that. So those are probably my four top. Gotcha. But I haven't tasted wine yet today, Scott. So it might be more. You never know. And that's the fun thing about wine. And like you said, it's living and breathing. You can taste something one day. And I had somebody tell me, not to geek out too much here, but somebody tell me one time that with wine, just even the pollen that's in the air can affect your taste buds. 100%.

[00:26:08] That's why you can taste a wine one day, and the next day, it tastes almost completely different. Absolutely. It's amazing. Absolutely. And everybody has a different reaction to it. Kaylee over here that's working today, she is so cute. Like she goes, ooh, something. And it hits her. It actually hits her nose. And she goes, ooh, I don't like that today. Yeah. So it's almost like the histamines or whatever is in the air that time. It just drives her crazy. So it's so funny you said that. Yeah. Well, what are some of your most popular wines with customers?

[00:26:36] Who are the ones that you're like, hey, we can keep this on the show? Tempranillo is definitely a big one. Delicious. Um, delicious. This Tempranillo is really nice, too. It has a nice, um, I almost want to say velvet vanilla on that. Ooh, yeah. On the palate, which is not hard. Like if somebody blind tasted that, they would never use that to describe the Empranillo. So I dig that. Um, so that definitely, uh, standard is our Sangio base, say. Okay. It was our first red when the Romeros took over.

[00:27:04] Um, and it, it sells itself. We don't even have to say it. Um, people really love the Sangio. Um, our worst red is our most, our, how do I say? It's, it is the worst wine. Uh, everybody loves it because we have Worst Fest here in New Braunfels. So we had to put it. If it's worst, just so for the customers who, listeners who can't see it, it's W-U-R-S-T. Yes. Like play on words, right? And so we, we called it the, um, the worst wine.

[00:27:31] And that has kind of been our replacement for, um, back in the old days, Mr. Hauser had Comal Red. Okay. And it was a little sweeter, kind of, um, had a little Glühwein-like. Okay. If you would. Yeah. Um, but we were like, oh, we need to change it up a little. We have a different wine maker and stuff. So we kind of left the label where it looks like, um, like a beer. Oh, okay. Yeah. And you can see the little hat. Yeah. The German hat. But this is a favorite and it's user-friendly. It has the screw cap.

[00:28:00] So people love it because they can drink on it a couple days. Um, but that's probably, uh, kind of our segue wine. Yeah. When people are first getting into wine, they love that. And it pairs beautifully with chocolate. It's delicious. Um, they usually start with that and then they move into all the others. Is it off dry or is it? It's sweet. Oh, it's sweet. It's not even sweet. It's not even off dry. It's sweet. Okay. Gotcha. It does have some oak aging. So it doesn't seem as sweet as some of our other wines that we, we only have three sweet

[00:28:30] wines, but, um, but it's funny. Uh, it's, it just has a following. So gotta love it. We have to keep it. And that's great because you have something for almost every palate. Absolutely. Sparkling. You have sweet, you have whites, reds, dry, you have all kinds of things to meet most anybody's palate. Absolutely. For sure. For sure. Well, um, so those are some of the wines. Let's talk about the location itself. Do you host any kind of events or things out here for people to come? Absolutely. We're very close to Vintage Oaks.

[00:28:59] Um, that's our big community, um, huge, huge community, community. I live there myself and, um, we, it's fairly large. So this ends up being the neighborhood vineyard. Okay. So we do do some happy hours and we do, um, one, usually definitely one a month, but sometimes we'll do three depending on how busy we are, um, and other private events and things like that. But, um, we always do one happy hour a month that's members only. So that way we can connect with our family.

[00:29:28] And, um, sometimes that's what we use to release wines and things like that. So it's really nice, but we have food trucks out here. We have live music. Um, the band usually plays out in the yard. Really nice, chill place to just veg. Um, one of our things that, um, we did change up a little bit is we are 21 and over. Okay. Which, um, it was a hard thing for some of our neighborhood people to get used to, but we really felt like we needed an adult play land.

[00:29:58] There's so many places here in New Braunfels that are family friendly. You know, mom and dad need a break too because the kiddos wouldn't be there if it weren't for mom and dad. So we've really embraced that. Okay. Um, and, um, our, our folks love it because they do have a place away from the kids and, and they get to use us as an excuse, which that's okay. Cause it's a play land. Yeah. So, um. Well, you got this beautiful, I mean, nice open area with all the beautiful oaks out here

[00:30:25] to sit down and enjoy nature and drink your wine. Absolutely. 100%. Um, so we do do that. We do the happy hours probably two to four times a month. Okay. And then, um, we do, um, music on Saturdays a lot of the time. Right now we're in the slow time. We'll pick that back up in March. Um, and, um, we do a lot of, um, uh, what do I want? Fundraising things, um, for, for the community. We had, um, whole hospice, um, Christmas party out here.

[00:30:54] So, um, we're very involved with connections and Como County Crisis Center. So we help with a lot, a lot of those events in the community and here as well. Okay. So we're really proud of that. Oh, and, um, what is it? The dogs, wine and wags. We do that every year. Um, we do a big bazaar, um, usually around Veterans Day. So, um, we try to do a lot for the community. Really injected there. Main hub of that. Absolutely. Well, let's talk about, um, a tasting.

[00:31:24] So, uh, say a listener is now getting interested. They want to come check the place out. Let's talk about what they can expect if they come in for a tasting. So what does a tasting typically look like? Do you have a set flight of wines or do the customer pick their wines? And then how much does it cost? Do they need reservations? Things like that. Right. With my background, I'm very much a food and wine pair and things like that. And I like everything to go my way. A certain order, right? And there is a certain order. That's important for your palate. It really is important to your palate.

[00:31:50] Um, I, I have been to tastings around the world where they'll go, oh, pick what you want. Well, if you pick, um, something sweet, like the worst red, and then you go ahead and everything is, it just kind of blows out your palate. So I change it monthly. Probably. Um, I changed the, the tasting menu. So, um, we usually start with something white or something sparkling, and then we go through the whole list. Um, that's one thing that our members really like is we do change it up monthly.

[00:32:18] So if they come one month, they know in a month I can come back and get something different. So, um, we do like to do that, but you'll come in, all our tastings are seated. Um, and, um, we put the menu down and just kind of go through everything with you. Okay. At times there are people that will come in and say, I only like sweet wines. So we'll, we'll even say to them, I wouldn't recommend the tasting for you. This might not be, let me just. Maybe a glass. Maybe a glass, or let me give you a sample of a couple to see what you, you might like. And then we'll go from there.

[00:32:47] But, um, but it's, it's interesting when you, it's all about how you present it. And, um, a lot of times people will be saying that they don't really like wine. They won't get into it. But once you start telling them the stories and, and they start tasting it and the way we had the tasting kind of spaced out there by the end, they're going, I think I like wine. Well, and I would also say for those of you that do just like sweet wines, don't be afraid to try to, that's the beauty of tasting. Absolutely.

[00:33:14] And your palate may change or you may find something that you would have never have known that you liked, um, if you hadn't tried it. And so it's, it's great to be a sweet wine drinker. I like several sweet wines myself, but be, be willing to, to try new things. And that's again, with the tasting, you're only getting a little bit of each one. You're not sold into something. And so it might open your eyes to something that you never knew that you liked. Absolutely. And don't feel bad about dumping that taste out. If you don't like it, you have your own palate. You, you be you. Yeah. That's okay.

[00:33:43] Um, so we change it up quite often and, um, every day when we come into work, we taste through the wine. I know it's a bad thing, but we want to make sure everything's good quality for our people and, um, and we'll make adjustments as needed. Yeah. Um, cause sometimes you need to do that. Um, but, um, our tastings are seated. Okay. And you have a choice to either do it on the patio or in here. Um, so right now it's kind of chilly. So more people are opting for inside.

[00:34:11] Um, so we go through about five or six wines and go from there. And how much does a tasting cost? Um, a tasting cost $25. Okay. Now, if you do buy three bottles, we waive that tasting. Okay. There you go. If you find something you like. Absolutely. And for our members, um, they can do free tastings every day if they want. Okay. And, um, if they don't want to do a tasting, they're welcome to have a glass and they can bring their friends with them. Do, do first time visitors need, should they make reservations?

[00:34:38] Not a bad idea to make reservations on Saturday or Sunday. Okay. Or even Fridays. We have a lot of people that come to New Braunfels as a vacation getaway. And so Fridays can fill up. And sometimes Mondays too. It's crazy. It's crazy. Just never know, right? Yeah. And we are actually one of the few places that are open on Mondays. Okay. Um, for tastings because we appeal to the people that are coming here for a weekend getaway. Yeah. Most of our holidays are on Mondays like this. Coming up. Yeah. We've got that coming up. So we want to make sure that we cater to those folks.

[00:35:08] What are your operating hours? Um, we open, we open at 12 o'clock. Um, and then our last pour is at 515. Okay. Um, and then we lock the gate at six o'clock. What days are those? Um, we do it, um, Thursday through Monday. Thursday through Monday. So we're closed Tuesday, Wednesday. Okay. Excellent. You mentioned a moment ago, 21 and up. So if you have kids, leave those at home for this particular visit. But what about pets or things like that? Pets are well, as long as they're well behaved. Okay. Yep.

[00:35:37] And do they, are they allowed to come inside or just outside? You know, um, of course, canine companions and things like that. Service animals. Service animals. They can come in. But, um, for the most part, everybody's outside. Okay. So. Do you offer any kind of, you mentioned food trucks a little ago. Do you offer any kind of food options or things to people? We do. Um, we have a local, we have a great food truck that, um, does a lot of our events here. Okay. Um, my sweet basil. And, um, they, um, they are stationed up in New Brom or up in Canyon Lake. That's very close because we're very close to Canyon Lake as well.

[00:36:07] But, um, they do potato chips for us and they are a huge hit. They're all organic. They're delicious. They make them weekly for us. So, and they pair great with all the wine. Yes. Um, and so we have those and then we do, um, flatbread pizzas. Okay. And so we cook those. And then, um, when we do have food trucks, we don't cook our food. We allow them to make all the money. So, um, really nice. And we have pizza trucks that we work with often, uh, barbecue trucks, sushi, you name, oh, of course, Cousin's Man Lobster.

[00:36:36] So, um, it's ever changing. Yeah. And I, you immediately said pizza and I mean, well, you went right to the San Giovese over there. Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. Perfect match. What about, um, groups? Do you have any maximum group sizes? Okay. But if you have a larger group, give us a call. We'll work on it with you. Um, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when we're closed, we do a lot of destination management companies. We work with them where they might have, um, somebody that has a, a big seminar or a big

[00:37:06] conference in San Antonio. And because we're the closest to San Antonio, they come out and they'll, they'll spend the day with us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But as long as that's kind of work through up front. That's just wheel the bus, pull up into the party line. No, no, no, no. Please give us a call. Yeah. Because we want to give you the best experience. And if we know you're coming, we can do that. Yeah. It's not because you hate big groups. No, no, no. We don't want business. Thanks anyway. No, but just be able to give that best. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense. What are your busier and slower seasons? What's the best time to come visit?

[00:37:36] Um, any time is good. I would say our busy season probably starts mid-March and probably goes until, um, the heat of July. Okay. Then July, it slows down a little. Um, we do have the indoor open and our air conditioning is going. So we always have space, um, here to do that. Yeah. But I would say best time mid-March. Okay. And to June. Um, it's just gorgeous to sit, you know, do your tasting inside or do it on the patio. And, um, enjoy that.

[00:38:04] And then go get a bottle or a glass and go sit out in the yard. Well, and that's the beauty of having a winery in Texas, in my opinion, too, is that even here in, we're, we're filming this in January and this weekend, it's coming up. It's supposed to be a big cold front coming through, but today it could be in the sixties, just beautiful outside here in Texas in the, in January. So you can, sometimes you can take any month of the year and find a great, beautiful day. Absolutely. Today, it's beautiful. And I'm sure we'll have some people enjoying the outdoor.

[00:38:33] So, well, we kind of hit on, you talked about members a few minutes ago and things like that. Wine club. Do you offer a wine club? And what are the details on that? We do. We, um, we offer two different wine clubs. Um, we do, I don't know if you noticed, we have a rooster on our, um, uh, the rooster out there. On the silo. And, um, that was something Mr. Hauser did many years ago. He saw those in churches over in Europe and he thought that would be really cool to be, be here. So it's been kind of our mascot, if you will. So of course we named our wine club after roosters.

[00:39:03] Okay. So silky is a starter rooster. So that's our, our six, six bottle club. And then the big one, a big rooster, just like bulls is a Brahma. So Brahma is our, our case club. So, um, we just off, we, we keep it kind of simple. Um, and, um, so two times a year we do the spring and the fall, six bottles or 12. And then the Brahma also gets another case in June and we do a party just for those people.

[00:39:32] Um, and, um, the silkies get a 15% off all their purchases. Brahma's get 25% off. Um, and, um, so our wine club, they are our family. Yeah. So really love having them. Okay. Can people sign up online or can they, do they have to come into the winery? They can sign up online at the winery. Um, let your person that's serving you know, and, and they'll definitely give you the information on it. Okay.

[00:39:58] Um, what about, uh, if distribution, if somebody can't get here by any stretch, uh, do you sell online on your website or do you do distribution of any kind so people can taste your wine without having to come to this location? Absolutely. Um, we, we of course can ship anywhere in Texas and, um, we're working on being able to ship to other states. So that's in progress. So hopefully we'll be able to do that in the next couple months. Um, as far as places in the community that sell our wines, we're not in any stores. We don't do distribution.

[00:40:27] Um, we do, um, sell at a couple local restaurants, one being Oak Valley Vineyards that's on 3009. And, um, we do have some wine over at the grapevine in green and, um, we, that's, that's all that's carrying our wine right now. Okay. So. Gotcha. Yeah. We kind of already talked just a little bit about, um, the wine production facility and all that, but do you have plans for future growth? What, what, what do you see for the future? I, I hope so.

[00:40:57] I would like to see our wine being made here on, on site for sure. Um, it's very important. I, I love working with Seth, but he also works for other people as well. So, um, I think it's really important to have the winemaker here so we can hear the stories through him too. Yeah. I can tell him the best I can and I can teach my, my staff how to do that and they're great stories. Um, but sometimes we have to enter our own stories into it, um, just to make it a little more interesting. So I definitely would like winemaking here a little more.

[00:41:27] Um, I would also like to venture, we have not ventured into other varietals. Okay. Our, our vines here are 25 plus years old now. And so I'd really like to get some, um, different varietals in like Blanc de Bois. I would love to try. I, I know there's a winery not far from here that is doing Pick Pull and I, um, we just got back from Symposium and I am a huge, huge fan of Pick Pull right now.

[00:41:54] Um, and so I would love to see if we could get some Pick Pull here. Um. It's probably my favorite wine. Oh my goodness. It's heavenly. Heavenly. And, um, would love to check that out. And, um, so that would be my personal plan. Okay. Um, and, um, maybe down the road, just do some updatings on facilities. I would love to be able to offer more food options because that's kind of my background. So, um, would love to have a full kitchen and things like that down the road. So we'll see. Cool.

[00:42:24] We'll see. I love that. Well, there are a lot of places in Texas that people can go to drink wine and visit, uh, Dracomal Creek being one of those. Yeah. So, um, what do you think is, would you say in your opinion is the number one thing that really draws people in? What do you, what would you say that my listeners would say? I have to go visit there because of this. I would say probably our people, our staff are amazing. They're very well educated. They, um, they know their wine.

[00:42:49] Um, there is not a snobby bone in any of these people's, any of my staff's bodies. They're just so down to earth. Everybody comes for us. Um, I would say that's number one, um, probably three things I would say. So the people for sure. Um, number two, um, proximity to San Antonio, the airport, um, and New Braunfels. New Braunfels is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

[00:43:17] And we're right here in town. And you can kind of save all the traffic and everything of the 290 and have a lot of the same flavors that you get up there. Um, and you can have it right here. And you can actually grab a bottle afterwards and sit in the yard and totally relax. And I would say that would be our biggest theme is just being able to come out here, get away from the city, the busy roads and relax in the country.

[00:43:43] And, and you're looking at a vineyard, a dry Creek bed under the beautiful oaks and New Braunfels has some of the best music around. And a lot of times we bring that to the winery too. So why not have that experience out there? So Sheila mentioned their staff. She mentioned the proximity there to San Antonio, as well as I'd say Austin as well.

[00:44:11] And then the beautiful escape that you get to feel like you're in the country right there in the middle of the city. And, uh, all three of those are incredibly valid reasons, um, to go check out dry come out Creek vineyards, but don't forget about their wine as well. Very delicious things that they have for you to taste and sample while you're there at dry come out Creek. And as always make sure check out their website before you go, you'll want to get the information there before your visit.

[00:44:37] It's www.drycomowcreekvineyards.com. And there you're going to find more information about their story. Um, maybe some more details there. You'll find information about their wine club and what you can do to join that wine club. You'll find their event calendar. You can read up about the different wines that they have before you go. You can even order wines there on the website and have them shipped directly to you to be able to taste before you go.

[00:45:07] If you'd like to, and don't forget when you go, make sure you tell them you heard about them on this podcast, Texas under vine. All right. After the interview was wrapped up, it was time to be able to sample and taste some of these great wines that I've been looking at on the shelf during the interview. I was really excited and anxious to do that. And I've got to say those wines did not disappoint. They did have such a great variety of wines there.

[00:45:32] I had actually already gotten to taste their sparkling rosé wine and already knew that I liked that one. So I was really excited for what some of these others might bring to my palate. And, uh, again, very great wines. Um, they had lots of flavor, lots of variety for almost any palate that you bring there to dry come out Creek. They're going to have something for you. And I found many things that I liked. As a matter of fact, came down to that point, you know what I'm talking about?

[00:45:59] I have to pick my library episode bottle and this winery for sure had me torn. I had maybe three different wines that I kept going back and forth between because I loved all of them and I couldn't make a decision, but I finally, I had to really pull my pants up here as a, be an adult and say, okay, I got to make a decision. So what did I choose? Well, I actually chose something that's a little different than the things I normally do.

[00:46:23] I only choose when I pick a wine and as listeners and avid watchers of my podcast might know, I typically lean more towards those big, bold reds, but this time I chose the 2023 Riesling. So this is actually a beautiful white wine that I was able to taste and enjoy there. And it's from the Texas high plains for the fruit. And it was really, really nice.

[00:46:47] It had a really smooth palette that flavors of honey and peach with almost like some citrus in there as well. It would make an incredible pairing wine. Riesling pairs with a lot of different foods. Just a little hint and tip for you out there for wine pairing. But Riesling really does pair with a lot of things. But this would make such a great sipper on a warm Texas afternoon. A little cold glass of this Riesling would really go down very easily.

[00:47:17] So that became my library bottle for episode 58 of this podcast. And their staff, Sheila was right. We had such a great time as we did our tasting, bantering and talking about wine and the wine industry and things. They are a great staff on site. They're going to really take care of you during your tasting while you're there, I'm sure. All right, well, it's come that time for me to bring things to a close. However, before I go, would you be willing to do me a quick favor?

[00:47:47] It's free to you and it only takes a few seconds. But one of the things that really helps this podcast to get to be seen by other listeners, I know there's a lot more people out there that would really benefit from learning about the Texas wine industry. It would really help the wine industry as a whole. And they would love to come visit new places. They just don't know about them and they haven't heard about the podcast. So share the podcast with your friends, people that might be interested in checking out some of our Texas wine scene.

[00:48:15] But also, if you could go to wherever you get this podcast, whatever provider, whether that's audio or if you're watching a video on YouTube and leave me a rating and review. So if you leave those ratings and reviews, it does help me move up in the algorithm just to kind of be seen by other people that might want to know about Texas wine. And it's been a few months really since I've gotten some ratings and reviews. And I'd like to see a few more of those come in. I'm not the kind of podcaster that tells you what type of review to leave me or how many stars.

[00:48:45] That's up to you, whether you like the content. But I would appreciate at least some honest feedback and some of that rating and review only takes to get a few seconds. It's free for you and it benefits the podcast. So I would really appreciate it if you could do that for me. Also, if you're watching this on YouTube, make sure to like, follow and subscribe. And if you're watching on YouTube, if you've been to Dry Kamau Creek Vineyards before, leave a comment down below.

[00:49:10] Tell me what was your favorite thing about Dry Kamau Creek Vineyards when you went or if you have not gone but now you're excited to after watching this episode, make sure and leave me a comment that tells me what are you most looking forward to seeing when you go. And with that, my time is up. So don't forget, subscribe to the podcast and follow my socials to be notified anytime a new episode is released. And until then, happy trails and bottoms up, y'all.

[00:49:41] Thanks for listening to Texas Undervine. We strive to provide you with the best information about wine businesses all over Texas. Be sure to check out our website at texasundervine.com and follow us on our socials at Texas Undervine to stay up on all the upcoming episodes. Please email us with any suggestions or feedback. Also, contact us if you're interested in donating, sponsoring, or advertising on the podcast just to help us cover our expenses and bring even more great info to you in future episodes.

[00:50:10] Above all, travel safely and most especially, drink responsibly. Howdy, Vine Trippers. Did you know that I now have a merchandise store for Texas Undervine? I only have a handful of limited items, but you can go check those out and wear your Texas Undervine swag if you'd like to tell all your friends about the great wine locations we have

[00:50:38] here in Texas and maybe get them interested in the podcast as well. So, there are things like t-shirts, there's a hoodie, there's a beanie, a ball cap, things like that. But one of the most exciting things I have right now is my limited time offer t-shirt. That's my season one t-shirt. So, this is your Tasting Through Texas, Texas Undervine season one t-shirt. It's only going to be available for a little short amount of time. On the back, it has all the different locations like a band tour t-shirt. So, this is a limited time item and you can go out and get it now.

[00:51:07] And one of the great things about that t-shirt is a portion of every sale goes to support the Texas Hill Country Winery Scholarship Fund. So, you know that by buying that t-shirt, you're also investing in the growing and flourishing of an amazing wine industry here in Texas and all of those people that are going to come and make it even better. Check out that merchandise store. It's on my website at texasundervine.com. Just go up to the top. You'll see the link for the merchandise store. Thank you.