Prochnow Vineyard (Hill Country)

Howdy Vine Trippers, before we dive into today's episode, I have some really exciting news to share with the Texas Undervine community. We are officially on board as a media partner with the inaugural Hill Country Wine Camp, sponsored by the Texas Hill Country Wineries Association. If you've been looking to take your appreciation for Texas wine to the absolute next level, this is your premier event for the summer. It's happening from July 17th to the 19th at three different wineries out on the Wine Road 290 in the Texas Hill Country. And it's going to be an immersive deep dive weekend featuring master classes, exclusive tastings, and a chance to learn directly from some of the top winemakers and vineyard minds in our state. Dina and I will be on the ground capturing all the festivities to bring you an exclusive featurette later on in the summer. But you need to secure your spot now because registration will close soon. Head on over to Texas Hill Country Wineries.org and look for their events page to find the inaugural Hill Country Wine Camp. You can grab your tickets there and make sure to let them know that Wine Guide Scott sent you. Now let's get into today's show.

I think what sets us apart is that uh our story. I mean, we are homegrown, met in high school. Our parents, our parents' parents, and our parents' parents' parents. They're generational people from Fredericksburg.

Welcome to Texas Undervine, an exploratory podcast to scout out the best Texas wine country has to offer. 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, exciting to visit, and experience it 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. Most of all, enjoy hearing about the rapidly growing wine industry in this day and what makes our wines and wineries the best eye fellow Vine Tripper. Welcome to episode 82 of the Texas Undervine podcast. I'm your host, Wine Guide Scott, and I'm so glad that you joined me for this trip today through the Vines. Before we get into the meat of the show, though, I wanted to make you aware of a few events coming up that I'm going to be a part of. So I will be volunteering at the Grafted event that will take place at Rinwood Ranch on July the 23rd. And if you want to find out more about that event, make sure you go to Texaswinoction.com/slash grafted. I'm also looking forward to in July headed to the Hill Country for the inaugural Hill Country Wine Camp that's going to be going on from the Texas Hill Country Wineries Association. You can find out more about those tickets at Texas Hill Country Wineries.org. It's going to be from July 17th to July 19th. Make sure to get your tickets while you can. Also, you're going to want to make sure to stick through to the end of the episode to find out my wine wanderer bottle that I chose for this particular episode, one that I can't wait to share with you. It's a 2023 vintage that's crisp, refreshing, and perfect for these June and summer afternoons. But I'm going to keep it secret for a little while longer. All right. Today we are traveling past the iconic enchanted rock to visit a place with an incredible story and even deeper roots, Procknow Vineyard. And today I'm going to be sitting down with the owners Ross and Valerie Procnow to learn about their journey from the clinic and the classroom to the world of grapes and wine. There were so many great things to learn about this spot. First, it's important to know that this particular property has been in Ross's family since 1960, and it consisted of over a thousand acres. And this is where Ross grew up working hay and alfalfa and things like that on this particular ranch. Also, it's a fun love story in that Ross and Valerie actually were high school sweethearts. They grew up in Fredericksburg. They met when their families had retired from the military. They were both military families and retired back to the Fredericksburg area, and they met in high school and they've been together ever since. It's also interesting to note that Ross leads a little bit of a double life. He comes into Austin on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to practice pediatrics as a doctor before heading to the ranch on Thursdays through Sundays to work the Vineyard Rose and to provide incredible wine. The tasting room here at the Vineyard is actually a really cool story in and of itself. It's a beautiful German heritage home that was actually in Lockhart and it was going to be destroyed. It was going to be demolished. And they ended up purchasing it. They cut the home into three pieces, put it on trailers, and brought it directly to their ranch and settled it on the property to reassemble it and turn it into this gorgeous, beautiful tasting room that they have on site at Prognow Vineyard. And Ross and Valerie's philosophy is they really want to be a family-friendly destination. So Ross, with his specialty with pediatrics and Valerie, with her experience in the classroom, they really know how to connect with kids and understand what it's like for families to have kids and want to get out and do things. And so they really make it a family-friendly place. There are a lot of places to stretch out. They've got a placecape on site. Ross even has a vine train, a little bucket train that he loads kids into and carts them around the vineyard for little tours. They love families. They are also dedicated to 100% Texas wine here at this vineyard. And they are actually working under the tutelage of John Rivenberg with his incubator. And they are getting some of those wines made. And they're all 100% Texas wines while they're waiting on the vines in their vineyard to actually mature enough. They've got their first wines in bottle. They're waiting for them to age. They've got Cabernet, Barbera, things like that that are going to be coming out really soon to have their great estate wines. And I mentioned that they love families. Their family is very close to their hearts and a part of this whole process as well. It's interesting, great stories you'll hear in the interview about how their son actually drew the label that's on their bottles, which is actually from a picture of their daughter reading a book on Crab Apple Creek, which is right there on their property. They really believe that that family-friendly emphasis that they have and their homegrown roots that they have there from Fredericksburg really sets them apart. And they really want you to come and see this beautiful vintage tasting room that they have, as well as taste some of that fantastic wine that they're producing. I really enjoyed hearing the story of how they brought this historic home there from Lockhart all the way there to their spot in Fredericksburg. Really interesting story in the interview. But instead of me telling you about it, why don't we let you hear it directly from Ross and Valerie? Let's go to that interview. Got a own personal tie to this particular location or to the owners for sure. And looking forward to exploring some of that, sharing some of that, and to hear more about this beautiful location, this great tasting room that we're in here today. So without further ado, let's go to Ross and Valerie and hear a little bit about their story. So, Ross and Valerie, welcome to the podcast. Uh, would love to hear a little bit about your story. So, how did you get into this crazy world of the wine industry?

Okay, our story began with uh a journey with my cousin, my first cousin, who has Triple N winery close to Dallas. And we went to visit her and saw all the uh her wine and her vines that she started growing, and we got interested in maybe doing the same thing on our property. We had inherited Ross's property from his dad about three years earlier, and we were looking for a way to develop it into something that we could leave a legacy for our children. And so um we talked to John Rivenberg, who is our viticulturist, and he is our farmer, and he's our business consultant, and he's been our winemaker. And um we decided to go forward with the project of planting vines, and then we found this lovely German heritage home. So we added it on the site for our uh venue tasting room, and now we opened our wine uh room and venue and love what we've had what we've created here. Yeah. Yeah, so it's just been a journey. It's been about a five-year journey. Ross has really taken on the project of uh knowing our wines and doing uh working in the vines and developing um our wine tasting techniques and things.

And as far as the um why we uh we we planted also this uh the the ranch that we have, it's uh it originally was about a thousand-acre ranch that my dad bought in in 1960. Um he uh he and my mom grew up here in Fredericksburg. Their parents grew up in Fredericksburg, and so several generational uh Fredericksburg uh folks. And uh so he bought this land in um in 1960, uh built it up, uh, bought adjoining ranches until it uh uh got to be a little over a thousand acres. And then when he passed uh several years ago, um half went to me uh and Valerie, and um half went to uh to my sister and her husband.

Okay.

So we said we had the land and uh we felt we would enhance the value and uh create something special to uh to pass on uh to to the next generation here. So um that's uh that's the story of how we got uh got the land and we decided that uh it would be a good uh a good venture.

Yeah. Well, I have viewers, I have a special tie here to Dr. Pratt now. As I was at the Hill Country Wine Symposium a couple of years ago, and I was sitting in a session, and here comes Ross and Valerie and sat down right in front of me, and I immediately recognized him, but I couldn't place where it was from. And it took me quite a while sitting in that session to rack my brain to put it together. And then I realized Dr. Procknow was the pediatrician for our two oldest children and our our youngest child for a short period of time years ago. And so I was like, wow, what is he doing here at the Hill Country Wine Symposium? So I I had to introduce myself to you afterwards, and of course, I know you see a lot of patients and a lot of people, but and so I'm sure you didn't recognize me. But making that connection and hearing that you guys were starting this vineyard was a really special thing for me. I really said I I can't wait till you guys are really up and running because I think you were just kind of getting things rolling at that time. So I knew I wanted to give it just a little time to get things going, and I knew I had to get out here to see you guys. But tell me a little bit about that transition from the medical field into now being a farmer and a viticulturalist and winery owner and all of that.

Well, it's been um it, it's, you know, I love pediatrics, and that's still uh where where my where my heart is. Right now, um uh several years ago, um, I was thinking about uh focusing a lot more on the uh on the vine aspect and also on the pediatrics. So uh Austin Regional Clinic offered me a special position. They call it the emeritus. And so um I still practice in Austin uh on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So uh we we go to our house in in Austin and I see my patients on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and then on Wednesday afternoon, uh Val and I get in the car and then we come here. This is the uh the the ranch uh here in in Fredericksburg where I grew up from high school on up, and that's another story we'll have to share with you. So um on uh Wednesda uh Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, uh we're here at the uh the vineyard working the uh the vines and uh meeting people and and serving the wine and learning our our skills here. And then we go back uh to Austin and uh do my uh pediatrics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and still get uh so I still you know have the the best of of both worlds. Uh still see my patients and learning a lot about uh about the vineyard world.

You're living that true two-sided life right now, two identities and traveling back and forth. Keeps us very busy. I bet. Yes. I bet. But it's great to have that side. I say side, I mean this is a full-time thing, but uh to have those two things. So a hobby that you're really passionate about that you really enjoy to keep that going, right? Enjoy that a lot. All right. Well, you teased us a moment ago with a story about you growing up on this property. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that.

Well, um uh my dad and uh and mom uh again grew up here in Fredericksburg, and then in 1960, uh, while my dad was in the Air Force, he was uh a B-52 pilot. So uh so he um he left home, left uh Fredericksburg, and uh and then we we moved around every two years. Uh we moved, I was born in Japan, and uh every couple of years we uh we found a different uh different place. So um he bought the land in 1960 and um then we we traveled around. Uh the interesting thing also is that Valerie's dad and mom, they grew up in Fredericksburg, and uh and her previous generations grew up in Fredericksburg, and her dad was also a pilot. He was a C-130 pilot, uh the Hercules.

My mother was a canop. Oh, cool. He associated with the nursing and so uh yes, my dad was a C-130, the Hercules pilot. And then he retired when I was a freshman, freshman. So we were both freshmen when we our parents came back to fill the experience.

Yeah, so we have um they they they both retired when we started high school here. And uh so uh we met in high school, our eyes met. It was like first love at first sight. So uh so we dated uh you know through high school, I guess about eight or nine years, and um and then uh got married. So that's why uh we we were like Fredericksburg, as battling billies, and Val was the cheerleader, and uh I was in the band, and so you had a lot of lot of past history. A lot of heritage here.

Oh yes.

Yeah. So it uh we our our our past was very similar, you know, both uh military brats and uh just kind of kind of uh came together. So now after uh you know 47 years of marriage and uh 15 grandkids, uh we're ready to start uh start this project. Yeah. One of the things that uh that that I mean uh part of the story was uh you know, my my dad being in uh being in the Air Force and uh having a military career and being a war hero and everything. We bugged and bugged and bugged him. We said, Dad, we need your story. We want to hear what happened. And so he finally, uh on the back porch of our house, he got a little, a little battery-powered tape recorder, and uh he dictated his life over a period of uh several weeks. And so we have all of that here, and we uh it's a life well lived. We took his uh his recording, um, we digitalized it. Uh our our kids did that together. We took a bunch of uh family pictures and uh we put his uh his story all together, which is really exciting. And one of the treasures of of this particular book is uh we found his war diary, uh little war diary that uh that he was uh when he was doing the uh diary of European tour. And whenever he would go on uh on on his flights uh you know over uh over Germany and that, uh, he would put uh what happened and some of that. So so we put that in the very back of this. So that's pretty cool. I mean, yeah. So um that that snake.

Life well lived, yes.

Yeah, life well lived.

We both had wonderful parents and treasured their what they taught us and uh um how they raised us and opened the world for us. So we had wonderful parents.

And they were the best of friends. I mean, my my parents were about ten years older than than Valerie's parents, but uh uh when we were in high school, they uh they played bridge together, they got together, they uh they went out to dinner. And then as uh as my dad got older, my mom passed, and and as he got older, then Valerie's uh dad would come over here and help him do the uh uh do the farming and and that and just uh they were they were great friends. Yeah.

I hope.

This is a true family farm for generations, yes, over half a century. Well, tell me a little bit about this house. Uh Valerie, you were telling me a little bit before we started the interview about kind of how you acquired this. This is such a beautiful building here. This this the structure and the way you decorated everything is just gorgeous. But tell me the story of this location.

Well, we planted our vines in the field across from this beautiful home. And then we were thinking about what we wanted to do for our tasting room. And I had seen a log cabin structure, something old timey. I wanted to keep the vintage feel, but uh wasn't quite sure on what we would do. But then I was uh looking at uh Facebook Marketplace and I was looking at old old homes that were on South Lamar and Austin.

I didn't even know they had homes on Facebook Marketplace.

I went and talked with the gentleman. He showed me two homes and one I actually bought. And I got on the phone with Ross and I said, Honey, I I bought a home. And he said, We need a venue. So I told the man, we need a venue, and he said, I have a beautiful home that um possibly will open up for you soon. And so four days later, I came to see this home in Lockhart, Texas, and it had a uh highway over it. It was going to be demolished. And so right away I bought the home, and within a month it was on this spot. Wow. John Rivenberg and us decided the location for the venue and how the house should be positioned. We made a foundation. They cut this house. Well, first they took off the whole roof, then they cut it in three pieces and trailer trailered it here. It went through Fredericksburg. So trailered it here, and they just lined it up and pushed it together and created this beautiful.

Super glued that.

Super glued. No, we had a carpenter in here for at least a year and a half, and he was very diligent and he did a beautiful job. And so we're really pleased with what he did. And uh, we added this wallpaper that you see in this room. But all the wood woodwork, everything, we haven't changed much of it at all. It was just a few minor things to make it, you know, venue worthy. Uh, but people have love, they come in and just see the beauty in it, like you did in your beautiful life, and just appreciate all the vintage pieces and heritage that we tried to bring, continue uh with it. So anyway, it's it's become uh an integral part of our winery and people's experience here.

Yeah.

But the most beautiful is the back patio, because the back patio we enlarged very big and we put beautiful Fredericksburg trim on the back. And the back lawn is where all the you know parties have been and the experiences because we are really family friendly, and so our back lawn has a big playscape and a lovely place for fit families to come and just enjoy and sit and relax. You know, and kids can play, parents relax. It's great.

Well, that doesn't surprise me as a pediatrician that you're very kid friendly with all of that, and love to have the kids here. You guys know that. I I love this this beautiful mural that you were just talking about. Did y'all have that made or no?

We found it online, but it was selected because that one scene that's behind you reminds me of uh the scene I had from my Kane City home as I was growing up as a teenager of Fredericksburg. That's all the lights and the little city and everything. My dad had a beautiful patio, and we would sit down and look at the lights of Fredericksburg. And then it has a creek on it that reminds us of Crab Apple Creek, where we're located, and all the cattle, you know, that we have on the land as well. So it just fit perfectly with what we were trying to create here. And what you do is you just tell them the scene you want, you tell them the measurements of the walls, and they create it for you. Craft it. And a man from Fredericksburg came out, an older gentleman, he was about 75, 80 years old. Oh, but he was so good at what he did, and he just put it up beautifully for us. So it was just some really nice touch.

It is beautiful. And the thing is, it does look like this scenery out here. And it it to me it almost makes it feel like you're sitting in this room, but almost as if the walls aren't. Here and it's like this the horizon through the window continues, and like that's what you're looking at. You know, all we need is the vineyard right over here, you know, and it would be the same.

Well, also, Valerie's uh really a master at uh at decorating it. All these uh these old tables, these are singers' sewings, uh sewing machines, and uh we had the uh the carpenter make a top, and so when people come here and drink wine, they can even exercise their feet with a little, you know, so it's uh it it's pretty um pretty fun.

And now we have bingo, like we had a huge group in this room, a big bingo game night on Friday evenings, and they love it. It's very fun.

Yeah, we're looking for uh for for ways to you know for people to uh to to come in and enjoy the uh the country. A lot of our neighbors uh especially after the we have bingo now on the first Friday every uh uh every month. And um a lot of our neighbors say, Oh, thank you for bringing us all together. And uh it's so it's it's it's very uh very encouraging. A lot of uh the the locals are are coming here.

Yes, we've made so many new friends. Yeah. This has been a great opportunity for us to get part of the community and make friends here, and it's been wonderful.

Yeah, it's been really nice. And also the uh Val mentioned the uh the back porch. It's a large area. It's got uh a lot of uh nice post oaks, uh has a playscape, um, a lot of nice picnic tables. And then one time when Valerie and I we were driving back and forth from uh from from Fredericksburg to Austin, um, I said, uh we need something more for the kids and for family. So we uh we looked up on online and uh and bought a uh a little bucket train. So we call it uh the Procno Vine Train. And uh we have an old golf cart and we've got five little uh buckets uh with wheels and seats and everything. And we take uh we originally bought it for the kids to drive up and down and see our old uh house uh down the road and go through the vines, and uh, but uh the adults it turn out that they love it too. So we've had uh squeeze it. Yeah, oh yeah, they we've had uh oh oh they love it as much as kids.

So this is a conductor right here. He is he is it, yeah.

It's a lot of fun, it's pretty bumpy. I took Valerie on it once and she's on what she said it's too bumpy, but it's uh it it it's fun.

Yeah, it's a lot of that. So you got doctor, engineer, winery owner, viticulturalist. You got a lot of titles going on the hat over there, little feathers going.

It's fun, it's really fun. He pulls up the vine train to the back of the property, and the kids just run.

Oh, it's hilarious. They see the train and move. Yeah, yeah, it's that's right. And I've got uh a little um a little train horn, so I I blow on that and they well, they they come in and it's uh gorgeous. Yeah, it's it's great. It it's really very energizing. You know, even on a on a on a tiring, you know, you wake up tired, it's like, oh gosh, I'm so tired. And then you see the kids and the families, and yeah, it's really it's uh very energizing. It's a lot of fun.

Well, and that gives the parents some peace of mind that they can sit down, relax, enjoy a little bit of wine, and not be worried about, okay, what are the kids doing where they're you know, they know you're taking care of them, they're out having fun, they're doing their thing, and it kind of takes a little bit of the, I think, peace of mind.

And especially now, uh a lot of the uh the the venues and the vineyards are are not, you know, they're they're kind of focusing on on above uh 21 group. And with our large area, I mean we've got uh we've got 500 acres of of ranch and we've uh we've got 40 acres of place where people can just uh stroll down the vines. We've got a creek that if they're very adventurous, they can go down to the creek. And also with the kids, uh you can have a lot of children here and the people that don't particularly enjoy, you know, the the children, the the kids are far off, so they they can still um the other folks can still enjoy solitude and and peaceful and and the beauty of the area. So it's it's good for you know for the for the young and old, I think.

I was a kindergarten teacher in a first grade and a third grade teacher. So Ross and I both know how to like move kids gently and you know Yeah.

Sometimes it's like, okay, kids, uh, let's let's go to the playscape. Or if they get you know a little bit too excited, uh I get the train out and then I'd I take them out for like 30 minutes or 40 minutes and then they're they're gone. So it's fun. Not that long, but it is firm. Yeah.

Well, tell me a little bit about the name. I I get it, it comes from your name, Prot Now Vineyard. But what made you decide to to name it that?

We we talked about naming uh naming other uh with with other names. It's uh it was a while ago. I mean, like Crab Apple Creek or um, you know, because that's the that that's the area the creek that goes on the edge of our property is Crab Apple Creek. And then somebody said, that's not a good name. You know? Crab Apple wine. But then, you know, my my dad uh was a big part of the uh the community here uh for a long time. So it's just legacy. We just yeah, we wanted it to be part of the family, have uh have the Procnow name. Uh not being boastful, but my dad and mom, they were they're a big part of the community. And so this is uh this is our ranch. It's been in the family, so it just kind of made sense to have Procnow Vineyards. Mm-hmm.

And the label, I don't know, but you can see it, but that is our daughter sitting on the ledge at Crabapple Creek. There's a ledge on the creek, and she was sitting on there uh holding a book, and this is a picture up here. I don't know if you can see it, but that's a picture up there that it's um taken from. And our son illustrated that picture and uh but put a wine glass in her hand instead of a book, yeah, and had her profile show. So that is our our logo and sort of our you know, something people look at and and instantly think of us. So it's it's a really good uh we're proud of it because it came, our children, our child is on it, and then our child drew it. I mean, it's just part of the family. Yeah. Yeah, so we're very proud of it.

Two and that legacy as it goes down. And then our daughter-in-law for uh for the first year we were uh we were here, she was the uh the the manager, and uh now she's got a baby, so she's uh sort of something else. Yeah, start starting to do something else. But yes, the whole family has really And some of our kids are interested in uh in learning the the the wine and how to make wine, and so um eventually it'll be uh be a lot more more family, but it's it's very much uh family. Everybody is uh doing their part.

And as a a graphics person, I love I do graphic design, things like that. I love the design of that logo. It's a very old world feel, almost a German style heritage on there. What what gave you the inspiration to do that?

Well, we studied, we looked around and saw uh different um labels and logos that we really liked that we were drawn to. And um we tried to incorporate our look with what we liked, and that's what we came up with, and that's what he, you know, he drew.

And we told Caleb uh, you know, kind of our our vision, and uh, and he he came up with uh several different uh uh different formats and different looks, and then this is the one that that we decided. The uh the the bottle, I mean, on the top, that's uh the the uh Vereinskirch, and then that's the uh Fredericksburg's original uh courthouse that's in uh market plots in the center of town. And then the rest of it kind of depicts our ranch. It has uh antlers and uh and and just uh vegetation and and then the creek, that's crabapple creek, and then then our daughter uh on the little ledge that's that that's still there, that's her favorite sitting spot where she used to like to sit and read. So uh that that's kind of our inspiration, just all the all the things about the the nature and the beauty of uh of the ranch and and Fredericksburg and country.

I love that. Yeah, it's it's gorgeous, beautiful labels. Let's talk about the what's in the bottle though.

Oh yes, my bottle is good.

You have a vineyard. We talked a little bit about that. So, how big is your vineyard you have planted here on site?

It's 12 and a half acres. And we have about six different varietals.

What do you have planted there?

Uh we have uh Cabernet, Sauvignon, uh, we've got Barbera, we've got Roussan, uh Pickpull, Tanat, and then uh Petite Sarat.

Okay. And then how long is that? When did you plant that vineyard? It's about four years ago.

Uh-huh. It was 2020. The first three uh plants can't went in Vritals. Okay. And then the next year we put the other grouping in. So it was a two-year span.

And the interesting thing about uh about uh some people ask, well, why did you select these? Uh that was another uh sort of an interesting story. Uh John Rivenberg said he gave us about, I guess about 10, uh, eight or nine, ten different bridals and say, these are the these are the grapes that uh that do well here in this area. In our soil. In our soil, in yeah, in in the uh the uh the terroir of the area. And uh so we said, well, let's uh we got all of our family, you know, the and um all of our kids, and we tried each one of those uh those varietals, and then we as a family decided, oh, we like this, oh, we don't like that one that much. And then uh out of that little sitting down uh uh time, we we picked the ones that we uh we planted.

And we also sampled the wines that John had already prepared for us to sample.

Yes, uh-huh. Yeah, a couple of things he said, uh you you you need to have Cabernet Sauvignon because that's very popular. Um, and then he introduced uh two varietals to the Texas area, Pickpool, which is our probably our uh biggest seller for white wine. And then the Tanot, uh, we uh we won a gold uh medal on that in this in this recent uh Houston rodeo. And he said uh this is also a very good wine for this area. Uh he introduced Tanot to uh uh to the Hill Country.

So we're very proud of those wines. They're they're wonderful, but you know, uh we found that all of them have been so well received by our guests. People love our oma sweet. If you like sweet wine, and our rose is a very light, delicate rose, it's wonderful. And um it's just been a very good experience to have wines that people really love.

Yeah.

They come here and like they say, gosh, I've I love every one of them. And I'm like, wow, this is it's been very well received.

Yeah, that yeah, that's really good because uh people uh a lot of people come here, they don't know pickpool, they don't know Tanats, so they come in and say, Well, we'd like to do a wine tasting. Uh so we do have a wine tasting that offers all of our uh all of our uh uh varietals uh for $25. And uh we just go through uh through the uh through our our our repertoire of wines and um uh we talk about it, you know, tell our story, and uh we talk about uh each of the different different wines. And it's very, very uh exciting when people finish it and they say, you know, we've been to a lot of places where, you know, it's like maybe one or two wines uh that wet that we don't like, but we like all of your wines. We love all of your wines, and so that's very complimentary. Big compliment.

Yes.

And then only being uh open for like a little bit over a year, uh, we wanted to try to see how our wines compare with uh with the other areas. And so we that was our first uh adventure and competition as a big Houston rodeo, which they uh the biggest one in the city. Yeah, it's like uh thousand three hundred and seventy-one different uh different vineyards from all over the world. And uh we uh we won uh everything that we we uh put in. Uh we won silvers and our Tanat won uh won gold.

So that was I was surprised that they pulled it and went on gold too, yeah, because it's so yeah, good.

But but anyway, we'll try again next year. Interesting.

Yeah.

So the vineyard's been in, it's about 12 acres, been in for about four years now or so. It's in its fourth, fifth leaf. So you're really starting to get to full production on that vineyard. Do you source everything directly from just from that vineyard or do you source fruit from other locations or anything?

Oh yes, we we get our grapes from the high plains. Okay, the grapes from these uh these bottles came from of the high plains, except the Tanot came from Arrowhead in Stonewall. Okay, yeah, right, because ours weren't mature. So uh, but pretty soon it'll be our own wines here, and we have our Barberas coming out. It's a very small batch, but we are excited about uh having that bottle for our guests. Yeah, and um and our cab is is is aging.

Yeah, our a our cab is uh two years in barrels. Uh we age all of our red wines uh for three years, so it takes a process. You know, you uh you plant the grapes, you grow the grapes, then you uh then you harvest them, and then they have to age. So uh so it's it's uh it's a lot of input. And then finally you start getting uh getting the the estate. But that's our uh that that's our goal. We'd like all of our all of our wine right now is Texas wine. Nothing's uh imported from anywhere else. It's all Texas wine, which were also uh very important to us. But uh eventually we would like to have all of our wine offered here is our own estate. Yes, if we can. And you're right on the cusp of that.

Yes. That's gonna be really exciting when you start getting some of those estate ones coming out. That Barbera is gonna be a neat launch when that first comes out. So the tasting room itself here, we planted the vineyard around 2021. When did you open this tasting room here? About a year and two months ago.

Okay, yeah. 20 uh our grand opening was January of 2025. Okay. That was our grand opening. We had a soft opening in 2024 at the end of the year. And uh December.

And then January a year ago, uh, was uh was our official opening.

Okay. Well, let's talk about the the processing of your fruit and your wine. So and I know we talked a moment ago about John Rivenberg being your incubator. Faithful viewers of my program. Just saw an episode a couple episodes back where I was at Kerville Hills with John, and we talked a lot about his incubator program and the things that he's doing for people like you guys and and great starting great wine programs throughout the state. So I take it that he is doing a lot of that processing there. We don't do any processing here, it's all done there.

It's all done. Yes. He's totally in charge of that right now.

Gotcha. Yeah.

You know, maybe the next generation will take it further here, but not right.

What would you say is one of the biggest hurdles or challenges that you feel like you've had to face in this whole process of planting a vineyard and getting the tastier and going? I know there's been plenty of hurdles there, but what would you say has been some of the biggest things that you've faced and had to overcome?

Well, if you break things up like our vines, if you break like our vines, just the care of them and all the um attention that needs to go to our vines, it's a lot of work. I mean, we had no idea, honestly, that it would these little these little plants are like special little babies that you have to really do a lot of trimming, a lot of work to keep them healthy and watch them and make sure they're getting the water and everything and the fertilizer they need. And uh just they're a delicate little plant. Grapes are not an easy yeah.

I would say that's definitely the uh the the hurdle. I mean, the venue part that was a big deal, you know, uh putting the house together, um, year and a half process, uh furniture, um, landscaping and everything. But when it's done, it's done. Yeah. And uh, and and meeting people and talking to people and hearing other people's story, that's so energizing. And it's it's so so much fun. Um, the plants, like Val said, I mean, we were very naive. Uh, when I was growing up in in high school here, all of the vineyard there, that was uh that was hay, it was alfalfa. Um, and uh my dad and I, we would go and plant it and then uh it would grow. We would bale it, we would put it in the barn, and that's it, you know. And then next year, these vines, you know, are 12 and a half acres. It's like having, I would say, 10 two-year-olds that never grow up. And they never leave home, hopefully. Yeah, they never, but that's another another aspect, never leave home. But yeah, every plant, uh, you know, which we have thousands of them, you have to touch each single plant about four or five times. You know, trimming, uh weed control, um, fertilizing, watching them, um, pruning them because all of the strength of the of the the plant needs to go into the fruit. And grapes are just wild, you know. Again, they're they're like children, you know, children need to be tended, needed to be cared for, need to be loved, and constantly watched and disciplined. Um, and and plants are like that too. I mean, these uh so and with 12 acres, you're talking about thousands of those that you have to stay on top of. Yeah. So uh so I would say that that's the biggest um that's the thing that that we didn't really understand going into. I was more of like a alfalfa or hay guy and not a not a vineyard, but uh we're learning. Okay. Learning a lot.

And a second major challenge I would say is that we aren't on 290. So we are not where everyone else is, and the major crowds of people go through and decide where they want to. We're we're off the beaten path. We're on a good path because we're right by Enchanted Rock and we get a lot of visitors from in that have gone to Enchanted Rock or are waiting to go to the rock. They come here and we get to know them and you know, talk with them, but uh and share our wine with them. But just not having that kind of crowd out here all the time. We we are trying to have events and special things for them to do people to do when they come here. But we have found when people come here, they stay like a long hours.

Well, it's it's it's it's the atmosphere, you know, it's not 290. And so uh when when people come here, they they kind of accidentally find us. They say, Oh, we saw your sign going to Enchanted Rock. So when we came back, uh we um we wanted to come in and yeah, we we decided we we oh you have pizza, oh you've got pretzels, and we even have homemade cookies. So we decided to come here and eat, and uh we're gonna, you know, stay here for 30, 40 minutes, and then we're still talking to them three hours later.

Yeah, people relax here.

We've got hills and trees, and people come here, and it's just you can just see see them relax. Yeah. Uh my son, uh well, our son designed the uh the uh a t-shirt also that says, after your climb, come enjoy our wine. So a lot of people that that's kind of uh kind of like our our putter of our motto here, but it's very relaxing. It's it's uh the off of the beaten path, off of highway 290. Um it's um it it's good for the people that that that come here too because it's super relaxing.

And as owners, we really love to talk with everyone. I mean, Ross in particular. I do too. I love it too. But it is so refreshing and nice to meet all our new guests and find out who they are and where they're from and what they're looking for. I mean, it we've made so many nice friends here, and people have become members because they feel like they're part of the family, and that's what we want them to feel like because we're enjoying them as much as they enjoy being here too.

Yeah, so many people have have have stories. Everybody's got their story, and that's that's uh one of the things that uh that we really enjoy so much about this is getting to talk to people and and find out where they're coming from.

We had a uh Just sharing life with them.

We had a family from Florida. They found us somehow on Florida, and they uh they were coming up here to Fredericksburg and they made a reservation here from Florida to have a birthday party. So they had this the whole family, about 15, 20 people filled this room. And I said, How did you find us? Right. They said, Well, we just were looking uh for uh family friendly, family friendly, and and they only had one child.

Yeah.

They were just family friendly, well, yeah, what they loved.

It was such a great experience for them and us. It was wonderful.

It was great.

Yeah, we we got to I prepared a nacho bar for them and they loved it.

It was just super it was great, yeah. It was a lot of fun and they loved it too.

Very much a beautiful destination boutique winery to come to and relax and unwind in the country. As we were pulling up, I I told Dina, I said, Man, it's just such a beautiful little spot right here. Just a gorgeous, you know, being in Austin and growing up in Austin, uh not used to mountains and things like that for sure. You know, we got the hills, the hill country, everything, but it was really fun coming. Down that road and all of a sudden kind of come over the hill and there's Enchanted Rock rising up in front of us. And it's like, wow. And you drive right past Enchanted Rock and then come right down this the beautiful little there's a little valley, and then you come right down here into this little area here. It's just a really pretty, gorgeous spot.

Yeah, it's very picturesque. And and we love the land, you know. I mean, we get people all the time. You want to sell, you want to sell? It's like never but we we work the land.

Ross and I like the land, we we want it to make be maintained very well, and we've worked hard at keeping it very nice. And you know, it's a labor of love. It always has been for us. And um so this is just a continuation.

Well, back to the stars of the show for a moment. I would like to know personally, and it's just a personal question, what's your favorite variety? What's your favorite wines of the wines that you have?

Well, I cannot believe it, but I love the reds, the really bold, uh high tannins, very delicious, fruit forward. I love the cab and the tonats, especially with foods. You know, I don't really sit and just drink a bot a glass of wine.

Drink a bottle.

I only enjoy to have wine with my meals and uh appetizers and the tonot in the cab are just they're just so full of flavor. Yeah, for me.

Yeah. I guess just uh just sitting down as far as like the white wines, I like the pig pull. But um Val made some some salmon uh uh a couple of weeks ago, and uh we paired that with the Roussan, and that was then Roussan became my favorite.

It was yeah and we had some pizza with with the rose.

Yeah.

Or las lasagna, that's what it was, with the rose.

So they just one of the things with with the wine that that that's so interesting about wine is that you know, wine is good alone, but when it's paired with food, it just explodes with complexity and with uh with with flavor. Ironifies, right? Yeah, it is. It it's it's so strange. Uh but as far as like my favorite, I would say depends on my mood. I would say uh generally uh of the red uh tonat is is my favorite. But uh there's nothing better than than a good tonot in front of a fireplace at night, glass uh glass of wine just just chilling. Yes, uh it's it's very special.

We had a special uh pairing with Contigo Ranch that was planned uh this month, and uh we were sad that it wasn't we didn't have enough numbers to have it, but they had so they had made a beautiful uh menu around our wines that would have been so extraordinary. Uh Contigo Ranch is right around the corner from us, and they have a beautiful area and wedding venue there. And um they've been very gracious to us too.

Yeah, they've been they're a big help. They uh they have uh like a a lot of little Airbnbs, and it's a very uh very pretty place just uh uh just like Val said, about a mile down the road. So uh places for people to stay when it comes.

But then Ross's sister has this huge Airbnb right behind us for big, big groups. Oh well. I'd like a family to come. They come here all the time as well.

Uh-huh. Yeah, they've got uh Das Enchanted uh Cottage and Das Enchanted House, and uh that that's part of the ranch. When my uh when my my dad passed, she inherited half of the land, and that was uh some some old rock house that uh that they uh created into a really nice Airbnb.

So there's a lot of places that uh that are that are right next door that uh and then if you like the military uh heritage, uh we had the outpost that has also partnered with us. Okay. And it is a very fun Airbnb, and they have a hot pool uh sauna or whatever pool.

Yeah.

And um so we have a lot of places around us that have really stepped up and really wanted to work with us.

Interesting. With our military background, we uh we cater to the we have a 10% discount of uh for for military and veterans, and uh uh so anyway, we love our bets.

Yeah. Well, tell me for a moment, you mentioned an uh sweet wine that you had as well. So tell me a little bit about that one.

Well, that's a uh Muscat Canelli. Okay. Um we um figured that uh you know a lot of people really enjoy sweet wine, so we uh we we said we told uh John Rivenberg that we need to have a sweet wine. And uh Ulma's sweet, uh Ulma is uh German for grandmother. Okay. And so um we named it after after my grandmother. Uh she uh she grew up also in Fredericksburg. And so when we came, uh when when our family uh came to visit um uh Uma, uh Olma and Opa, she had a um a patch of dewberries in her backyard. And so she would uh pull the dewberries and she would also make her wine, uh, which was a dewberry. It's a really dark, super sweet dewberry wine. It was we had a dessert wine almost. Oh, it wasn't.

We were dating, we would go into the back room and go, oh, it tasted. It was so good.

So she had a cellar, and then whenever we would, I would say, Oma, can we have some of the your wine? And we would creep on down the cellar and she would bring out this black bottle and she would pour a little bit and we would sip the uh sip the sweet wine. It was delicious. It was so so it was uh it was a dewberry. So when we uh when we had our our um our wine, we said, Yeah, we need to call it omas sweet.

And actually, Meredith Reed makes that uh uh our omas sweet. Oh with you know she she worked with John, but that's a female um cream.

Well it's a muscat canelli. That's uh that's a grape. It's a white wine, and at the muscat canelli, it's uh it's a it's a French uh French grape and um uh probably the the most popular uh grape varietal in in France of of that particular muscat uh variety. So it's a very sweet, it's off sweet, it's not super sweet, but in a little bit, a little bit on the dry side. So a lot of people really like it.

Yeah, it's a good balance.

Well, and I love that family history story there, that winemaking's already been in your roots of your family before you even knew I guess so, yeah. It's being passed down through the generations. So well, tell me about what are some of your most popular wines with your customers? What are the ones you see customers just raving and buying bottles of and taking home?

I think the Pic Pou Blanc was the white of the that's their favorite. That one is chosen most. And probably, well, there's a toss-up between the cab and the tonot. Tanot right now is really taking the glory because it won gold. Right? Yeah, it won gold, so everybody wants to try it, but the cab is it's really good.

Yeah, yeah. People really uh uh like like both. But uh I would say that the the Tanot is probably the most popular red. At least we seem to run out of it uh a lot. Um but yeah, the pickpull and the Tanot, but the cab is is very we're looking forward to presenting our a Barbera.

Can't wait to have our own red, too.

It's gonna be a very small uh uh amount. We only had uh five five hundred pounds of uh of of our Barbera. Um that particular uh vintage, uh we had some late frosts, lots of wind, lots of rain.

A lot of rain.

But uh John says it's uh it's very good. So we'll we'll see uh we'll see how it is. Do you have any idea when that's gonna release?

In a few months. Okay. So we're looking at by the summer, probably.

Yeah, our son uh designed the labels, and so uh it's gonna be our first estate wine. So the label's gonna have a different look instead of white, it's gonna be dark, uh, you know, kind of black with a uh with with a sort of a gold or red. Um anyway, it's gonna have a different look.

Yes.

I like that. Watchers, you gotta look for that this summer. It's coming up soon. You gotta get some of that barbera when it comes out. So tell me about what are some of the things that you do here on site. You you mentioned the bingo thing the uh earlier. We're kind of coming back around to that. But what other types of events or things do y'all usually put on here at the winery?

Well, at Easter, we had an Easter egg hunt for the the kids, the families come out and we have a celebration. On Saturday, we like to be closed for Easter actually, but uh be the day before. Sunday.

Yeah. Sunday we're closed, but uh but Saturday.

We are starting to have more live music. Okay. And we have uh members, our members we have a special uh time for them to come and uh gather together, pick up their wine, wine pickup, and have a special food for them and music for them. And um we have bingo's on Friday night. And also we are having a star watching party on May 1st. Um, they're gonna be coming out and bringing their giant telescopes out here. The skies are fantastic and open, and uh you'll see so much. And he's gonna be coming after bingo on May 1st.

It's um yeah, it's gonna have a good moon and and the stars. And uh, we already have been with uh with this uh uh person uh several times in the rings of Saturn and the stars here. I mean, we're far away from from town, well, 12 miles anyway, so we don't have a lot of the city lights that uh so the star star viewing also with with harvest. Um now our club membership is kind of growing, and so we call on our uh club members uh for harvest uh to come here and um and help with the harvest. And that's a lot of fun. And stomps, stomp the grapes. Yeah, we uh we do the the the grape stomping and uh we get t-shirts, and then after the stomping of the grapes, they put their feet on the t-shirt and uh you know there and and have uh uh I think our our last t-shirt was uh some like it hot. And uh when put our feet on it. Uh so that that's fun. Harvest and grape stomping and the Easter egg hunt. We had an event. St.

Patrick's Day, we had an event.

St. Patrick's Day. That was fun. Yeah.

It's a wide calendar full of lots of things going on all the time here, it sounds like well. Let's think about one of my viewers. Now they're watching this and they're getting really excited and thinking, I've got to get out there as quick as I can. So let's talk about what does it look like when a new person comes in to do a tasting? We talked to you, you talked a little bit about tastings a moment ago, but let's let's really dig down into that. So when they do a tasting, they do a tasting of the wines that's a set flight, I presume, of the wines that you have. And you said it was $25, I think. Yes. Do they need reservations to do that or can they just walk in?

No, they can just walk in. They can walk in. Okay.

We have uh two whites, our rose, and the two reds are in the flight. Okay. And so they can either choose to stand at the bar if we're not really busy, or they can find a a table or get on the the porch uh and enjoy their flight and you know, just enjoy their wines. And we uh serve them um if they choose. We have charcuterie boards to to um enhance the the experience or pizzas that are just delicious. It's uncle's pizzas and um um our pretzel pretzels with beer cheese, cookies, yeah, with beer cheese.

So that's good. It is good. So they come in and uh uh we we greet them and uh they like like Val said, they can either do it at the bar. And uh the bar is actually uh and uh you found that in in Lano.

That came from Lano. That's the vintage old bar from Llano, Texas. So it's it's a it's a good experience to stand there. We have got some great wine servers. Our wine ambassadors are so uh engaging. They're so engaging. We're so proud of them. And uh they make the experience wonderful. And then Ross comes in sometimes when he's able to not be on the vines or work it out here. He comes in and and he does a beautiful wine tasting.

Yeah. Teach teach people. Well, a lot of people are very experienced, so they don't need to be taught, but it's good to talk about the wines and where they're from and and and what um uh what they can expect from it. So uh so we it's a very sort of interactive, um hands-on kind of uh uh kind of a wine tasting. And like Val said, they can do it anywhere. They can do it at the bar if they enjoy uh that part, or uh we can start them off at the bar and then they just uh choose uh out in the back porch or even uh out underneath the trees. If they want to go out underneath the trees, we take the wine tasting to them there. So uh so they they've got they've got a choice. There's a lot of uh pretty uh views, a lot of porches. Uh when we when we moved this, we also added uh some big uh porches that uh people can really enjoy. And I think that's where you do the live music out on the porches outside.

Uh-huh, and in the grass too.

Yeah. We had a Valentine's dinner here with a pairing. That was our first uh pairing attempt. And uh we had uh we had a classical guitarist uh here in the middle uh while people were uh were eating and having their their wine pairing.

He prepared a delicious.

Yeah, it was it was uh it was a lot of fun. Uh that was our first attempt.

And uh so well you mentioned earlier that you were in Austin for the first part of the week, and then you're here for the last part of the week. So what are your opening days and your hours?

We're open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11 to 6.

Okay.

And then Sunday we open from one to six. Okay. So we're open a little longer than some of the other wineries. So people come and uh get to take advantage of that to six. And um, but those are our hours.

Well, and I would think that's perfect for people that are out at Enchanted Rock in the middle of the day when the hot sun is out there. Come here, hang out, enjoy some great wine, and then go back to your campground there.

Yeah, and that's what a lot of people do.

Yeah.

Well, we know that you're kid friendly. We've we've spent some time talking about that. What about pet friendly? If somebody has dogs or things like that, they want to bring tuned.

We had a Doberman yesterday, and what was the other He was a rescue dog, I don't know. He was uh some furry bird dog that if they're on a leash, they can be on the porches and in the lawn. Okay, no, no dog is allowed each side, but uh they're certainly welcome. And uh so far we've had only good experiences, you know, with the dogs and the owners taking good care of them and making sure they're not bothersome to any other guests. But no, we welcome dogs. Um we really, really love the children, and dogs, we sure welcome them. Yeah, okay.

Well, again, it it's it's such a big place, especially out in the back back area where um where you know you can you can really spread out and feel alone, secluded.

Well, if you need to if you want to, if you want to.

Put your devices away, come enjoy the beautiful nature.

Yeah, there's not seek people on their phones that much.

Yeah, well, the the the trouble is with here, we're it it's kind of remote. So if um unless you connect with our Wi-Fi, you're off the grid. Okay. You know, so so that's uh there's not much much of that phone stuff.

Do you have any maximum group sizes or anything like that?

Well, we if we have a big group and want to like reserve the whole back patio, then we have packages, you know, that we can offer to people. And we've had already um uh rehearsal dinners and welcome parties here on the back lawn, anniversary uh celebrations on the back lawn. Food has been brought in and catered out there, and it's been lovely, or I've prepared a huge charcuterie uh table for people. And um, so we have we have parties and even weddings that are being talked about now. So we're really excited about that.

The large groups we appreciate a reservation just so we can uh you know, yeah, like a heads up, 10, you know, 10.

Just to have the staff here.

Just yeah, so we can uh so we can be prepared, um, have have the proper number of uh of people. Uh so like today, the Rolls Royce group is coming today. We have the Rolls Royce Club coming.

The weather, we're not sure. They say there's gonna be about five cars and about, you know, 12 or 15 people. So they're gonna have a good spot on the back to look at the rain.

Yeah. What would you say are your busier and slower seasons you've noticed over the last year? What's the best time for people to come visit?

Um, spring and fall, I would say. Uh the the winter time, January and February, at least last year, um, they're they're probably the slowest season, although we have a great indoor venue that they can come and relax and get out of the cold. Yeah. Uh-huh. And then spring and fall, you know, the the vines are are pretty. The summertime is is beautiful too. It's just, it's, it's, it's hot, you know, but uh the inside is always cool, and we've got some nice fans. And the the unique thing about I think our particular place, we've got two hills. We've got one we call Eagle Mountain, the other we call the Titanic. And uh it it kind of is like a little uh little channeling effect where the wind kind of goes in and uh it's always breezy. Okay. Um, you know, growing up here we didn't have uh air conditioning in in our in our house, and uh you just open up a window and it was yeah, and the and the breeze blows. So it it doesn't seem particularly hot here. It's uh yeah, it's always uh got a nice breeze.

That's great. Well, do you mention a moment ago, I think I heard you talk a little bit hint at a wine club. So tell me a little bit about your wine club and how do people join?

Well, it's just uh it doesn't cost anything. I mean, it costs to buy the wine, but uh you actually get a discount of 10 to 15 percent off from anything you purchase if you become a member. Okay. And we just ask that um you purchase three to six bottles of wine every uh three months. And uh you can either come uh pick it up here or we can ship it to you. And um you can also choose if you want the red just reds, or if you just want whites, or if you want a variety, so we'll accommodate what you what you like to drink. But um our wine club is really growing. We've been very encouraged to the people that want to have uh the wine in their home. So that's been very exciting for us.

And also if they they if they come here uh once a month they'd get to two free glasses of wine. Exactly. So uh uh so that that's so we have a lot of local people doing that all the time. Yeah, yeah.

And that's fun.

Yeah, I like to then we get to know them. Well, I'm sure kind of being new, you're kind of getting something started. But I had a lot of viewers who live in all kinds of areas, and some may not be able to get here very easily. Do you do any kind of distribution or can people buy your wines on your website?

Oh, yes, definitely. You can go to the website and and um and make an order and we'll ship it to them.

Perfect. So it's a way for people to taste without necessarily having to be able to come. Oh yes. Oh, yeah. Exactly.

Well, we'd love that. We'd love for them people to reach out like that.

And and and one of our sons um is also um he he lives in Flugerville, and he's going to some of the uh the the wine uh uh bars uh that uh that cater to Texas wines, and he's trying to get uh get our wines out into cooked to some different areas.

Some of those roots put out there fun attended.

But it's Procnow Vineyard.com.

Okay.

Just look that up and it'll pop up.

Awesome. Well, I don't want to jump the gun here. I know we're just getting started. You've been open for a little over a year here, but you've done so much with this place. Beautiful tasting room, the vineyard, you're getting ready to do your estate wine, just so much growing and building here at Procnow. Do you have plans for future growth and things that you'd like to see down the road, even if they're just dreams?

I guess um I would like uh uh I would like eventually for uh for this to be passed down to our kids. Yeah. You know, I mean that that's this is uh one of the reasons uh that, well, the main reason that we did it to enhance the value of the uh uh of the property, to build something uh beautiful, uh, to build something where people can come and have uh have a meaningful experience and um and then as we as as we fade away. Uh we can move forward. As we move forward, yeah. That's not a legacy on. Yeah.

I I think our goal uh in our generation is just to make the best wines and have a good variety of wines that people enjoy. We've we've created what we think is a beautiful space. We want our vines to thrive. Uh that is what our goal is as a couple, and to create wines that can be passed forth, you know, to their to the generation. But then we're gonna hand it off. You know, it's then they will decide if they want to carry it further.

It'll be up to them.

But um, yeah, just make as many delicious wines and and also make as many friends and and members that love the the venue as well. That's our goal.

It's really about community too. Uh you know, just uh having uh having people that Come here and we had a group yesterday uh from Houston. They came, uh they they visited us uh a year ago when we first opened. They loved it, and they it was what six people? Six came all the way from Houston to mainly come back to our place. And uh that that's the kind of uh family that uh that we, you know, I mean, uh that that that we really want to build. The place that's so relaxing, so beautiful that um that people like that.

That's their home home vineyard.

Yeah.

Well, there are a lot of great places in Texas that people can go to drink amazing wine. What is it, in your opinion, you think really sets Prottenal Vineyard apart that would make my viewers say, I want to get there as quick as I can?

There's many things, I think. I think the one primary thing is a family-friendly love for family. You know, we invite, we welcome people to bring their children and their grandparents. We have we see generations out here. We see the grandparents bringing their children, and then their children's children are playing on the playground. That's what we envision, that's what we love, and that's that's our feel. You know, family is everything. And so um that is, I think, primary. Uh, what would you say?

And I would say uh what sets us apart, I mean, there's a lot of beautiful vineyards, there's a lot of beautiful venues. I think what sets us apart is that uh our story. I mean, we are homegrown, uh met in high school, our parents uh and our parents' parents and our parents' parents' parents. Uh there are generational uh people from Fredericksburg. Um, you know, our heritage, the land's been in our family here in 1960. We love the land, and um, and we're trying to make something very beautiful that people come here and say, wow, this is so nice. Uh, I'm leaving the hustle and bustle. I can bring my kids, I can bring my grandkids, I can come here alone and and just enjoy a beautiful family place with uh that has a lot of deep roots.

So yeah, deep roots and excellent wine.

And excellent wine. Yeah. I mean it's it's nice to have a beautiful venue, but if you don't have good wine, there's something lacking. But if you've got both, then um we feel like we do.

No, we do.

It's truly special to see how Ross and Valerie have taken those deep Fredericksburg roots and their military family resilience to create a sanctuary where the wine is as excellent as the family welcome is warm. Now make sure to check out their website before you go. It's www.procnowvineyard.com. You can find their information about their events that they have, like those First Friday bingo nights that Valerie talked about and those star watching parties. You can look into their wines there and even purchase them online. And check out that wine club so you can find out about the discounts that you get as well as the free glasses that you get when you sign up for the wine club, which is great for those of you that can get there and visit in person. And don't forget, when you go see them, make sure you tell them you heard about them on this podcast, Texas Under Vine. All right, now is the time of the show where I get to reveal my wine wanderer bottle for this particular episode. And at this particular vineyard, the one that I chose was not one that I typically would go for, but I was really captivated by it. It was their Sangiovese rose. This is a 2023 vintage of a ré that is beautiful, it's crisp, it's refreshing, just a lot of flavors dancing around your tongue. Beautiful notes of cherry and apricot, and maybe even a little melon on there as you taste this great rose. It's a fantastic example of a light and fruity Texas rose that's not afraid to show its complexity. Perfect for those afternoon back patios during the summer. Make sure you try some of this when you go to see them there at Procnow Vineyard. All right, well, I'm packing up the gear. I am pulling out of the driveway, taking one last look at Eagle Mountain and at Titanic Hill on my way out to trek towards my next destination to bring you all the great info from other wine destinations as well. If you're enjoying these trips through the Texas wine country, please consider joining my Patreon to help support the podcast and keep these stories flowing. And if you're watching on YouTube, make sure you like, follow, and subscribe. And for the YouTube crowd, I have a question for you I'd like you to answer in the comments below. Since Pragnow Vineyard is so family friendly, what is your favorite winery to go and visit when you have all the kids and the pets in tow? All right, another huge thank you to all the Patreon subscribers who keep this journey through the vines moving forward. 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. 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 TexasUndervine 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. Above all, travel safely and most especially, drink responsibly.