Progress

I was visiting with a friend this weekend who chastised me for not keeping up with this blog. He's right that one a post a month is pretty bad, but as I've always said coming up with compelling content is a difficult process. Excuses aside, here's one dedicated to him.

This weekend the wife and I took a relaxing trip to the Hill Country of Texas. On our agenda was a visit to a winery that we'd visited some eight years ago. Our first visit to this winery was actually only the second time we'd ever visited a winery. The property had vineyards in front of a stone building that looked like a two story house. As we entered the facility we were warmly greeted by a middle age woman standing behind a bar. We were among a group of friends, and the group received a quick introduction to the winery and the process used to great the selection of wines that were created there. After we'd finished our first tasting, an older gentleman appeared from the back room and eagerly greeted our group. He was dressed in a khaki jump suit that you'd expect out of a grandfather figure. We learned he was the owner, winemaker, and patriarch of this estate. As my wife commented upon our departure, the older gentleman reminded her of what her grandfather would be like if he'd owned a winery.

We especially enjoyed the Fume Blanc wine from this establishment and about a year later I made a short detour upon a drive to San Antonio to pick up a bottle of Fume Blanc for my beautiful bride. Since then we'd not visited the winery until this past weekend.

So fast forward seven years. This weekend we eagerly waited to visit this vineyard that provided such fond memories. As we prepared we'd been online to see that the vineyard hosted a bed and breakfast, which we seriously considered staying at while in the area. On a brief visit to the Austin for a wine tasting event we picked of book by Wes Marshall on the Texas Wine Trail. The book offers a page on some 80 wineries in the state providing a brief history, wine picks, and general details of the experience the author had at each winery. We read the passage on the winery we had fond memories of and the encounter with the original owner as very similar to ours. Then we learned the gentleman passed away four years ago, and a San Antonio business man had purchased the winery.

As we turned into the winery we quickly learned many changes were in store for us. The original building that we'd visited was no longer the tasting room. A new large bell tower marked a new entrance with a windy road that cut through the vineyard. There was a whole complex that marked the tasting room with an adjoining event center. The tasting room hosted three bars and a large gift shop area. Our favorite selection was no longer offered, and the number of wine selections had increased by at least two fold.

Honestly the new face of the winery felt a bit commercial compared to our initial visit. My bride commented, if we hadn't know the original owner/winemarker had passed, we'd been impressed with how far he'd come. However, knowing that the winery had changed hands and such changes had taken affect made us feel that some of the charm of this little winery had been lost. I guess that's progress.