Harvest 2025 - From the High Plains through the Hill Country to San Antonio

The Season

As summer stretches into its second half and the sun casts its warmest glow on Texas vineyards, we find ourselves in the midst of one of our favorite times of the year—harvest season.

Our winery, proudly rooted in San Antonio, works closely with growers in two of Texas’s most distinct grape-growing regions: the Hickory Sands Region of Mason County in the Texas Hill Country and the expansive, elevated vineyards of the Texas High Plains. Each site brings unique character to the fruit and contributes to the diverse palette of wines we love to craft.

Throughout the growing season, I make the drive to both regions—hauling harvest bins, walking rows, sharing stories, and getting a first-hand look at how the vines are shaping up. It’s one thing to analyze acidity and sugar levels back at the winery, but it’s another entirely to walk beside the grower in the vineyard, listening as he explains how the season has unfolded—what the vines have been through, what challenges the grapes have faced, and how it’s all shaping the fruit we’ll be working with.

Harvest

Our harvest kicks off with the early-ripening grapes—typically Viognier, followed by Tempranillo and Riesling. These are the varieties that greet us first, waking up the winery and signaling that it’s go-time. The Viognier this year is especially promising, with warm evenings giving life to the beautifully aromatic clusters. Tempranillo is close behind, showing the structure and intensity we look forward to with every vintage. Riesling brings that bright, zippy lift with vivid acidity that’s hard to resist.

And for us, a new and exciting chapter is unfolding this season—we’ll be harvesting Graciano for the very first time. This spicy, vibrant varietal is something we've been looking forward to all summer, and we anticipate bringing it in near the end of August. It’s always thrilling to add a new grape to the mix, and we can’t wait to see how it expresses our Texas terroir.

From there, the season begins to taper, but not without a bold finish. Petit Syrah and Montepulciano will likely close out our harvest around mid-September, delivering depth and richness that round out the year’s story. These late-season grapes are often the final brushstrokes on the vintage canvas, and they tend to linger in memory—and in barrel—a little longer.

Behind the Scenes: When the Grapes Hit the Winery

What the bottle doesn’t always reveal is the coordination required to bring those grapes from vineyard to crush pad. Each harvest date is carefully timed with our growers and the transport companies who ferry grapes on refrigerated trucks—essential to maintaining quality through the Texas heat.

Typically, our grapes share a ride with others on a truck that winds its way from the High Plains, down through the Hill Country, making stops at various wineries before reaching our facility in San Antonio. Rarely, there may be further drops to wineries east or south of us, but on most trips, we’re the end of the line.  And when that truck arrives—whether it’s 3 p.m. or 3 a.m.—it’s all hands on deck. The rhythm shifts from anticipation to action. Bins are unloaded, clusters are inspected, and the fruit moves swiftly from truck to crush pad. In our winery, we handle it all: the crush and destem, fermentation, the pressing, and everything in between. It’s a dance of precision, speed, and care—and it’s one we look forward to each and every year.

This is the season that reminds us why we do what we do. Every grape tells a story, and together, they form the narrative of our wines, our growers, and the land we call home. 

Cheers to the 2025 vintage—it’s shaping up to be unforgettable.