Written by Ben Cox – Local entrepreneurs Moira and Brian McCue are celebrating a year in business with Spirit of Texas Winery, and are celebrating with a new wine.
Located just a mile from the railroad bridge on the road to Zephyr, Spirit of Texas Winery is more than just a place for wine buffs to sit and talk about wine. Moira says “Sometimes people are afraid to come into a winery because they don’t know what to expect. I think that this is a good place to start. We’re small enough that we can sit and talk to you about it.”
Decorated with items found exclusively on their property, the winery has a warm, friendly, homey quality to it. “Everything, even the boat behind the bar was found here” says Brian.
“We knew that we weren’t gonna be a high end type of facility. We wanted to be a kind of place where anyone felt comfortable coming in. Over our door, one of our neighbors brought us a sign that says ‘Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends’ and that has really resonated strongly here with us. We see so many people who have made connections here at the winery” says Brian.
Even those who aren’t wine connoisseurs can expect to find something at Spirit of Texas. “A lot of times we can accommodate you. I can usually kind of guide you if you know what kind of beer you like” says Moira.
A booth built from an old pickup truck bed which was found on the property
While not processed or grown on site, there are plans to have 3 acres of grapevines in the not too distant future as well as a processing building so that they can be a more on site winery. Moira shares “The majority of the grapes we use come from the high plains, and one of our reds comes from the hill country.”
“Our wine maker is Penny Adams from the Wedding Oak Winery. That is where all the wine is produced.” All the wines are produced specifically for Spirit of Texas Winery.
The name ‘Star of Texas Winery’ seen on the bottle in front, was changed to Spirit of Texas after a conflict with another winery. The darker bottle is Rip Roarin Red, the new wine under the Spirit label.
Rip Roaring Red is the first wine to be bottled under the Spirit of Texas Winery label, after a name conflict with another winery. “We were told another winery had a line called ‘Star of Texas’ wines” says Brian. That was originally to be the name of the winery, but was changed to Spirit after the couple were alerted to the conflict.
Spirit of Texas offers six wines, “2 whites, 3 reds, and a blush” as well as a frozen wine-based mixed drink, sodas and water. No outside alcohol is permitted on the premises. Upcoming events like Bingo for Charity, which will benefit The Friends of the Library in June, along with hours of operation can be found on their website.
