Blends Family, Nostalgia, & Passion into Award-Winning Texas Wines

By: Gerald Dlubal

Sometimes stars align in a way that leads you down a particular path. That is certainly the case with the origin of Sandy Road Vineyards, located in the Texas Hill Country near Hye, Texas.

  “It all started when Reagan Sivadon married into the family,” said Bryan Chagoly, one of the owners of Sandy Road Vineyards. “Reagan is a winemaker and had previously worked with his childhood friend, Ron Yates, at Spicewood Vineyards in different capacities within the vineyard and cellars, eventually becoming associate winemaker under head winemaker Todd Crowell. The two are responsible for all wine production at Spicewood Vineyards and Ron Yates Wines. Reagan wanted to take a shot at growing grapes for his own wine brand, and we happened to have available land in the Texas Hill Country, so we decided to put it to use and give grape-growing a try. We’ve never looked back since.”

  Sandy Road Vineyards is a family-run vineyard located on the site of the Dixon Ranch, named after the grandparents of sisters Adrienne and Kristina. Adrienne and Kristina’s family have owned the land for almost 100 years, purchasing it in the early 1900s. Bryan and Reagan married sisters Adrienne and Kristina, respectively, and now all four are actively involved in running and maintaining the family vineyard.

  “The farm was always the gathering place for family dinners and events,” said Chagoly. “It’s where we would all come for get-togethers, and it became a custom to sit on that great farmhouse porch, enjoy a glass of wine and watch the beautiful sunsets that naturally occur in the Texas Hill Country. We absolutely fell in love with the experience and knew this would be an awesome venue to share with others. Visitors will definitely see and experience a piece of our family history while enjoying our new chapter as vineyard owners and winemakers.”

  “The farm literally sits at the end of a sandy road, a name given to the road by the locals that once lived in the small town of Sandy,” said Chagoly. “It’s just how the locals all came to know the road, and it’s still a sandy road to this day. As kids, our wives would turn down “Sandy Road” to go to the farm. Now, driving down the road reignites those special memories and feelings, making this place more than just a family property. So as the old farmhouse comes into view, it’s a feeling of nostalgia, reliving the farm experiences and passing on some of those same great feelings and memories to future generations.”

Location, Location, Location

  Chagoly told The Grapevine Magazine that the old farm property was used for growing cotton in the 1920s until the Great Depression, when people were forced to move west to find work. Sandy Road Vineyard is about four miles from the Pedernales River in the Texas Hill Country and features a unique blend of soils, including chalky limestone, iron-rich clay and primary riverbed sand, allowing the owners to play around and experiment with a variety of terroirs.

  “We took numerous four-to-five-foot depth samples at various places on the farm to determine where a vineyard might perform best,” said Chagoly. “Interestingly enough, we found an eastwardly sloped area that provided excellent drainage and was comprised of three distinct layers of soil, each offering unique properties and growing conditions for different varietals of grapes. Chalky limestone covered the top, over a middle of iron-rich clay laying on riverbed sand. We could plant a variety of grapes in this one area and match the depth of planting to the type of soil that offered each particular varietal the best chance for success.”

  “Our vision, then, was to plant unique varietals across the 16-acre plot,” said Chargoly. “We wanted to feature wine grapes that would thrive in the unique soil makeup and also handle our climate and the hot Texas sun to ultimately produce delicious wines. While researching these variables, we found that our hill country soil and climate closely resembled the southern Mediterranean. So, why not grow grapes that would love these conditions? That led us to choose Spanish, Italian and French red varietals.”

  “Our tempranillo, mencia, and prieto picudo are Spanish-inspired, with a plan to try a traditional Spanish blend in the future,” said Chargoly. “Our French varietals (southern Rhone Region) feature a grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and a marselan, a cross between a cabernet sauvignon and a grenache. Marselan is pretty rare around here and was first attempted as a way to grow cabernet sauvignon grapes in warmer climates due to global warming concerns. So far, it seems to like our Hill Country climate and soil attributes. And our Italian varietal is a great sangiovese. We also offer white wine selections, sourcing Texas high plains fruits for production from our neighbors within the state. Additionally, we just planted reisen varietals for a neighbor, so we’re anxious to see how that goes.”

Unforgettable Sunsets, Tastings, & Food Pairings

  Visitors to Sandy Road Vineyards will be guided by signs pointing them to the vineyard, where they will see the old farmhouse and the vineyards at the back of the property. Chagoly said that once visitors arrive, there is a pavilion on the premises that offers an indoor-outdoor casual area for tasting, hanging out with friends or just relaxing and enjoying the serene experience and views of the farm and vineyard. No reservations are necessary, but they are accepted for those that are planning to visit and want to ensure seating. The shaded pavilion has fans and a cool breeze in the summer and is enclosed with heaters and a fire in the winter to maintain a warm and cozy atmosphere for experiencing the wines, farm and vineyard. A standard wine tasting will last approximately one hour and include a tasting of five of Sandy Road Vineyard’s 100 percent Texas wines. After the tasting, visitors are welcome to stay and enjoy the vineyard for the rest of the day if they choose to do so.

  For an enhanced tasting experience, the vineyard offers a popular “treehouse venue” available only by reservation.

  “We realized that we needed a place for consumers to taste and purchase our wine once we made it, and we wanted to provide that in a creative and fun way,” said Chagoly. “We ended up taking an old mobile home on the farm and stripping it down to its 60-foot metal trailer frame. Then, we transformed it into a fun treehouse venue that overlooks the awesome views of the farm and vineyard.”

  The enhanced experience is a creative adventure based on the belief that everyone deserves to slow down, relax and enjoy a great-tasting glass of wine with their friends. The treehouse overlooks the vineyard and farm and offers a private, seated, outdoor tasting event with the owners of Sandy Road Vineyards. During the tasting, visitors can expect to learn about the owners, the vineyard’s unique terroir, how it benefits the grapes they choose to grow here and the wines they produce.

  “We want to create a deeply meaningful wine-tasting experience that has the potential to become a special lifelong memory,” said Chagoly. “The peaceful scenery, the table overlooking the vineyard and the heartfelt stories from the owners who personally farm and produce their own wine brand are all presented within the unique experience of being outside, in a tree, with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair, overlooking the very vineyard that produced the wines that you are tasting. It will leave you wanting to experience more.”

  The treehouse venue tastings feature food and wine pairings presented in an educational format that not only shares insights into Sandy Road Vineyard wines but also teaches the visitors about Texas wines in general. After your wine tasting, visitors are free to stroll through the vineyard to explore the challenging terroir of the rocky hillside to see what it takes to grow award-winning wine in the Texas Hill Country. The wine-tasting experience

at Sandy Road Vineyards is an exclusively outdoor experience within the vineyard. Chagoly says visitors should plan for a fantastic nature-based experience with the sun, wind, dirt, rocks and all the Texas outdoors offers.

Successful Winemaking Is a Blend of Several Businesses

  “It’s truly been a family affair,” said Chagoly. “Both families are involved in running the winery and vineyards from start to finish, and if there’s one piece of advice I can give to aspiring vineyard owners and winemakers, it would be to seek experience regarding any help or needed advice, because you end up running three separate businesses. In our case, we are growing grapes, making wine,and then marketing and selling our wine all from this one location. At its core, winemaking is a manufacturing and production process demanding a perfect blend of scientific principles and art. Selling the wine is crucial, especially for a new winery like ours. We have to be able to effectively market our wines and get folks out here to try and hopefully buy what we’ve produced. And finally, the actual farming, which is the hardest by far, especially trying to figure out what Mother Nature will bring us here in Texas. The farming aspect can be especially challenging.”

Sustainable Practices, Personal Attention & Precision Care Produce Award-Winning Wines

  The owners of Sandy Road Vineyard believe that the best fertilizer is the farmer’s own shadow, and the best wines are produced in small batches in a sustainable environment, with the individual attention and respect of the winemaker. This means being constantly and consistently in the vineyard, working and harvesting the vines and grapes by-hand to create a wine with perfect balance. They will not put that wine on the market until they find that balance. Therefore, everything is hand-grown, hand-pruned and hand-harvested to produce the highest quality Texas wine for their consumers.

  On a related note, Chargoly has started a website to promote the best in Texas wines. Top Texas Wines features inclusive lists and descriptions of the best 100 percent Texas wines, making it easy for visitors to locate the best of the best in Texas winemaking. At a minimum, each wine listed on the site will be Texas designated, produced by a Texas winery and won a gold medal in blind judging at an international wine competition. Entries include the awards won and the prices per bottle, should you decide to purchase the wine online directly from the producing Texas winery. Chargoly says that every Texas wine on his site is exceptional and worth tasting.

  “Our mission is to bring the highest quality farming and winemaking to Texas wines and to continuously raise your expectations for fine Texas wine.”

  For more information about Sandy Road Vineyards, their award-winning wines, other Texas Hill Country wines or to make a reservation contact…

Sandy Road Vineyards

383 Vineyard Row

Johnson City, Texas 78636

Phone: (512) 589-1826

Website: www.sandyroadvineyards.com

By: Becky Garrison

Grenache has the distinction of being one of the world’s most widely planted wine grapes. Additionally, this versatile wine pairs very effectively with food. Grenache wines have diverse levels of texture and depth with a slight spiciness that work well with a wide range of braised, grilled and stewed meats, as well as the milder styles of Asian cuisine. 

  As part of Feast Portland 2019, a regional food and drink festival with international appeal, Hoke Harden, SWE Certified Spirits Educator, offered an industry presentation into European Grenache wine. He focused on those wines that range in cost from $10 to $20. At this reasonable price point, Harden describes the wines as “not wine you take home and save, but wine you take home and drink.”

  Although lower priced Grenache may not be the sort of wine one ages in a cellar, these wines have a distinguished history that belies their price tag. Carbon dating of seeds and leaves discovered at archeological sites indicate Grenache was planted as early as 153 BCE. Most likely, Grenache originated in the region of Spain now known as Aragon, where it goes by the name Garnacha. However, some have speculated the grape originated in Sardinia, where the grape is called Cannonau.

  As these vines flourish best in hot, sunny and dry conditions, the Mediterranean climate proved to be ideal for growing them. Grenache vines were then planted in Catalonia and then in places outside of Spain that were under the Crown of Aragon, such as France, Corsica, Southern Italy, Sicily, Croatia and Greece.

  The old vines currently growing in the region can be over one hundred years old. They tend to produce a finer and more complex wine than Grenache produced in areas where the vines are much younger.

  The grape comes primarily in three versions: red—Grenache Noir, white—Grenache Blanc, and a version of white known as Grenache Gris. The Grenache Noir is round and smooth with notes of prunes, cherries and other red-pitted fruits. Conversely, Grenache Blanc has a combination of floral, fruity and herbaceous notes and fresh aniseed licorice flavors for a fleshy, mellow wine of medium intensity, a medium to high acidity and high levels of alcohol. The Grenache Gris produces pale rosés and mineral-driven whites with copper hues and citrus notes that are fleshy, round and elegant.

  Additionally, there are two less common Grenache grapes—the Lledoner Pelut (black) and Garnacha Peluda (hairy). The Lledoner Pelut, which is a cousin to the Grenache Noir, is very similar but has more structure and a bluer color. Garnacha Peluda, which gets its name from its hairy leaves, has a lower alcohol content, medium acidity, aromas of red fruits, and rapid oxidation.

  From these varieties of grapes, winemakers can produce a vast array of wines ranging from light- to full-bodied red or white wines, as well as rosé wines, fortified wines, natural wines and sparkling wines. Each of these varieties is highly sensitive to the growing conditions of a particular region. Depending on the soil, climate and elevation, wines produced from these grapes can vary dramatically from one appellation to another. For example, one appellation may yield full-bodied, black-fruited wines, while a nearby region produces a more light-bodied wine made with red fruits. 

  While Grenache can grow in a diverse range of soils, the vines respond best to the schist, limestone and clay soils abundantly found in Northeastern Spain and the Roussillon in southern France. Here the grapes’ tight clusters make it a perfect choice for these hot and dry soils. However, the same tight grape clusters make Grenache prone to downy mildew and bunch rot when grown in humid or rainy locations. Also, as the grapes ripen relatively late, they work best in very warm regions.

  Another positive attribute of these hardy and vigorous Grenache vines is that they use less natural resources than many other vines. In fact, Grenache could be seen as the world’s most eco-friendly and sustainable grape. As this grape adapts to arid weather conditions, it can be grown using environmentally friendly vineyard practices. For instance, these vines are not dependent on rainwater because their roots can delve deep into subterranean water tables. In addition, the plant has a robust wooden frame that is drought and disease resistant. Often Grenache is grown as a free-standing bush with its strong, sturdy trunk able to survive in strong winds. In consideration of all these attributes, in 2011, the World Climate Change and Wine Conference with Kofi Annan in Marbella, Spain recognized Grenache as a product well prepared for climate change.

  Currently, over 90 percent of Grenache grows in Spain and France. The regions have been certified in two European Union quality schemes: PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). The EU established these schemes in 2012 for agricultural commodities to ensure that the products originated in this particular region. Also, these schemes ensure that the product has been produced in accordance with European agricultural production methods that focus on nutrition and health, food safety, traceability, authenticity and labeling.

  Five PDO vineyards in Spain specialize in the Grenache grape variety: Somontano, Terra Alta, Cariñena, Calatayud, and Campo de Borja. Within these regions exists 5,500 wine growers and 144 wineries, with Grenache repenting about 40% of their vineyards. (Other varieties are Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah). Rosé and White Grenache is grown in the Terra Alta PDO, while Red Grenache is the main variety grown in the other four PDOs.

  Roussillon in France houses 2,200 winemaker families, 25 co-ops and 350 private cellars. The varied topography of this region produces a wide variety of Grenache grapes that can create a range of wine styles, including dry still wines and fortified sweet wines.  

  Most of the reviews about Grenache wines tend to focus on blends such as the Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine blend from France’s southern Rhône Valley. French winemakers discovered this variety in their search for a grape that would add alcohol, body and fruity flavors to their existing wines. Other noted blends made using Grenache can be found in Gigondas, and in the Priorat reds produced in the Priorat county, situated in the southwest of Catalonia in the province of Tarragona. Many of these wines tend to carry a significantly higher price tag than the moderately priced wines highlighted by Harden, with select bottles garnering a price as high as $800. 

  Harden noted throughout his talk that while winemakers continue to blend Grenache with other grapes, some producers have begun to make wines with 100% Grenache. Of the 10 wines Harden selected for his presentation, six wines were made with 100% Grenache. These wines ranged from light- to full-bodied reds.

  On its own, Grenache has historically tended to be a light red with very light tannins, fruity aromas, medium body, a low to medium acidity and high alcohol. But Harden spoke about a generation of winemakers who have begun a new approach to growing Grenache grapes. About twenty years ago, these winemakers discovered that by cultivating the older gnarled vines, limiting yields and seeking out the right terroir, they could grow Grenache grapes that possess a fuller, more robust flavor.

  Along those lines, some growers find that when they experiment with growing these older vines at higher elevations in colder climates, they can produce wines that are more complex, elegant and concentrated. These wines often benefit from bottle aging. When these vintages mature, winemakers will be able to compare the properties of the wines with those grown in hotter, drier climates where Grenache grapes have grown for centuries.

  Moving forward, some wineries are experimenting with growing organic and biodynamic Grenache wines, which favor the environment by limiting the use of chemicals. In a similar vein, some producers are experimenting with making Grenache wines without sulfites. All these developments appear to be creating a wine that is sustainable from both an environmental and an economic standpoint while also producing a wine that remains in line with EU quality standards.

  From an industry standpoint, Grenache wines—the single-varietal styles in particular—remain unknown to most U.S. consumers. Hence, many of these wines stay at an affordable price point even as the quality rises.

By: Becky Garrison

The genesis for Women in Wine Oregon began in 2015 after Susan Sokol Blosser, founder and garden advisor for Sokol Blosser Winery, participated in a U.S.-based wine conference attended by 500 men and women. While serving on a conference panel, she spoke about the Oregon wine culture through the lens of a family business and generational planning.

  During the informal conversation that ensued following her comments, Blosser and others realized that even though the Oregon community hosted many collaborative events, these gatherings did not highlight women winemakers. Given Oregon’s history in forging new paths, such as putting wine in a can, becoming a leader in biodynamic farming practices and the farm-to-table movement, they felt the timing was right to launch an organization devoted to highlighting the contributions of women in this industry.

  As per the Women in Wine Oregon website, the organization’s mission is to “provide a platform of inclusion for the advancement of female leadership in the wine and beverage industry.” Its mission statement continues with, “We provide opportunities for personal and professional development through an annual conference, community engagement events and a mentorship program. As a membership-based nonprofit, we catalyze ‘fermenting change’ through empowerment, engagement, diversity and accountability.”    

Launching Women in Wine 

  The year 2019 marked the launch of Women in Wine: Fermenting Change, which was Oregon’s first event dedicated to empowering and advancing women in the wine industry. While this sold-out event had to be held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing global pandemic, it returned for a hybrid conference on July 19, 2022. By allowing people to participate virtually or in person, they could attract those who could not travel to Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Oregon, where the conference was held.

  This hybrid conference attracted 240 in-person and 85 virtual participants for a day of educational programming led by 18 leaders within the wine industry, along with networking opportunities. Those gathered ranged from industry veterans who have been working in the wine industry since the 1970s to women looking to enter this industry. 

The Challenges of Diversity Within the Wine Industry

  A virtual session with the McBride Sisters highlighted the association’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, which they describe on their website as recognizing the rich diversity of voices in the region’s wine community, with a focus on opening doors for the many individuals who have been historically underrepresented or excluded.

  Raised among the vines of Marlborough, New Zealand and Monterey, California, respectively, Robin McBride and Andréa McBride never knew each other until they connected later in life. They discovered how their mutual familial love of wine stretched across two continents. In 2005, they found themselves in California, where they decided to shake up the industry with their unique blend of new-world finesse and old-world elegance. Thus, the McBride Sisters Wine Company was born in Oakland, California.

  Since then, this sisterly enterprise has grown into the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States and is one of the most inclusive, accessible, socially aware and sustainable U.S.-based wineries. Also, through their SHE CAN Professional Development Fund, they invest in the professional advancement and career growth of high-potential, professional women, with a particular focus on women of color working in leadership positions in the wine and spirits, hospitality and finance industries.

  Among their biggest challenges was the mistaken assumption that Black women don’t drink wine or they only drink certain types of wine. According to Robin, they addressed this bias by focusing on the aforementioned vision they’ve maintained from the beginning. “Our tenacity and our unrealistic optimism help because we see them as bumps in the road and not big game changers,” she notes.

  In a panel titled Connecting through Generations, Tiquette Bramlett, CEO of Our Legacy Harvested (Newberg, OR), and Ximena Orrego, Co-Owner and Winemaker of Atticus Wine (Yamhill, OR), spoke to how the power of community in enabling women of color to enter and succeed in the wine industry. For example, Bramblett founded Our Legacy Harvested with Diana Riggs in 2020 to educate, advance and empower the BIPOC community in the wine industry. In their exploration of how to keep people safe during the pandemic while also amplifying BIPOC businesses, they hosted a block party in McMinnville, Oregon. They knew they were on to something when a woman in her eighties came to them and said she had been waiting for an event like her entire life. “It just broke us to pieces,” Bramlett reflected.

  Since that inaugural event, Our Legacy Harvest launched an intern program in 2022 intending to help BIPOC people make connections within the Oregon wine community. Also, they created Diversity & Inclusion Training (DEI) via a partnership with Assemblage, which is an Oregon-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed at addressing disparities within the global wine industry. A winery needs to have completed this DEI training to apply to host one of their interns.

  Along those lines, Orrego cited how connecting with Carla Rodriguez, Founder of Beacon Hill Winery & Vineyard (Gaston, Oregon), led to the launch of Celebrating Hispanic Roots. This small group of Oregon winery owners and winemakers who share a Hispanic background came together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15). After hosting this event virtually in 2020 and 2021, they hosted their first in-person event in 2022.

  Jeri Andrews, founding partner of XOBC Cellars (Seattle, Washington), spoke to this winery’s unique role as one of the few LGBT wineries in the United States. The idea was never about money when this winery was founded in 2019. Instead, founders multi-Grammy-winning artist Brandi Carlile, her wife Catherine and their friends, Jeri and Amy Andrews, wanted to make epic wines out of Washington and Oregon that were representative of the terroir and to connect people who historically haven’t been welcomed at the table. “We want to bring other people to the table who maybe felt unwelcome. We’ve got this group of misfits that are part of our community of collectors, and we love it.”

  They weave activism into their winery with an organization called The Looking Out Foundation, founded in 2008 by Carlile, along with Tim and Phil Hanseroth. This organization seeks to amplify the impact of music by empowering those without a voice. From neighborhood to nation, they help fund causes and organizations that often go unnoticed.

  In Andrews’ estimation, if you want to create change, all you need is a small group operating on the same wavelength. “You’ve got to go where the players are and know how to bring people to the table.” As one example of bringing people together through wine, Andrews cites Brandi Carlile’s Seattle house parties, where music and wine connect people.

Moving from Talking about Diversity to Taking Action

  Maryam Ahmed, the owner of Maryam + Company and co-founder of the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum, spoke about the practicalities of implementing diversity in the wineries. She stresses how it’s a privilege to talk about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging rather than experiencing why these conversations are necessary. “We cannot aim to improve our professional environments without also improving the personal environment within which we live, including our bodies and minds,” she notes.

  According to Ahmed, what this privilege means from a hospitality perspective is the need to fight this notion that we have to check our stuff at the door. She opines, “As we serve other people, how could we possibly not bring our personhood into the service that we offer?” At a minimum, she feels when we make these changes, we open the door for more creativity, growth and innovation. That leads to higher retention, innovation and a better bottom line.

  She summarized her work to help create more diversity with the ACT (Accountability, Communication, Transparency) framework. The first step is accountability, which means taking ownership of our thoughts, beliefs and actions. We acknowledge there’s an issue and seek out how to fix it.

  The answers can be found in communication that can help us align our words with our actions, as well as welcoming the needs of others and sharing our needs with those around us. In our communication, we need to strive for transparency, which puts us in a place of honesty. In this place, we can be positioned to be effective and get the resources we need.

  In Ahmed’s experience, this ACT framework functions as a cycle, not a checklist. “This work is an ongoing, lifelong journey and commitment,” she says.

  This conversation will continue at Women in Wine Oregon’s fifth annual Fermenting for Change Conference, which will be held on July 18, 2023, at Stoller Family Estates in Dayton, Oregon. More information can be found on their website at…