Living Outside The Lines: “A Wine To Remember”

We visited the winery one weekend, sampled some of the other wines and spent time visiting with Regina Staggs, the owner of Texas South Wind winery.

By, Becky J Miller

Someone recently commented to me, “Wine is such a personal thing.” The statement seemed odd at first, but as I pondered her words, I arrived at the conclusion they were true.

Unlike liver or asparagus that you either like or gag at the mere thought of, wine is made on a floating spectrum; there’s Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir just to hit the highlights. Complicating things even further, within these categories there are dry, sweet and sparkling options. Initiate head spinning.

A true wine connoisseur, which I would never claim to be, can tell you which wines are better chilled versus room temperature, and which wines pair best with seafood, dessert, white meat, rib eye, or cheese and fruit.

Me? I just know which varieties appeal most to my taste buds.

Prior to living in Italy, Boone’s Farm was the extent of my wine palate. It wasn’t that it tasted good; it was cheap and easily purchased at any local convenience store.

In Southern Italy, many of the local ristorantes served their own house vino. I quickly learned that dolce vino (sweet wine) was my favorite. Moving back to the states, we searched for wines with a similar taste.

For years, Moscato d’Asti was my wine of choice. I like it so well that I use it instead of champagne to mix with orange juice for Mimosas. 

Moscato is a white wine, and until recently, I never met a red wine I liked, they were all too dry.

There is a blush called Sweet B!t@h that is decent for a cheap wine, but it’s hard to find, and the wine guys laugh when you ask for it by name, so I stuck loyally by my Italian Moscato until the day fate intervened.

A young man we’ve known since he was in high school got married a few years ago. We didn’t know the young lady he married, but knew that her family owned a vineyard. They served their own wines at the reception. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t recall being impressed with the Texas Blanc Du Bois, but I was a Moscato girl at the time, and still somewhat unrefined.

Last spring, we stopped at the HEB Plus in Victoria with some friends. There was a wine tasting. Our friend says, “This is the wine Kenny’s wife’s family makes.” They were offering several of their fruit wines; we left with two bottles of Texas South Wind Blackberry Fruit Wine. That never happens!! We are not impulsive shoppers, but this was the best wine I’d ever tasted, and it was red!

Like any other exciting discovery, I wanted to share my passion with everyone! We found out that Spec’s in San Marcos carries the brand, so I bought bottles of Blackberry wine for house warming gifts, graduation presents, birthdays and “just because I love you” gifts. Everyone who tasted it, loved it as well.

Texas South Wind, family owned and operated, opened in 2009 and is located close by in Refugio, Texas. We visited the winery one weekend, sampled some of the other wines and spent time visiting with the owner, Regina Staggs. We left that day with a bottle of the Texas Blanc Du Bois, my husband’s favorite. 

Although Spec’s carries only a select assortment of the fruit wines, which are made with the actual fruit they are so named for, no grapes or flavorings, there are other types of wines available online and at the winery itself.

Finding himself in the area one day, my husband stopped by to pick up two bottles of the Plum wine to surprise me. His visit led to me becoming a contract taster for the vineyard. I love getting to introduce hundreds of people to this fabulous wine!

If my passion for Texas South Wind wine is not enough to convince you, then please, try it for yourself. The winery is open for tastings and tours Monday –Saturday, 11 – 7.

They host tastings all over Texas in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Victoria, Bryan, and more!

Additionally, for those who would like to taste a larger selection of Texas South Wind wine, they offer wine club memberships.

To find a tasting near you visit their website https://www.texassouthwind.com/pages/tastings. 

If you visit the winery, be sure to tell them you heard about it here!

Until Next Time,

Becky ~ Warrior Princess 

Becky J Miller is a contributor and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.