Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaret Fetty.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Margaret. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Allan, my husband, and I bought property north of Dripping Springs to start a vineyard in 1998. We planted almost 3 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes the following year. The vineyard eventually grew to 9 acres with a total of 9 varieties, including Tannat, Viognier, Petite Sirah, Malbec, and Vermentino. We sold the grapes to other wineries. We kept the 2010 harvest and opened a tasting room Mother’s Day weekend of 2011. We focused on 100% Texas fruit handcrafted with a French influence. We won many awards, including the best red wine in Texas for our Reserve Sangiovese at Texsom, a wine competition where all the judges are sommeliers.
Together, Allan and I tended all 9 acres of vines through all the years. Pruning started in February, and harvest lasted until the end of September. There was a division of labor for the rest of the business—I ran the tasting room and Allan was the winemaker. Our motto: Texas Wine • Texas Hospitality • Texas Hill Country.
Dripping Springs, Texas (I refer to it as “Drunken Springs”) became the wedding capital of Texas as well as the hot spot for everything alcohol. As more wineries, distilleries, and breweries moved into the community, Westcave Cellars was too far away from the action. Our sales dropped. We opened a brewery that focused on 100% Texas beer, just like the wine. After 20 years of vineyard work, Allan and I were ready to take a break. We put the property up for sale with the intention to move to 290 Wine Road.
We closed on the Hamilton Pool Road property Dec. 31, 2019, and purchased the Hye Moon Ranch in Johnson City just off 290 Wine Road in January. It was perfect! It had a utility building that could serve temporarily as the winery and a house that could be remodeled for the tasting room. Then there was Covid-19! What a frustrating time for all! In between remodeling and shutdowns, Westcave Cellars was closed nine months and ten days. BUT we are open and receiving a wonderful welcome.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
With the vineyard, we are essentially farmers. Mother Nature has extreme mood swings each year. We often have frost after bud break, which can account for up to 40% crop loss. Hail also affects the crop load. Late season hail can take out the leaves needed to ripen the fruit and the grapes. So in the worse case, and it happened, a vineyard can lose 90% of the fruit. And rain… let’s talk mold and mildew.
We eventually purchased a wind turbine to keep frost from settling near the ground. There is nothing small vineyards can do to protect vines from hail because hail netting is expensive, and it would take several years to recoup the cost. We dislike spraying fungicide to halt mold and mildew. While we use the most earth/animal friendly, sometimes organic isn’t enough protection. On a positive note, all these weather challenges help define the characteristics of the wine vintage each year.
Moving was CRAZY!!!! The cased wine, tank wine, barrels and equipment had to be stashed at three different sites. Remembering where things were was difficult. Trying to get to them was even more of a challenge because we had to crawl over and underthings. The winery has been completed and everything is in one building now.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Westcave Cellars Winery & Brewery – what should we know?
Westcave Cellars is managed by a husband and wife team, who helped pioneer the Texas wine industry. We were one of the first wineries to produce wines made from 100% Texas fruit. Many sourced from the Hill Country vineyard we farmed. The wines are crafted with a French influence since we use primarily barrels made of French oak. Westcave has garnered numerous awards. We are most proud of our 2015 Reserve Sangiovese taking Best Texas Red Wine at Texsom, a Dallas wine competition judged by sommeliers, in 2019.
We started 100% brewing beer in 2019. To our knowledge, we are the second commercial brewery to use Texas hops. Our brewmeister, Patrick Vanderwilt, has a ranch in central Texas and is working to make an estate beer. That means that all ingredients, hops, barley, malt, yeast and water are obtained from his property. Currently, only seven breweries in the United States claim this distinction.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our wine club members have been big Westcave Supporters and cheerleaders, especially with the move to the 290 wine road. Some have been members from the first weekend we opened in 2011. We have a very simple bottling line and fill, cork, and label one bottle at a time. A few of the club members consistently show up to help. In fact, Michele Ryon has touched every single estate wine bottle for the last six years! Michele has also worked in the vineyard to prune, train, and harvest the grapes. Temperatures can be over 100°F, and Michele is there with a smile on her face and words of encouragement on her lips.
Larry Turnipseed is another important member of the Westcave team. Larry has been a wine club member for seven years. He also is an instrumental part of the bottling crew as he operates the filler machine. We hired Larry part-time several years ago. As the Cellar Master, he is Allan’s right hand in all things wine and Mr. Fixit!
Pricing:
- Wine bottles range between $25.00 and $42.00.
Contact Info:
- Address: Westcave Cellars
683 RR 1320
Johnson City, TX 78636 - Website: https://www.westcavecellars.com
- Phone: 512.431.1403
- Email: info@westcavcecellars.com
- Instagram: westcavecellars
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westcavecellars/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/westcave-cellars-winery-johnson-city-2
Image Credit:
Patrick Vanderwilt, Michele Ryon, Carlea J Photography
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