Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Trevizo.
Hi Laurie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Laurie and Robert Trevizo’s special appreciation for wine first began with their many visits to Napa Valley wineries. As native Texans that hold degrees in Geology. They discovered that wine has a unique property to absorb the minerals in the soil. They quickly realized that wine was something that combined their love of geology and agriculture with friends and family.
Through hard work and diligence exploring local vineyards and wineries, and also meetings with other owners, the best practices were compiled, and the design of Bella Mia Winery began. They began working with an award-winning winemaker located in Nacogdoches, Texas and a tasting room set to open in Pilot Point, Texas in Fall of 2025.
Bella Mia is a Texas winery that combines the owner’s love of geology with the love of family. Bella Mia is named after their two daughters and translated into My Beautiful. Taste something beautiful when you have a glass of Bella Mia Wine. Cheers y’all.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think starting a business is never easy for anyone but for us we were thrown some extra obstacles along the way. We started our journey to open a winery tasting room in 2018. I took several classes on viticulture and tasting room management, and consulted with the viticulturists at Texas A&M on varietals to plant. The plan was to utilize 15 acres of our family farm in East Texas to plant a vineyard, then use that crop to make our own wine. But Covid changed everything. We hunkered down like everyone else, but it wasn’t without consequences. We got word in October of 2020 my younger sister , who had predisposed lung issues had passed away. My parents were devastated and soon after my father had a massive heart attack I had to split my time between my children and my parents. A year later both my brother in law and father in law contracted the delta variant of covid. For every weekend of 2022 my husband stayed with his brother in the hospital. His brother had been put on ECMO and eventually transferred to Houston for a double lung transplant. But on Thanksgiving weekend in 2022 he lost his battle with Covid. He was 39 years old. My father in law was a strong man and fought his battle with covid until February 2024. All the while I was working to move the winery forward. Slowly making progress as much as I could given the circumstances. Since then we have thrown ourselves into making Bella Mia Winery a success.
We’ve been impressed with Bella Mia Winery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our tasting room is Bella Mia Winery located north of the DFW metroplex on the historic square of Pilot Point. It is located in a historic building that was built in 1852, as of this time we are remodeling the building. From my understanding it was originally the hardware store in town.
I think what sets us apart is that our wines are known as “easy drinkers” and crowd pleasers. These are wines you can take to a party and everyone is going to love them. We call them “Goldielocks wines” not too dry, to too sweet but just right.
I am most proud of brand wise are our wine labels and logo. Since we are geologist we took the approach to our wine labels as the legend on a map. It has all the information you need on the front of the label in an easy to read format all the wile being stylish and sophisticated. For our logo we used a series of connected wavy lines to represent the lines on a topographic map or the lines of minerals in an agate.
Our brand is an extension of who we are.. My husband and I have been married for 28 years this year. Being together for that long doesn’t come with out challenges and we don’t shy away from a challenge, we are fiercely devoted to our family, and naturally hospitable.
Once our tasting room opens Fall 2025 we want to let everyone know that we will offer our wines and lite bites. At first we will offer reservation only seating and encourage those that want to visit us to go to our website at www.bellamiawinery.com to make reservations. It will allow us to better serve our customers.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
http://wineamerica.org
A recent study was published from Wine America on the economics of the wine industry. The report indicates that wine in Texas is a $24.39 Billion industry.
Pricing:
- Our wines range from $26-40/ bottle
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bellamiawinery.com
- Instagram: @bellamiawinery
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/bellamiawinery
Image Credits
Laurie Trevizo personal photos
