A Texas winery experience a short drive from the city of Seguin
Barns litter the countryside of Guadalupe County, dotting empty pastures with worn wood siding and tin roofs looking relatively unassuming. But one of these barns underwent a transformation to become one of the area’s hottest wine bars and local destinations –– Windmill Farms Winery.
Owners Robin and Ryan Richter opened the winery on Huber Road nearly two years ago, and have poured their hearts, souls, and a lot of grapes into the project during that time.
“We had this barn and it was huge, and the straightest one on the property,” Robin said. “All the others were built by Willy Wonka. And so we were like, ‘What do we do with it?’ And Ryan suggested an Airbnb. We love Airbnb, and we’ve stayed at multiple. Some of them have their own bathroom for each bedroom. Some of them have their own kitchenette for each one. In some of them, you have one kitchen, and everybody eats together. So we could never finalize in our heads which one we would want to make into this.”
The couple found their answer by looking at each of their strengths. Robin has a knack for antiques and interior design, while Ryan has a mind for science. Through their shared interest in wine, they found their path with help from their friend Brandy, who runs Water to Wine in New Braunfels.
With a crop of new grape vines on the property, the ultimate goal is to produce from grape to bottle, but in the meantime, Windmill Farms wines are created from grape sources all over the world, with Ryan managing the production aspect of the business.
“We have 35-plus wines,” Ryan said. “We have to outsource our grapes from all over the place. Our Malbec comes from Argentina. So we bring the grapes in, and then it’s all in basically small batches. It’s about 28 bottles I’m making at a time, which is a good thing because I can keep the histamines and sulfites low in the wine. For some of my sweet wines, I’ve had to go to bigger batches just because they fly off the shelf really fast, especially in the summertime. And then doing bigger batches also helps me save space. So in order to make a pomegranate or a watermelon or something, I add a flavoring after the fermentation process to give it that different flavor. I’m not fermenting strawberry or peaches like that.”
Ryan takes each batch seriously, and while he can’t do a true barrel-age on the wines due to space, he does still manage to get that traditional flavor profile that connoisseurs might be looking for.
“You have to have room to age in a barrel,” he said. “And aging in barrels, you have to turn the barrel so that all the wine touches the outside and stuff. So I’ll add oak chips or oak cubes, or even a powder. That’ll allow all the wine to touch that oak. You know, there’s more surface area if you chip up a barrel, of course, and so it gives it that flavor. The sweet wines are typically aged for two weeks to four weeks or a little more while the bolder wines have more alcohol present in them. And those take about eight weeks because it takes a longer for the fermentation.”
Once the wines are done aging, they are bottled and packaged before becoming available for purchase.
Bottles line the walls inside the Windmill Farms barn, and an eclectic assortment of furniture decorates the space, making it feel warm and welcoming. An upstairs loft overlooks the interior bar, and outside are tables for guests who prefer the open air. On the weekends, live music can often be heard, and food trucks are available. The location is also a Harvest Host, allowing RV camping members to stay onsite with no camping fees.
It’s a Texas-style winery without the haughty atmosphere some might associate with Napa Valley or Italian vineyards, and they pride themselves on that fact.
“Sometimes, we’ll get a wife and husband who doesn’t think they’ll like wine,” Robin said. “I’ll let the wife sit there, but then she can convince him to try a little, and he doesn’t die. So then he ends up getting a glass and it works out for everybody. We also suggest people try a wine flight, which will give them any four samples they want. And it’s a pretty hefty sample size. So if they’re just a sweet wine drinker, we’ll make them a board of sweet if they’re brand new, and like, ‘I don’t know, if I drink wine,’ we’ve got some options we would suggest for them. Or they can tell us favorite fruits, they love. And we go from there and make them a flight.”
The winery is open Thursdays through Sundays and is a short drive from Seguin, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Schertz. Windmill Farms is also available as a venue for parties, weddings, and more, and they even offer custom wine building for groups, plus a wine club for regulars.
With their second anniversary approaching this coming Memorial Day, Robin and Ryan have their wine glasses ready as they prepare to keep their barn doors open and the Texas-made wine flowing. •
