We have much to report on the Harvest of 2021! Barbara is nearly ready to put a bow on all the grapes coming in from our vineyard partners. We will sit down together and get a full rundown soon. Meanwhile, we can happily report that all the fruit from Fire Oak Vineyards is now safely in the cellar! This highlight reel gives you a great idea of the family and community spirit it takes to bring off a sustained hand-harvesting effort. Barbara received the harvest from Shelia Busch at Fire Oak, and we could not be more pleased. And as word reached the vineyard of the passing of Shelia’s mother in the night, family and community worked as one. With love in our hearts, the Infinite Sky overhead, and generations of children and grandchildren present, the harvest flowed. And we will do our very best to honor the effort and moments captured here in what is to follow. We applaud and commend the Busch family and their equally awesome vineyard manager, Adrienne Freeman, for the sustained, meticulous work they led.
Take a look at the harvest highlight reel!
Fire Oak – New Vineyard Partner in Central Texas
Long before we dared to dream of making it ourselves, we readily understood that wine is really made in the vineyard. We are fortunate to work with top growers like Neal Newsom and Lahey Vineyards in the High Plains. Indeed, your feedback on wines like Quatre Rouges, Solo, Tempranillo is so encouraging. Ditto the upcoming 2019 Merlot Cellar Selection! We also have a custom-farming agreement with a fantastic new High Plains vineyard grower we can’t wait to share with you next month. But today, we would like to introduce our new vineyard partners from Central Texas. And extend a special invite to their harvest festival at the end of July. Siboney looks forward to great fruit from Fire Oak Vineyard for many years.
Fire Oak Vineyard
Fire Oak Vineyard was established in 2017 (coincidentally, our very first vintage!) on a beautiful 30 acre site by Billy and Shelia Busch. Our partners, Bill and Mary Anne Waldrip, introduced us to the Busch family last year. After walking between the rows of their well-managed vineyard plots, we made arrangements to contract the fruit from this unique Texas terroir. Situated on a gentle slope of gravelly loam and clay soil at about 1500 feet elevation, this promising vineyard site is located near Goldthwaite, in Mills County. It’s just about 90 miles north of Siboney Cellars, off Highway 183. The Busch family is a delight. Shelia has boundless energy and enthusiasm, and Billy makes sure they stay well grounded — a perfect Kite-and-String arrangement! We truly admire their strong commitment to expanding the vineyard footprint for Texas wine.
Under the capable on-site management of Adrienne Freeman, with assistance from veteran grower Penny Adams, Fire Oak Vineyard has 15 acres under vine, and 8 varietals. Right in the middle of a relatively cool, wet 2021 growing season, Adrienne reports Verasion is underway. While we are guarded with our forecasts, we know the site is in strong hands. We also know that August can be a difference-maker in the Texas summer! We look forward to the next site visit. Meanwhile, here is a highlight reel from June with Shelia and Adrienne.
Harvest Festival July 31
The Busches host a grand harvest festival and blessing each year. Here is the link to their registration, you’re invited! Scheduled for Saturday July 31, it’s a great day for families of all ages, including a grape stomp, wine blending, vineyard tours and kids activities. Check out the schedule! And yes, we are delighted to be a part of this event with food and wine pairings of Siboney Cellars wines!
Siboney looks forward to great fruit from Fire Oak Vineyard for many years. And, we are happy to partner with such a wonderful Texas family. Barbara is already talking about the wonderful potential of hard-to-source Rhone varietals for our portfolio. And whispering about another sparkling wine option. To that we say, #JustYouWait!
And watch this space for a future story about our new partners in the High Plains!