Yepez Winery - Baytown, TX
When I started this site / experiment one of the things I wanted to do is search out the hidden gems of the alcohol industry. Ideally this would be small operations doing this for fun, as a hobby or taking a leap of faith in something they truly loved. I found Yepez Winery at the very beginning and corresponded lightly with the owners but a formal visit never materialized - SO I HIT EM WITH THE UNDERCOVER VISIT, SON!
The winery sits off a small two lane highway in Beach City (Baytown), TX surrounded by large trees, vineyards (whodathunkit) and beautifully landscaped sitting areas. If it's your first time there be wary there is not a lot of signage directing you to the tasting room but some 1500s style exploring should get you into the building. There is quite a bit of parking so unless Ke$ha is there promoting something sticky and gross you should have no problem getting all close like.
The tasting room is very welcoming and we were greeted immediately by the staff (I think her name was Albe but I'm a butcherer of memories). I had my two tornado children with me and I was worried how they would be received because I'm a paranoid parent who thinks their child is perpetually seconds away from karate chopping priceless artifacts. She were so nice with them and even recommended where would be best for us to sit so that they could be hooligans and scream.
YES I'M GETTING TO THE WINE CHILL YOUR TITS! I decided to try their viognier, pinot grigio, chenin blanc, malbec and a habanero sweet wine (yup). I've been thinking the past few days how I wanted to rate / discuss / highlight the visit because if I'm being begrudgingly honest I was not a huge fan of any of the wine because, well, I prefer bold, powerful, angry wine. Don't stop reading because there is a happy ending (heh). Their wine is young and has to deal with this demonic Texas heat and clay soil which is not sensitive to the millennial needs of the bitch-ass grape. Their products will absolutely appeal to those that like sweeter wine that does not take a vacation on your palate (meaning there is not a long finish). Out of all of the wine I think I was most intrigued by the habanero sweet wine because the burn mellowed out the sugary notes - you MUST try it. I tried their Texas honey wine some weeks previous - honey wine isn't for me. We'll leave it at that.
I picked me up a bottle of the malbec ($24.95) because I want to let it sit for a year or so and then aerate it to see what happens [side note - if you go and taste somewhere you should buy a bottle and not be a cheap asshole]. Sometimes wine needs to be left alone to listen to My Chemical Romance and get some angst out. I hear they have a pretty rocking raspberry champagne that uhhhh from some friends' testimony, "throws your inhibitions to the wind in a pool..." They did not have it while we were there. Another time I guess!
We went and sat under a large pavilion that was fantastic - it forced a breeze through the area which made it feel like it wasn't 900 degrees outside. They let you bring a picnic and non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy with your booze which is nice. My delinquents were able to run around in the pavilion without bothering folks while me and some friends dined on cheese and Dunkaroos.
So you want the Bad Wine Reviews recommendation, right? Should you go there? Absolutely. I think you should go and support this awesome family run establishment and enjoy a day out in the fresh air. They have bands and events year round it seems and are a pretty funny follow on facebook. I will definitely go back to try some of their other offerings but I also recognize that this wine may just not be for me. That's ok. They don't cater to my pompous ass nor should they. I like what they do and I hope they keep going and are wildly successful.
Check out the pictures below and let me know what you think if you visit.
