Winery on track to be 5th largest in state
KEMAH — David Skinner passed through the cramped kitchen where he used to make wine in small batches.
Amid construction racket, Skinner ascended a newly cemented stairwell to a room with towering metal distillers and a bottling line.
Crews are putting the final touches on Clear Creek Winery, formerly D’Vine Wine, in Kemah, which is poised to become the state’s fifth largest winery after its grand reopening in July.
Skinner, a management professor at Rice University, built a 6,000-square-foot addition to the existing building, which will allow his winery to increase production from 4,000 to 100,000 cases a year.
A custom-made bottler can fill 200 bottles of wine an hour, Skinner said.
The Tuscan-style addition features a barrel room that can accommodate parties, a tasting room and a small restaurant opening this fall that will feature an organic menu.
Skinner bought the winery in 2006 and has stuck to a business model imparted by a former student, who, for a class project, did a case study that concluded wineries make money and vineyards lose money.
“If you can figure out how to have a winery without having a vineyard, you’d probably have a good shot at making money,” Skinner said.
The winery sources most of its grapes from California. It won a silver award for its flavored Riesling and a bronze for its flavored merlot at this year’s Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in New York.
“Fruit wines are what we’re known for,” Skinner said. “Peach chardonnay and blackberry merlot are some of the more popular ones, but we make 12 different fruit wines.”
Cliff Bingham, owner of Bingham Family Vineyards 30 miles southwest of Lubbock, said there’s truth to Skinner’s business model — for Gulf Coast wine makers at least.
Bingham’s vineyard sells grapes to makers in the Hill Country and Houston area, including the Messina Hof Winery in Bryan.
“Generally, the coast land has much more disease pressure and fungus for the grapevines,” Bingham said. “It’s just much harder to grow the quality and quantity compared to what we can grow in the High Plains. In that respect, it is much cheaper for a winery in Galveston County to source its grapes.”
By contrast, there are more vineyards than wineries in the northern part of the state, Bingham said.
Clear Creek Distillery - News
43% ABV, $50 If you're in Portland, make it a point to visit Clear Creek's tasting room. The variety of eaux de vie, grappas and liqueurs the distillery produces is astounding. Distilled using traditional European methods, they can go head to head with
Amid construction racket, Skinner ascended a newly cemented stairwell to a room with towering metal distillers and a bottling line. Crews are putting the final touches on Clear Creek Winery, formerly D'Vine Wine, in Kemah, which is poised to become the
Bear Creek Mining [a Canadian mining company focused on Peru] was really the target of that pre-election manoeuvre,” he says. Peru has some of the world's largest supplies of commodities such as gold, copper and phosphate. Any disruption to Peru's
It's located on 5115 East Highway 20 in Nice, on the edge of Clear Lake. For more details, visit ceago.com. Two lavender events are open to the general public. On Saturday noon-4 pm, Matanzas Creek Winery hosts its 15th annual Days of Wine and Lavender
Several miles to the west, the Swatara Creek also made a break through the wall of the Blue Mountain as it flowed southwest from Pine Grove, one of the better-known villages beyond. There were dirt paths and tracks over the mountain in other places,
Raise a Glass to the Pear!
With summer upon us, the pear trees in the Northwest are growing heavy with fruit to be harvested when the weather begins to turn cool again. I’m eagerly anticipating the new season’s crop—I can’t wait to sink my teeth into a brilliant red Starkrimson or a sweet, juicy Bartlett.
As we’re enjoying the last Green Anjou pears in the market, I thought it would be fun to bring you a few ways you can enjoy Oregon pears when they’re not in season. Hint: In liquid form.
Inventive vintners, distillers, and even soda makers across the Pacific Northwest have taken the unique, enticing flavor of the pear to create delicious beverages so you can enjoy pears year-round.
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Clear Creek Distillery
Pure fruit spirits, including Pear-in-Bottle, eaux-de-vie, grappas, wine brandy, whiskey, and more.
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At Clear Creek Distillery we make pure fruit Eaux-de-Vie from Oregon fruit, as well as brandy, Grappa, and single-malt Whiskey. ...
Clear Creek Pear Brandy
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