The red wine swirled in the glass forming legs along the edges.

Its taste was fruity with a hint of sweetness.

This was the first wine of the fledgling vineyard of Robert and Karen Benson in Normanna, who own Pauraque Ridge Plant Farm.

Vineyards of their size, about an acre or two, are common across the state but not in this county.

“In fact, there are vineyards popping up along the Gulf Coast all the way from Houston down to the Valley,” Robert said. “The closest vineyard similar to this is over in Victoria.”

Like many of their vineyards, the Bensons have chosen the Champanel grape.

“They were a selection by a famous Texan named T.V. Munson, who saved the French wine industry because there was an insect infestation that came from this country that devastated the French wine industry back in the early 1900s,” Robert explained. This variety was resistant to that plague, he said.

“The one thing that caused us to select this variety is that this soil here has a high pH – it is very alkaline,” Robert said. “This grape is known to be able to handle that chalky alkaline soil.

“The European grapes want a more acidic soil.”

A winery in the making

“There are a lot of people who make homemade wine and that is basically what we want to do,” Robert said. “It is just a matter of collecting the grapes at the right time. Then there is a bit of chemistry. You can make some pretty bad wine if you are not careful.”

When it comes to the taste of the wine, Robert said he will leave that up to his wife.

“Karen is really the connoisseur of good wine,” Robert said. “I am more interested in the growing and entrepreneur aspects of it.”

Karen said, “Basically I really like wine that isn’t too sweet. That is the problem with homemade wine. There isn’t enough sugar naturally in the grapes and you have to add some.”

Adding sugar to the grapes during fermentation won’t yield the same delicate flavors as if the grapes were naturally sweeter.

“It never quite balances out and doesn’t get that body you expect in a really good red wine,” she said.

How the idea took hold

The couple came up with the idea of starting a vineyard after a visit to Arkansas about three years ago.

Robert, admitting his impulsive nature, took to the idea and began researching growing grapes.

“What we decided to do was instead of moving to Arkansas, we would spend the money and make Bee County like Arkansas by starting our own vineyard,” he said.

Only a few months later, the vines were in the ground.

Donnie Montemayor, Bee County agricultural extension agent, said he’s never heard of anyone attempting to start a vineyard in Bee County; however, he said he sees no reason why it can’t be done.

“I, however, do think that the climate and soil type is suitable for production,” Montemayor said. “I do also think that there is a very intense type of management involved in growing grapes.”

The Bensons, who are in their third year of growing and expect a full crop of grapes next year, must irrigate their plants almost daily to ensure the vines are able to grow – especially now that rain has become a rarity.

Choosing the grapes

When selecting his grapes, Robert knew that there is a difference between a grape to be eaten and one meant to be fermented and sipped.

Karen said, “I think wine grapes are sweeter. They have to have a high sugar content so that the sugar can be fermented.”

Table grapes, Robert said, are more acidic and have much thinner skins.

“The skin tends be a little thicker (on wine grapes) because the color of the wine comes from that skin,” he said. “A perfect wine grape would have just the right sugar content and just the right acid balance.

“Essentially the wine making would be easier after that.

“What you run into with these grapes is that the sugar is never quite right and the acid is never right so you have to play some chemistry games to get a wine you can drink.”

Robert said he doesn’t expect to be selling the wine, although he and his wife would like to see harvest time become an event like it is at other vineyards.

“If we ever get a full production, we will probably invite the folks from Beeville to come and help us pick,” Robert said. Karen quickly chimed in, “a picking and a stomping.”