Only The Beginning! New Vines Lead to Estate Wines.
So many smiling faces in this video! We could not be more delighted with the turnout and the great energy from our members, guests, volunteers and partners on April 10-11. Thank you all for visiting us at the new home for Siboney Cellars, and for putting roots down with us in the Terrace Vineyard Block! For you vineyard lovers, check out the site details and additional photos below.
Short of having a baby, planting a vineyard is the most optimistic thing you can do in life.
All the photos you see in this video are available for you to have, with our compliments! To download, please visit this link. When you post your photo, please do tag us on our Facebook and Instagram feeds and let us know you’re sharing #Siboney!
Member Photos: https://miguellecuona.zenfolio.com/siboney-april2021
The estate wines coming from this vineyard are earmarked for the Wine Club. To join, visit www.SiboneyCellars.com and explore the Clubs page.
The next Member event is scheduled for Memorial Weekend May 30-31. Stay tuned for more details. And again, thank you for giving us the best possible start for 2021.
Siboney Cellars Terrace Vineyard
- AVA Classification: Texas Hill Country
- Region: Pedernales Watershed, 4 miles W of Johnson City
- Topography: Sloped Limestone Terrace, live oaks, native grasses, wildflowers, and very much cleared cedar; no prior cultivation
- Elevation: 1,450′ (443.2M), 35′ elevation change
- GPS: 30.262326, -98.462126 (30°15’44,4″N 98°27’43.7W)
- Soil: Well-drained Doss Silty Clay, Brackett Association, and sandstone aggregate to 24″; atop limestone foundation. Significant fossilized seabed treasures across the site.
- Acreage under vine: 3.68ac
- Varietals
- Merlot 181 ENTAV-INRA on SO4 — East block to Live Oak Mott
- French Clone, originated from Bordeaux, certified 1973
- Nursery: Wonderful, Kern County, California
- Merlot FPS 24.1 on SO4 — Live Oak Mott and West Block
- Italian Clone, VCR 101, certified 2002
- Nursery: Novavine, Sonoma County, California
- Total Planted: 5009 bench graft dormant vines
- Vines survived wildfire, pandemic, and ice storms to reach Siboney
- Merlot 181 ENTAV-INRA on SO4 — East block to Live Oak Mott
- Spacing: 8×4, Bodark (Osage Orange) end posts
- Orientation: South-North, with prevailing summer winds
- Irrigation: Drip – rainwater capture and site well (depth 400′)
- Soil and Site Analysis: Fritz Westover
- Vineyard consultant: Bill Blackmon
- Trellis Installation: Donny Jackson
- Vine Planting: Luis Cortes and his team, by hand
- Planting Date: April 5-11, 2021
This must be how Thor feels holding Mjolnir! 
A view from the North, upslope, to the central Live Oak Mott Bodark end posts, 9′ tall, sunk 3.5′ into concrete. We just love this functional look Merlot Clones in bundles of 25, packed in sawdust. 5 days from dormancy to planting. Irrigation system has many heroes including Chad from Aquadocs, key in getting the wells tied in for planting. 
Luis Cortes, longtime friend and Texas Hill Country Vineyard Team: Javier, Francisco, Sergio 
Just You Wait… Verbena blooming in the vineyard and across the property 
Miguel with Bill Blackmon, legendary Texas Vineyard Grower A South view from the Alley, downslope, to the “ground-breaking oaks”, with our trusty JD4520 at ease We can’t wait to share the bounty of this #txwine Merlot vineyard with you Bill and Tate conferring about irrigation. OR waiting for the bus
With Gratitude…
Nearly 150 members and guests put roots down in our vineyard with us over the weekend of April 10 and 11! That just stuns us. We will never forget it, and we are every bit as excited as you to see it come to harvest in the future. Thank you!
We are blessed by our industry friends and project partners, all who share a love for the hill country and for Texas Wine: Legendary Texas Vineyard Grower Bill Blackmon who we hope never regrets asking to develop our vineyards at Siboney; (and thank you Tate, Andy and Evan!); Soil and Site Analyst Fritz Westover, whose joyous reaction to walking the site for the first time reinforced our own hopes and dreams; the vine-planting team led by my friend Luis Cortes, and his camaradas Javier, Sergio and Francisco. Thank you to Wonderful nursery for supplying the ENTAV Merlot clones. Holding that bundle in my hand must have been like Thor holding Mjolnir! And a very special shout-out to Sam Caselli of Novavine for his initial encouragement, timely and astute assistance and amazing service every step of the way. We also are indebted to Donny Jackson and his installation team; our Architect Kim Thompson of Reliance, and especially to Chad Meyers of Aquadocs and Blaine Langford of JK Bernhard, who pushed the limit on tying our wells together in time to commit the planting dates.
We also thank the expert volunteers who supported us to bring the event to such a success. Thank you Daniel Kelada, Kappy Simpson, Callisto Griffith, and Kourtney Collins. Thank you Chris and Elisa Hensz. Thank you to the Busch Family and Fire Oak Vineyards. Thank you Dee Dahlstrom. Thanks to our caterers, Mike’s Q on Saturday and Vivere on Sunday. We also appreciate the great music from Nathan of Spicy Loops, and the beloved Hill Country duo, Greg and Lisa Trace of Gold. And to Jason Cook, the Mayor of Hye, for loaning us those great tables and chairs from the Hye Hall!
And finally, this must be said: Our partnership with Bill and Mary Anne Waldrip has made every bit of this possible, and in ways we could never dare to hope. No project has extracted more commitment, trust and perseverance than this. We do this for our Members. We do this for Texas. We do this for Love. And we will work hard to make this site a point of pride for all of #TxWine. And it’s only the beginning. MRL
