[Note from Miguel: The big Texas #IceStorm2021 disrupted pretty much everything including this blog entry which was to mark the debut of the new website. Now that power has been restored we can update you on many things!]

Like you, we often wonder about the inspiration for wine names. Truth is, before we even named Siboney Cellars, we knew the first two wines would be named Travis and Hot Shot.

Barbara and I were married February 15, 2008. Prior the wedding, Barbara lived in Philadelphia, and I lived in Austin. We kept a running game of Scrabble going online, for many months. I played under an alias, Travis, because after years of spelling “L-E-C….U-O…. N-A” for Austin restaurant waiting lists (remember those???), I simplified to “Travis, party of 2” because every Texan can spell Travis! So that stuck. I was fortunate to win many of the early contests. But as is typical for Barbara, her competitiveness and determination are pretty much unstoppable. And sure enough, she got on a hot streak, and won 7 games in a row. So I wrote to her and said, “okay Hot Shot that’s enough of that!” Next thing I knew, she changed her Alias to Hot Shot.

Travis and Hot Shot were printed on the matchbooks for our wedding, and so naturally they are the first red and white wines for Siboney Cellars. And now you know the rest of the Love Story!

As for the wines? Both are delightful Texas blends of Rhone varietals, and we will create these each year. The 2017’s sold out. The new 2018 Hot Shot (Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier) is now available in our wine store. And the 2019 Travis (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre) is in barrel, and will debut this Spring. We’re sure you will show both of them nothing but Love!