region
in
France, so the
man knows his
stuff. We sat in
his office and
talked about
the inspiration
behind it all
and he told
me,
“You
gotta love it,
for a French
man wine is a
passion.” He
The Ste. Genevieve vinyards outside Sort Stockton are pruned by hand.
then took the
Photo: Jeremy Gonzalez
glass of red
enjoyed its dry finish.
wine off his desk and turned it upside
I’m actually a man who favors white
down. My heart bounced off the car-
wine, so I discussed my options with
pet, but that was the only thing that hit
Sue before we continued. I loved how
the ground. He laughed and said, “It’s
she actually took the time to educate
a fake glass of wine, it’s actually a tro-
me on their wines and described the
phy that was given to me.” I laughed
different flavors involved as we shifted
and put my heart back into place, and
colors. The white wine we decided on
we began the tour.
was the magnificent Chenin Blanc. It
The building doesn’t look very big
was dry with a dash of sweet. The sub-
from the interstate, but as we strolled
tle tones of peach and apple danced
into the Harvest Room I found myself
well together and I absolutely loved the
standing inside a massive factory, gaz-
way it tasted. Next up was the golden
ing up at stainless steel towers filled
Muscat Canelli, which was my person-
with wine. Every drop counts in this
al favorite of them all. I took my time
winery, and as Michel explained the
on this one and savored the noted fla-
equipment I could tell he genuinely
vors of fresh pear, honeysuckle and
cared about improving the wine quali-
slight orange. There was a nice bal-
ty and developing new products.
ance happening in this wine and it was
Michel explained how the Harvest
honestly one of the best blends I’ve
Room only operates at night to keep
ever tasted. I finished happy with the
their grapes as cool as possible, and I
cupcake of the batch, the sweet Pink
started to realize that making wine is a
Moscato, which is their recommended
very intricate course of events. I
dessert wine. My wife doesn’t drink
admired Michel’s passion and drive for
wine, but she enjoyed reading her
making good wine here in West Texas,
Bible out in the cool breezes of the
and I could tell that he has perfected
patio with a cold cup of orange-infused
his craft. We said farewell to the chilled
water. The Grey Mule is not limited to
Harvest Room and headed deeper
only serving wine; their additional
into the winery.
items include iced water, Sprite, cheese
The next place was a very busy
trays, and delicious bread paired with
warehouse that smelled like a Home
flavored olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Depot drenched in wine. You could
My overall thought is that The Grey
hear the sounds of complex machines
Mule Saloon is a good place to unwind
hissing, fork lifts beeping, and employ-
at the end of the day. It is a diamond in
ees chattering as they diligently attend-
the rough and a ritzy room in the
ed to their duties. There was one
desert for tasting home-grown wines.
machine rinsing off wine bottles and
Toward the end of my visit I found
Michel walked through the shallow
out that the Ste. Genevieve winery
water on the floor like it was business
actually has the largest vineyard in all
as usual. “Watch your step,” he told
of Texas. Curious to see it, the follow-
me as we moved through this wet sec-
ing Wednesday I traveled 27 miles east
tion and stepped over some large hoses
of Fort Stockton to an isolated white
resting on the ground. I felt myself
building surrounded by majestic
transform from the snazzy wine tasting
mesas. I met up with the general man-
Jeremy into tough-guy Jeremy as I fol-
ager, Michel Duforat, who agreed to
lowed Michel through the industrial
let me tour their private wine-making
jungle. We came to another machine
territory. He is originally from
slapping labels on bottles, and I
Bordeaux which is the biggest wine
observed how the employees actually
boxed every wine bottle by hand.
Behind this scene was a large area that
resembled a Sam’s Club. There were
stacks of wine boxes all shrink-
wrapped, placed on wooden pallets
and ready to be shipped out. One par-
ticular stack caught my attention. It
was labeled “For Grey Mule Tasting
Room Only.” Their vast inventory
included many brands from their col-
lection, such as Ste. Genevieve, Mesa
Vineyards, Lost Maples, Peregrine
Hill, Shadow Brook and many more.
We left the noisy warehouse and
walked down a quiet hallway of offices.
Michel opened a door and introduced
me to some people working inside an
all-white laboratory. This is where the
new blends are created, microbiology
is practiced, and test tubes are
embraced by science. I asked Michel if
he was hands-on during the creation of
new wines and he said, “Yes, but I am
not a wine maker, I am a wine
drinker.” We laughed and then he
asked me the question of the day: “Do
you want to see the vineyard?”
Without any hesitation I replied
“Yeah, sure!” and we climbed into his
truck.
Michel drove toward the mesas
down a winding dirt road, and when
we finally arrived at the vineyard we
were three miles away from the win-
ery. I had already been told that the
vineyard was dormant at this time and
that there were no leaves or grapes vis-
ible. I didn’t mind. I just wanted to get
out there, feel the soil, and experience
it all first hand. I stepped out of the
truck and inhaled the fresh country air.
This was the most significant part,
standing among the vines where the
desert grapes are born. The transfor-
mation from Ste. Genevieve’s agricul-
tural labor to an elegant evening at the
Grey Mule Saloon is so remarkable!
Michel told me that all of the vines are
pruned by hand and that it’s a very
rough task. That’s something I didn’t
think about when I drank the final
product. The Grey Mule Saloon and
Ste. Genevieve are partners together in
providing an outstanding glass of wine
from grapes grown right here in the
desert.
Before we parted ways I thanked
Michel for allowing me to explore the
winery and vineyard and I asked him if
there was anything he wanted me to tell
the Cenizo readers. He smiled and said,
“Not people. Just tell Mother Nature to
leave us alone for a while and let us
grow grapes correctly.”
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Cenizo
Second Quarter 2014
11