Newsom Grape Day 2022: Recapping a wonderful, quick trip to the Texas High Plains
I’ve just returned home from the Newsom Grape Day 2022 in the Texas High Plains and, wow!
Laurie Stevens Ware was my partner in crime as we left Fredericksburg on Thursday afternoon to make the 5 hour drive. We arrived late for the fundraising dinner at The Triple D Winery and Event Center that was arranged by Texas Custom Wine Works to raise money for the Hoss Newsom Scholarship fund. We crashed the party but didn’t regret it as we saw some of our favorite grape growers in the world!
After grazing from the leftovers and sharing some great Texas wines, we had the luxury of sharing the home of our dear friends Mary Adkins Wilmeth and Ty Wilmeth for the next couple of nights. Better than any B&B I’ve been to!
Friday morning, we left early to head from Brownfield to Plains, Texas where Newsom Vineyards is located. Our goal was to spend the day learning, seeing friends, learning more, and tasting great wines. Over the course of the day, Dr. Ed Hellman, Dr. Bob Young, Kyle Frazier, Dr. Amit Dhingro gave presentations. Meanwhile, Neal Newsom, Andy Timmons and Bobby Cox held discussions in the vineyard. The BBQ lunch was provided by Sunridge Nurseries and the brisket was outstanding.
Once the day of learning was behind us, we drove back to Brownfield to The Triple D Winery. We joined the members of Texas Artisan Vineyards Cooperative for their annual meeting and shrimp boil. I was excited to share an overview of Sommly.com with the group. There may or may not have been an excess of wine during the day and evening, but we were able to call it quits at a reasonable hour to get caught up on sleep.
After breakfast with our lovely friends and some puppy play time with their Schnauzer, Zeus, Laurie and I were on the road by 10am. We managed a quick visit to Los Nopales winery in Sterling City. We left with half a case of wine, a hibiscus iced tea, and 4 dark chocolates made in West Texas.
Now I’m home and enjoying some time on the sofa with my hubby and our furbaby and feeling grateful for all I have in this life. I love my wine friends and am so fulfilled to be in an industry full of growth, potential and great people!
Drink well, my friends!
