After nearly 40 years of practicing law in San Antonio, Houser turned his shingle to the wall and moved to the country. In a front page story in Texas Lawyer magazine about his change in occupation, the former UT law student opened both barrels at the state of jurisprudence in Texas. Most of the soil in this part of the Hill Country is a thin layer of dirt mixed with lots of cliche and rocks. But in the protected valley around the house where the Dry Comal Creek had deposited centuries of silt, the soil was deep and fertile. He increased the planting to 4,000 plants over five acres with remarkable results.
Most grapevines take four to five years, in the best of circumstances, before they are productive.
After only a year and a half, his vines were producing commercial-quality grapes. By the summer of 1998, the office was turned into a winery. That first year they produced 900 cases of award-winning wines. Among the winery's offerings it is hard not to find one that you don't like. Besides being an award-winner, the Sauvignon Blanc is unusual from most other wines of that type.