Look: Here’s an interview with Matt Smith of the Austin Winery at 440 E.St Elmo Rd.
This more detailed take a look at one prospering center of viniculture is a more thorough supplement to our current overview of the creative and industrial and community-welcoming compound of the Yard at St. Elmo.
Note 1: We have actually got comparable factors to consider of 2 other Yard- based services, through interviews with the excellent folks of Spokesman Coffee andTexas Saké Company (And you might remember how we covered their Yardly next-door neighbors, Still Austin and Raw Paw, method back in the, uh, the Before Times.)
Note 2: The Austin Winery, begun by Ross McLauchlan, Matt Smith, and Cooper Anderson in 2014 and relocated to the Yard in 2017, makes its own white wine– its own actually excellent white wine, in ranges supported by a variety of Texas vineyards– and welcomes long-lasting oenophiles or curious novices to an inviting bar and a soaringly roomy, elegantly developed tasting space.
Alright, now let’s check in with this affable white wine merchant …
The Austin Winery’s Matt Smith
Austin Chronicle: What are Austin Winery’s origins?
Matt Smith: We began about 8 years earlier– we were northeast of Austin– and for 2 and a half years we worked out of a rinky-dink little location in, like, an organization park. Our old tasting space was a meeting room that we had actually transformed. But we determined what we were doing, and improved at wine making– we’re all self-taught. Cooper did a number of online courses, however for one of the most part we’re self taught, and whatever you’re tasting is of our own development. And then we moved here– I believe we were the 3rd business in, behindSt Elmo Brewing andStill Austin And we opened about the exact same time as Spokesman.
Austin Chronicle: And your offerings have progressed for many years, is that right?
Matt Smith: Well, we began doing a bit of California things. But, for 4 or 5 years now, we have actually done Texas white wines solely. And we make all of it right here. We get the grapes in from a great deal of family-owned vineyards in the High Plains– like, in the Lubbock location. We do a little little Hill Country, however it’s primarily theHigh Plains We get a great deal of individuals can be found in here and going, “So, ah, where are your vineyards?” But we do not own any vineyards ourselves– we concentrate on the making, not the growing. We bring the grapes in here and we make it here: Exactly like a brewery design, other than we make white wine rather of beer. And whatever’s natural. We do not pitch yeast, so it’s natural fermentation. You simply let the white wine do its thing. We attempt to do as low intervention as possible. Occasionally we include sulfites, however that’s extremely uncommon. And naturally we’re clear about that on the bottles– since individuals are particular about that, nowadays.
Austin Chronicle: But the Hill Country is the significant white wine area in Texas, isn’t it? So lots of vineyards, a lot activity and promo. So, why do y’ all utilize more of the High Plains rather?
Matt Smith: Availability is a great deal of the problem. And rates, clearly– they can charge more for Hill Country grapes, since it’s more of a white wine nation: Nobody’s going to go trip in Lubbock, actually. But the environment is way much better for grape-growing up there, compared to down here: You require the cold nights and hot days. The just issue we face with vineyards up there is the late spring frosts, freezes. and things like that.
Austin Chronicle: Is there any sense of, like, a competition going on?
Matt Smith: The white wine neighborhood is, for the a lot of part, inviting. It’s, ah, I’m not gon na state “stylish,” however various individuals get popular at various times. There’s guaranteed idols within the market, regional celebs inTexas But we have lots of good friends throughout the board, in the Hill Country and up in the panhandle. The primary vineyard we deal with is called One Elm, this actually good man called Brad, and he offers all of us his grapes.
Austin Chronicle: Okay, so that’s the grapes can be found in. And how do your white wines head out?
Matt Smith: We simply changed suppliers– and now we’re dispersed, as far as wholesale goes, in 4 or 5 states. We send out white wine out to California, we send out white wine to New York, to New Jersey, and Philly– this is a current advancement, however, about 8 months earlier. And in the area, we have possibly forty or fifty accounts that bring our white wine– we move a great deal of our items through Central Market and Whole Foods.
Austin Chronicle: And what brought y’ all here to the Yard in the very first location? Why this location in specific?
Matt Smith: This was a blank canvas of a structure– I believe it was a machinist’s, a factory, prior to we relocated– so that was actually enticing. We developed out this entire structure. (And, to be sincere, I believe we have the most beautiful area on the block– as far as doing the most with what we have.) And we met theSt Elmo men and Chris [Seals] from Still Austin, and we simply type of vibed. Like, “This is what we’re attempting to do down here,” and we met CJ and Trey from Spokesman next door, and we were all like, “Yeah, let’s attempt to make a little killer’s row of alcohol,” you understand what I indicate? We have actually type of united.
Austin Chronicle: Tell me what makes Austin Winery a beneficial organization, what assists set you apart from every other winery around.
Matt Smith: Well, you underpromise and overdeliver– that’s our basic method of doing things. And what we provide is a total white wine experience that you do not need to drive 3 hours out to the Hill Country for. And, likewise? I believe our white wines can complete throughout all of Texas, with anyone in Texas, and our item is here to support the experience. Also, dealing with a range of various vineyards, it makes us more active. We can go where the patterns go, if we desire. We’re not restrained to whatever we’re growing– since we’re not growing it. We do not need to rip up any vines and begin over or whatever, which is a good aspect of this organization design. If we have an interest in something various, we can simply head out and get it.
Austin Chronicle: And what about COVID? How ‘d the pandemic reward y’ all?
Matt Smith: The pandemic was quite frightening instantly. We developed into a bottle look for about 2 months, simply had a little station in advance. And then we returned in June of 2020 with table service. And I and my partners, we, ah, we were full-on waiters for an excellent 6 to 8 months. We were going to tables, we did appointments, simply did whatever required to be done, you understand? But we have actually been back to routine bar service for, like, 9 months now. And once individuals began returning out, they were all set to celebration– so it’s been respectable ever since. But it was genuine frightening from March to December of 2020.
Austin Chronicle: So, just how much of having an open bar and a tasting space like this … just how much of it is based upon the quantity of earnings it generates? As opposed to just how much y’ all much like doing it?
Matt Smith: I do delight in operating in alcohol, and speaking to individuals, fulfilling individuals– that’s a great time. One of the most rewarding things is, when we began, 100% of our income was the tasting space– since no one understood who the hell we were. We could not enter Whole Foods and Central Market at that time. So, over the 8 years we have actually been doing this here, it’s advanced. And, in 2015, it has to do with fifty-fifty. But this space– [he gestures around the cavernous, well-designed interior]– it’s still our support. Just the quantity of individuals we get in here, it’s terrific. And it’s so rewarding when you get, like, a young couple in here, a couple who are experimenting with white wine together for the very first time, and they are available in to do a tasting, attempt possibly 4 or 5 bottles, see what they like. It’s so good.
Austin Chronicle: I understand y’ all do those regular monthly Walkabout things, those house party where all the drink location and food trucks have specials and collabs and possibly there’s live music and whatever. But what about the everyday of the Yard? Do y’ all work together on a routine, or a minimum of periodic, basis?
Matt Smith:Definitely We have actually done a collab with Spokesman, an amaro– a coffee spritz example. And, yeah, other things, too. Most of the innovative skill in the Yard has an excellent relationship with each other. And we’re buddies with the fitness center men, too, the men at MADabolic.
