Wait, Houston Has Wineries?

Braman Winery

I had heard a few rumors of various wineries on the outskirts of Houston, but had never been. My friend suggested that we end her birthday celebration with a trip to Braman Winery in Richmond Texas.   I jumped at the offer, before pulling it up in my Apple Maps app.  Fair warning, this place is far if you live nearer to the Houston Loop. Despite the distance (and being out of uber range), in a word, this place is perfect.  Here’s why:

Wine:  I typically drink the cheap wines that you can find at Kroger, so I would not say to trust my opinion on the wine, but my other friends who are wine connoisseur’s really seemed to enjoy the wine.  Even though we came after the typical tasting hours, the staff allowed us to sample a few wines before we settled on a glass or bottle.

I tried the A10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sparkles and the Mimosa of course.  All were great, but I settled on a glass of Sparkles for about seven bucks, so the prices are not too bad either.  On my next visit I’ll make sure to pick up a bottle of the Sparkles Mimosa.  They have smartly bottled orange juice and Champagne together in a gorgeous statement piece bottle.

My Glass of the “Sparkles”

Setup: The current tasting room feels like the living room  of a wine enthusiast.  Used wine bottles have been used as decoration on one wall and old corks fill the bottom of  coffee tables and end tables.  There was even chandeliers made of wine glasses.  They also had an adorable deck outback that is likely used for small events like weddings.  Overall you really feel at home.

Our cork table coffee table

The Deck.

My friend’s checking out the wine list. Doesn’t it look like we are just hanging at a house? 

It’s a small picture but check out the wall of wine bottles and the wine glass chandelier in the background. 

Entertainment: On Saturday nights they have live music, which only added to the fun.  The performer that night sang everything from Country music, Reggae to Pop music like Maroon 5.  If you walked away without liking at least ONE of the songs he sang and played, you just don’t like music.

Staff: Everyone there was SO nice, which kind of played to the idea that we were just over a at a friend’s house having a wine tasting.  They continued to check on us through the evening and offered us complimentary waters towards the end of the night.

Food:  It’s BRING YOUR OWN FOOD! How amazing is that?? They just focus on making great wine and let their guests bring food or order food while there.  When I was there at least three other groups ordered pizza.  The delivery men seem to be so familiar with establishment that they just walk right into the tasting room to deliver their pizzas.  The winery did offer some basic Boars Head prepackaged meat and cheese types of things, but pizza from Papa Jones with some great wine just sounds better in my opinion.  Another birthday party group also brought their own cake to celebrate.

All and all, I really liked this place.  I am already planning to return with another group of friends.  I’m also looking to try out a few other wineries in Houston that I’ve heard about. I’ll of course review them all here 🙂