Ste. Genevieve Winery

The Ste. Genevieve winery near Fort Stockton, Texas, until recently, owned by the French wine conglomerate Domaine Cordier Estates, is the largest winery, by far, in the state. Both the enormous main building, which stores tens of thousands of gallons of wine, and the 800 acres of vineyard directly behind it, home to over twelve grape varietals, are enormous even by Texas standards. All of this is even more remarkable given the fact that the winery is invisible. Well, that is overstating the reality. The winery is established just off interstate 10 W, just east of Fort Stockton. The structure, a three-storied white, metal rectangle with few windows, resembles any number of industrial buildings that can be seen at the back of any town. Nevertheless, the winery rests alone on the side of the highway in the middle of the Permian desert. Driving either direction on the interstate, the building is so non-descript, so isolated, that noticing the thing should bring a prize. It is, quite literally, hiding out in the open.

The wine business in Texas is a relatively new yet capricious industry. Seeded in the mid 1970s it is now a multi-million dollar a year business. Indeed, according to the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, there are presently 138 commercial wineries operating in the state. It shouldn’t take too much imagination to understand how large an operation Ste. Genevieve would have to be in order to be the largest from such a number of competitors-especially within a state where size is always a priority.

The production here is incredible. The winery’s general manager, Jean-Michel Duforat, a French native of the Bordeaux region, reports this past July that the vineyard produces roughly 3000-3500 tons of grapes each year and from this fruit they are able to retrieve 170-180 gallons per ton. To quote Mr. Duforat, “We produce about 630,000 gallons per year.” Mr. Duforat adds that this output was, “not enough.” The winery also exports an extra 970,000 gallons per year by buying fruit and juice from unaffiliated grape producers. (In fact, the Pinot Noir, if you look on the back label, reads ‘French’ because the grapes are brought over from France then aged and bottled at the winery).

Mr. Duforat is French as is the head winemaker, Benedict Rhynes. All of the tanks, equipment and tools used in the wine’s production are French. When the 27,000 gallon tanks were brought from France in 1985, they were assembled, in the winery’s parking lot, in the Texas heat (imagine welding aluminum casks while standing on asphalt in July!) by a team of workers from the south of France. However, their product is uniquely Texan, a fact that has not escaped Mr. Duforat. He has been here for a little more than twenty years, owns a restaurant in Fort Stockton near the golf course, and his children have been raised here. Although he visits France when he can, he appears duly acclimated to Texas. As we sat in his office he offered that, “Texans are always proud of a Texas product” and he is undoubtedly proud of his efforts.

Ste. Genevieve Wines

P.O. Box 697
Fort Stockton, Texas 79735
(800) 336-2166