Having a vineyard of your own and being able to craft your own premium wines seems like a dream. For members of Texas’ Driftwood Golf & Ranch Club, this dream will be realized.

Driftwood, a Discovery Land Company property, planted its vineyards in 2006 and began bottling in 2009. The property currently offers members the ability to tour its vineyards, learn about the grapes and taste the wines. But in the future, members will have the opportunity to lease rows of its 60-acre vineyard to create their own private label wines from 14 grape varietals, allowing members the freedom to craft a single-grape wine or a signature blend. 

Among Discovery’s properties, Driftwood is currently the only to offer a vineyard onsite, though CostaTerra has plans to plant vineyards, as well.

“A large part of the signature Discovery lifestyle is the unparalleled culinary experience that showcases the local culture and celebrates the history of the land,” said Casey Paulson, Driftwood’s president of sales and operations.

The vineyard experience also influences the food that the culinary team prepares for Driftwood’s members. “Driftwood is in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, which has become the most notable wine region of the South,” Paulson said. “The grapes grown within our community will, of course, feature on our wine lists but will also inspire the dining cuisine of our culinary team.”

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The vineyard is special for many reasons, not least of all because of viticulturist Jay Knepp, who was responsible for choosing the first grapes they planted and is present during every planting session. Paulson says Knepp is out in the fields every day and has been overseeing this vineyard for over a decade, so no one knows it better than him. Driftwood and its vineyard are located in Texas Hill Country, one of the largest wine-growing regions in the country. Knepp even mentioned that when they first planned to grow grapes at Driftwood, he had sent soil samples to California to be tested, and when the results came back, it stated that the soil was some of the highest quality for growing grapes—not just in Texas, but in any American wine-growing region.

Having a vineyard on premise is a notable and unique amenity, but part of its success is that it appeals to every type of member. “For homebuyers, the vineyards are celebrated for their unique views in central Texas; for culinary enthusiasts, they are celebrated throughout the menus; and for environmentalists, they are celebrated as a beautiful and fruitful way to sustain the natural landscape,” Paulson said. “That collective buy-in is what makes them sustainable for generations to come.”

Discovery members, Paulson said, really make this offering as successful as it is because they are so invested in the culture of the community and the experiences Discovery creates for them. “Our community plan was thoughtfully designed so that a significant number of our homesites will enjoy unimpeded views of more than 10 acres of vineyards,” Paulson said. “Members will be able to sit on their back porches, sipping their private label wine while enjoying sunset views over the very vines that produced the wine in their glass.”

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