Krista Hartman Winemaker Profile – Texas Wine Lover®

This month, we are featuring a winemaker who also keeps busy managing her estate vineyard. Krista Hartman started making wine but soon evolved into growing grapes too. Krista Hartman and her husband Scott started the Hartman Vineyard and their winery Red River Wines and Provisions in the Texoma AVA in North Texas. I should also mention that along the way, Krista Hartman kept herself busy by writing for Texas Wine Lover. Krista and Scott make a lot of their wines from their own vineyard, so this month’s interview includes some grower questions. We are proud to feature Krista Hartman as this month’s Winemaker Profile.

1. What did you do before growing grapes and making wine?

My career journey has spanned a few chapters since graduation from the University of Iowa 36 years ago. From golf professional (Des Moines) to high-rise commercial offices leasing agent to residential real estate sales (Chicago) to coaching entrepreneurs to authoring a book with my mom (Dallas), I’ve covered a lot of diverse territory on my road to rural Grayson County to now grape farmHER and winemaker.

2. When did you first plant your vineyard, and how many acres did you start with?

In 2016, my husband, Scott, and I planted a Test Vineyard consisting of Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Alvarinho, and Viognier: 25 vines of each variety. We wanted to see how the vines responded to our sandy loam soils, and I needed to get my hands dirty and my mind fully engaged in farming.

3. How many acres do you have today, and what grapes are planted?

Today, we have about four acres of vines in the Hartman Vineyard. The winning producer is Tempranillo. There are more than 3.5 acres of Tempranillo thriving. The Test Vineyard has expanded to include Garnacha, Graciano, Viura, Picpoul Blanc, and Roussanne, plus 110R, SO4, and 101-14 Rootstocks we’re testing to contrast verses 1103P for future expansion. All our Tempranillo, except for 25 vines, is planted to the vigorous 1103P rootstock.

4. What first attracted you to growing grapes?

For my 49^th birthday, Scott bought me a wine kit and all the goodies associated with making some homemade wine, just as a tease because I’d been exploring the winemaking-grape growing idea here in North Texas. Inside the kit was a vacuum-sealed package of crushed grapes I used to make an “Amarone style” blend. Out of curiosity, I called the kit company to ask exactly what grapes were in this package, and I was told it was proprietary. I laughed. Thought to myself, it would be really cool to grow grapes of my choice for my wine. During the same November, we attended Grape Camp in the Hill Country for the first time and became enamored with the winegrower-winemaker community. The Monday after Grape Camp, I enrolled in the Grayson College program and started in January 2015.

5. What is the toughest challenge about being a grape grower and winemaker in Texas?

There’s potentially SO many answers to this question. I want to say late spring freezes/frosts in the vineyard, which is legit, but I must make my answer broader. The toughest challenge is keeping up with ALL the many tasks that accompany the dream here. I am the sole full-time person responsible for the day-to-day accomplishments, the Chief of Vision. It’s all me and my weekend warrior husband, Scott, and, gratefully, some awesome volunteers from time to time. The vines are mature and VERY productive, I have a fully permitted small wine production space (I’m now out of room, tanks, etc.), and my tasting room has been open for just over a year. Getting “things” done in a time frame that suits me and reaches my goals for the vineyard and winery is the toughest challenge. Thankfully, we’ve made some recent hiring decisions for the new year.

6. What first attracted you to winemaking, and how long have you been doing it?

The short answer was curiosity. The long answer is as follows. We moved to Dallas from Chicago in 2006, not knowing there had been a rebirth of the Texas wine industry. Until early 2007, our custom was to jump on a plane and go exploring wine destinations. We started making day trips in and out of Dallas, exploring the smallest to the largest (at the time) wineries, quite often two to three wineries in a day, depending upon the region. Next came a few trips to the Hill Country and then repeat trips to the North Texas wineries we really enjoyed, and had joined a couple of wine clubs. Most had wines we would truly look forward to, and most had terrific customer service. Most of the time, we would meet owners who were fantastic. But there were occasional disappointments. It was after one of the disappointments that Scott said something like, “You know, their place was packed today, and their wines are pretty good, not great, the service was just okay, but a lot of wine was being sold. We could do this better. You love to cook, serve people, and be creative with hospitality. What do you think?” And soon after, there was that 49^th birthday wine kit birthday gift mentioned a moment ago. And I’m 60 now and into big batches, serving a lot of people, and getting increasingly creative with hospitality. Haha!

7. What is the most common question you are asked as a grower or winemaker?

As a grower, frequently, I’m asked, “What grows well around here? What should I plant? How long does it take until the vines are producing grapes?”

As a winemaker, “How did you learn to do all this? Where did you learn?”

8. What advice would you give someone wanting to start a vineyard today?

Embrace a “you don’t know what you don’t know” attitude and be prepared to make a lot of mistakes and keep learning from them constantly. If ever you doubt you are not in control, become a farmer where it’s proven over and over. Therefore, deepen your Faith and keep growing in that Faith.

9. After a long day in the vineyard and winery, what do you do?

I start with my Smooth Jazz Sunset playlist on Spotify, take a hard look at what I accomplished during the day, appreciate it, then think about what I might like to cook for dinner while enjoying a glass of something (or sip Ranch Water on a hot day). If I’m feeling filthy, I’ll enjoy a hot shower before heading to my kitchen. It really helps me relax and unwind, and attempt to “let go” of what didn’t get done and reset for the next morning.

10. If you didn’t grow grapes and make wine, what would you do?

Probably, I’d get back into coaching and consulting with a wine industry focus. And I’d start traveling to a long list of “want to go to” destinations.

11. What’s the greatest part about being a grower and winemaker?

Looking back on the first year of having the Tasting Room open and reflecting on an incredible number of visitors, by far the greatest part of being a grower and winemaker is the positive verbal responses and expressions of enjoyment on the faces of our visitors as they taste through the wines I’ve made and nurtured from the grapes I grew. Knowing I am creating wines that people are enjoying is so rewarding.

12. Anything else you would like to add?

In all my years of trying different activities and career choices, grape farming and winemaking are the choices I’ve stuck with the longest and can’t imagine not doing it. The wine industry community/family in our North Texas region is especially meaningful to me. Without those amazing relationships, friendships, and people paying it forward for me, I wouldn’t be here getting featured as a winemaker and grower. There are incredibly gracious and generous people in our region.

If you are a wine grower or winemaker and have not been featured yet in a Grower Profile or Winemaker Profile, please contact us!