How Pour Girl Wines Started - Succeeding in Dallas

In Texas, lately, there's been a new and interesting wine emerging. A local entrepreneur is dipping her toes in the waters to explore and succeed in this new business.

For several years, vineyards in Texas have had fame. We see millions of visitors coming in to take a sip of wine from more than fifty vineyards in Texas Hill County. In fact, the area stretching from Austin all the way to Fredericksburg and from New Braunfels to Lampasas earned their place among the top 10 Best Wine Regions in the county, according to USA Today.

Credits: Dallas Observer

There's more to this. The Hill County is not the only place in Texas where you get good grapes. Llano Estacado is also where you have 270,000 acres of high plains also known as the Texas High Plains or THP American Viticultural Area or AVA. This entire area is 3,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level and sits like a crown. It is on the east of a desert that has a bright sun in the day and cool nights. This makes it a great spot for grapes.

Twelve years ago, Courtney Luscher, founder of The Lucsh List organized the wine program at The Grape. She wrote a blog on Texas Wines, and it highlighted those wines from Texas are moving up worldwide. Based on the information it became clear that a viticulture business could flourish in Dallas.

Sage Vintage (Nacogdoches) does not grow grapes. It collects grapes and processes them to make bottled wine. This is how Jessica Wortham started her own brand in Dallas, named The Pour Girl.

The Pour Girl has been in the wine selling business for 13 years now. Jessica Wortham reportedly said, "Texas wine gets a bad rap. So, I always thought if I had my own company, I’d make it affordable, educational, and fun. I want to take the pretentiousness out of it."

Credits: Dallas Observer

Wortham is working on her first two styles, and something awesome is about to happen. She explained what goes on in making a special wine brand saying, "Most wine is bulk. It’s all about slapping a label on the bottle and marketing. A custom crush is the opposite of that. The recipe is custom chosen by me."

It took her five months of wine tasting and customizing to make the first perfect blend. She worked with the crush facility directly to tweak the acidity and flavor. Now she has two wines - a Rose and Chenin Blanc both selling for $19.99.

In October, we expect a line of newly bottled wines she is working on. Wortham is a successful independent wine seller with no formal distribution. You can place orders directly starting from September 3. You can also look her wine up at Frisco Fresh Market. They are affordable because, as Wortham puts it..."No one should have to empty their wallet for a good bottle of wine."

Cheers!