Lost Maples Winery – A Winery in Transition

I have been a member of Harvest Hosts since the beginning of my RV adventures in 2018. The program offers interesting and unique places to stay while supporting small businesses. It’s such a win-win program you can’t help but love it. My favorite places to stay through Harvest Hosts is wineries. You usually have a beautiful parking spot with awesome views and you can walk to go wine tasting and never have to worry about driving. Sometimes you meet the winemaker or get a special behind the scenes tour. My stay at Lost Maples Winery in Vanderpool, TX, certainly lived up to all expectations.

About Lost Maples Winery

History

Tom & Glenda Slaughter were the original owners of Lost Maples Winery. The winery sits within the Polvado (Polvadeau is the original spelling) Vineyards. The land had been in Glenda’s family since 1812 when her great grandfather immigrated from France. The vineyards once stretched as far as they eye could see, as they say but, over the years, much has been sold off.

Lost Maples Winery was the first commercial winery and commercial vineyard in Bandera County. The grapes grown at the winery are Black Spanish Lenoir Grapes which were originally brought over from Spain into Mexico and Texas by missionaries in order to make communion wine. They are an extremely hardy variety.

Current Ownership

Chris and Tori Sheridan have worked at the winery for six of the seven years the tasting room has been open. Chris came to work in the viticulture program and Tori as the event coordinator.

When Glenda Slaughter passed away two years ago, they took over running the company. They purchased the winery about six months ago and plan to change the name to Sabinal River Winery by the end of 2021.

New owners, Chris and Tori Sheridan, plan to change the name from Lost Maples Winery to Sabinal River Winery by the end of 2021. Click To Tweet

The Future

Currently, about half of the wines at Lost Maples Winery are made in Lodi, California. The other half are made from Texas grapes that they either buy or grow themselves. They are phasing out the California wines and sourcing more Texas grapes. Since they don’t do any commercial shipping, they can keep their wines lightly sulphited.

A lot of their business comes from hikers visiting local nature areas – Lost Maples State Natural Area and Garner State Park. Therefore, their goal is to be a relaxing, casual place where people can come as they are. They are happy to provide visitors with as much or as little wine education as they want.

My Stay at Lost Maples Winery

Saturday

It was early on Saturday afternoon when I arrived at Lost Maples Winery. I pulled in to the long, sweeping driveway and drove by the grapevines. I stopped part way up the drive to go to the tasting room to check in. Chris came out to greet me and show me where to park. I needed to back up quite a few feet and told Chris I hadn’t had much practice backing. Thankfully, after a few miserable attempts, he took pity on me and parked my rig for me.

After I got the trailer set up and the cats out of the car, I went to go taste some wine. It was a beautiful day and the tasting bar was set up outside on the patio. They were offering free tastings and had live music. The winery was quite busy all afternoon with visitors purchasing bottles of wine to enjoy in the shade of the huge trees while they listened to the music.

On some days, you can enjoy a bottle of wine in the shade of the huge trees while you listen to live music. Click To Tweet

After tasting on Saturday, I purchased a couple of bottles and returned to the trailer to enjoy a glass of Merlot and spend time with the kitties.

There was one other rig staying at the winery Saturday night and I visited with those folks in the evening around their fire. They told me how much they loved it at Lost Maples and that they had stayed there several other times through Harvest Hosts.

A storm blew in later in the evening on Saturday and it started pouring around 11pm. The wind was blowing so hard that it was blowing rain in the windows. I had to jump out of bed to close them even though it was still quite warm in the trailer.

Sunday

It was cloudy in the morning but the rain had stopped. I waived goodbye to my new friends as they drove out. I had planned to stay at another Harvest Hosts location Sunday evening but they never got back to me to confirm. Chris was kind enough to give me permission to stay a second night.

Even though it was cloudy, I decided to hook up my new portable solar panels just to see how they work. The sun did finally start to come out some in the early afternoon so I got a little bit of a charge.

After all the guests were gone and the winery closed, the cats and I had the place to ourselves! The weather continued to improve in the afternoon and we enjoyed a wonderful evening exploring the grounds and chilling by the pond.

Since I was there for two days, I split my tasting over those two days rather than trying so many wines at one time. I purchased another two bottles when I went tasting on Sunday.

What I tasted (in addition to what I purchased): Vin Obsession Reserve, Vin L’Inspiration (Pinot Noir),

What I purchased: 2019 Vin Obsession (Merlot), 2019 Vin Expression (Sangiovese), 2019 Vin Symphonique (Symphony), 2018 Vin Rouge Reserve (Lenoir)

Lost Maples Winery Details

Hours
Wednesday thru Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday & Tuesday: CLOSED

Follow their Facebook page to see the entertainment schedule and other updates.

 

My Final Thoughts about Lost Maples Winery

If you are an RVer and a member of Harvest Hosts, Lost Maples Winery is a beautiful and peaceful place for an overnight stay. If you are just visiting for wine tasting for the day, you’ll still appreciate the gorgeous grounds. In addition, you’ll meet extremely friendly hosts and enjoy delicious wine.

Join Harvest Hosts to enjoy overnight RV stays at places like Lost Maples Winery. Click To Tweet

Join Harvest Hosts before the end of the year and save 20%!! I can’t recommend this program enough.

Until next time…