Bay Breeze is Texas’s newest named wine trail, Texas Wine Lover blog reports. It was organized in 2017 and currently includes five wineries in Southeast Texas.
What’s a wine trail? Basically, it’s a group of wineries that are close enough to hop around on a day or a weekend. Bay Breeze is one of the smallest of Texas’s 19 wine trails. All the wineries on the list can be easily reached on a day or weekend trip from the Houston metro area.
And what might a wine tourist encounter on Texas’s Bay Breeze Wine Trail? As a Texas-born wine enthusiast, I’m happy to fill you in!
With only a handful of wineries on the map so far, it’s hard to generalize about Gulf Coast wines. But I’ll try: Sweet and flavored wines are big down here, an alternative to the tiki drinks and frozen margaritas that are popular at coastal bars. Expect casual, easy-drinking dry wines that pair well with fresh Gulf seafood and Tex-Mex. And if you visit the wineries, you’ll find unique, small-batch pours from producers who are helping to shape the emerging Bay Breeze wine scene.
It’s too warm in South Texas to grow V. vinifera grapes to optimal quality. Tropical influences from the Gulf mean that Pierce’s Disease is a constant threat, and the hot summers cause grapes to be harvested early, often as early as mid-July.
That’s not to say people have stopped trying. There are small, experimental plots of traditional European varieties found across Texas.
But for the most part, hybrids are where it’s at. The main grapes in southeastern Texas are Black Spanish (also known as Lenoir) and Blanc du Bois. These hardy halfsies have learned to tough it out in the hot and muggy conditions of the Texas Coastal Plains.
Innovative Texas winemakers are doing interesting things with the raw materials: Bold and spicy reds from Lenoir, blended and varietal white wines from Blanc du Bois ranging from dry to sweet, and fragrant rosés made with both grapes.
The viticultural challenges and the hurricanes are for real down here. As a result, you’ll find fewer grapevines and more micro-wineries making their own styles from honey, orchard fruit, and grapes grown elsewhere in the state.
One more travel tip for the road: The closer you get to Galveston, the more Texans tend to operate on “island time” and business hours are often a suggestion. (That’s not a diss on South Texas–the Wine Fairy is married to a Gulf Coast mermaid and I wouldn’t have it any other way.)
However…small wineries sometimes close their doors for special events or family reasons. It’s definitely worth calling to confirm that a tasting room is open before you make the trek. Prices and hours are provided for each winery (if known) and are subject to change.
Ready? Let’s travel down to the Third Coast and find us some wine!
Ceccoli Vineyards
Ceccoli Vineyards is located in Winnie, Texas, about halfway between Houston and Beaumont. It’s the closest thing the Gulf Coast has to the the glam, camera-ready wineries of the Hill Country. They offer full- and half-day event rentals, private group tastings, and professional photo sessions for families and groups.
With both Black Spanish and Blanc du Bois vines on the property, it’s a beautiful place to peep at Texas hybrids and to taste wines made with these regional specialties.
Ceccoli has an Estate Blanc du Bois ($36)–which medaled at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle’s prestigious competition–and various styles from estate Black Spanish grapes. They include a dry red, a semi-sweet rose, and a fortified dessert wine. Several other varietal wines–Merlot, Trebbiano, Tempranillo, and Dolcetto–are produced from grapes sourced from the distant Texas High Plains AVA.
The tasting room is open to the public Thursday (4-9 PM), Friday (3-9 PM), Saturday (2-8 PM), and Sunday (2-6 PM). The kitchen serves gourmet pizza and charcuterie boards to accompany wines by the glass and bottle.
Check the events page for special offerings including holiday brunches and wine socials. A wine club is available with benefits and perks for wine subscribers.
Where: Ceccoli Vineyards, 14773 Coon Rd #2, Winnie, TX 77665
Bruno and George Winery
Bruno and George Winery offers “Sicily meets Texas” heritage wines. Their recipes and methods are handed down from Salvatore Bruno, who emigrated to Southeast Texas from Sicily in 1902.
According to their fascinating history page, owners Shawn and Misha were instrumental in getting the Texas Legislature to overturn an old law that prohibited the production of wine from dried fruit. The passito (grape drying) method has been practiced in sunny Sicily since the time of the Romans, and it’s so cool to see it transplanted to Texas!
Dessert wines are a specialty here. That traditional raisin wine is still being made, along with a whole lineup of other fruit wines made with berries, plums, peaches and pears. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, you might prefer the Crystal Conch Sauvignon Blanc (lovely with briny Gulf oysters) or the Party of Nine Tempranillo (a great partner for Texas beef).
Bruno and George Winery collaborated on a winemaker’s dinner with Carrabba’s at their Beaumont location in November 2024. (Follow Bruno and George’s Facebook page for updates on future projects.)
Other good stuff to know: Tours and tastings are by appointment. The winery building and pavilion are available for private rentals. Their Cardinal Cranberry Wine and Holiday Blueberry Wine (made with 100% Texas blueberries) are sometimes available through Spec’s Liquors.
Where: Bruno and George Winery, 400 Messina Road, Sour Lake, TX 77659
Clear Creek Winery
Clear Creek Winery is located on the picturesque Kemah Boardwalk. Tasting flights and cheese plates are available. Should you want a more high-concept meal, the winery shares space with modern farm-to-table restaurant eculent.
In business since 2007, Clear Creek is known locally for their “Badd Ass” fruit flavored wines and marina views. There’s also a Cherry Chocolate Port and Raspberry Chocolate Port, which are delicious poured over ice cream from nearby Cool Cow or Sweet Scoops. (It’s not fine wine–it’s fun wine!) Open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 PM to 5 PM.
Where: Clear Creek Winery, 709 Harris Ave, Kemah, TX 77565
How much: Wines by the bottle are $25.99-$45.99.
Frascone Winery
James Frascone opened this cottage winery in 2004, and saw it destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. But he didn’t give up and Frascone Winery currently makes red, white, and fruit-flavored wine. There’s also a small meadery here producing honey wines under the Mystik Oak label. The tasting room is located on the Double Bayou, just steps from the waters of Trinity Bay.
The cozy bistro serves snacks and fried appetizers (including alligator egg rolls) and seats about 20. It’s open Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 12 PM – 6 PM. You can also pick up Frascone wines locally at select independent liquor stores in Baytown, Port Bolivar, and Anahuac.
Where: Frascone Winery, 308 Bayside Drive, Anahuac, TX 77514
Yepez Family Vineyard
It’s worth a trip to Baytown, Texas for Yepez Family Vineyard, offering 100% Texas-grown wines and warm hospitality. David and Lena Yepez’s 20-acre estate vineyard tract was planted with Blanc du Bois and Black Spanish in 2005. The winery also houses a Mission olive grove and an adobe-style tasting room. (Wine tastings are $5, comped with purchase.)
Space in the outdoor pavilion and tasting room can be reserved free of charge for gatherings during business hours. (The winery’s website specifies that this option is for company parties, adult birthdays, BBQs, and fundraisers–no kiddie birthdays, please.) There are also paid options for private tastings and after-hours event hosting.
The grounds are open Friday and Saturday from 12 PM to 6 PM and Sunday from 2 PM to 7 PM. Yepez Vineyards has a busy event schedule throughout the year, featuring grape stomps, craft days, and vendor markets. The winery welcomes picnickers (no outside alcohol).
Where: Yepez Family Vineyard, 12739 FM 2354, Baytown, Texas 77523
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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