John Rivenburgh isn’t only a winemaker who owns a winery. His confidence in Texas wines’ current quality and future potential have led to his industry involvement on multiple levels.
The sixth-generation Texan grew up in San Antonio. After starting and selling his own construction company, Rivenburgh spent years toying with the idea of owning a winery. And in 2006, his dream came true as co-founder of Bending Branch Winery. He worked diligently to hone his winemaking skills and educated himself on all aspects of wine production.
By 2014, he began making small batches of Rivenburgh Wines to showcase his personal expression of Texas grapes. The following year, he began consulting and ultimately left the winery. “People were interested in opening a winery and making wine, but most of these folks needed help to realize their dream,” Rivenburgh says. Drawing on his experience and studies, he could provide guidance and advice in vineyard management, winery construction, winemaking techniques and theories, production, and marketing. “I enjoy the challenge of leading owners and winemakers towards gaining a fuller understanding of their product from the vineyard to the consumer’s table,” he says.
Through consulting, Rivenburgh recognized he could help even more. He purchased the existing Kerrville Hills Winery, located three miles north of the city on Highway 16. But he was aiming higher than a simple winery and tasting room. Rivenburgh saw the need to share information and experiences in a communal space for winemakers to further their understanding through hands-on education. So, the winery incubator opened its doors in 2019.
In business, an incubator refers to a program or organization that helps nurture and grow early-stage startups by providing support, resources, and mentorship. This is exactly what he is doing. By providing a working winery space for a small brand to receive their grapes and ferment them into wine, winemakers can learn the skills they need to go out on their own. The program also provides consulting for vineyard planting, sustainable grape growing, wine business operations and building a brand. More than a dozen winemakers and wineries in Texas started as part of Rivenburgh’s incubator.
Through his involvement with multiple wine brands, Rivenburgh has his thumb on the pulse of the industry. He stays active in leadership roles of impactful organizations that focus on the business of wine. Rivenburgh is the president of Texas Wine Growers and the Texas delegate for the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. In past years, he served as both vice president and two-time president of the Texas Hill Country Wineries Association.
Last year, Rivenburgh began working with Schreiner University and helped the school create a specialized Viticulture Certificate Program. The program focuses on skilled labor experience in practical vineyard management, where students spend a year actively participating in all aspects of the vineyard. He is aiming even higher with aspirations of expanding the program to include winemaking, where students participate in every step of production.
The growing needs of the incubator allowed for the move of the Kerrville Hills Winery tasting room from the winery location to a ranch house adjacent to the Schreiner working vineyard. Built in 1905, the charming home offers a sweeping porch that invites visitors to relax in a rocker with a glass of wine.
At the original winery location, new signage announces Rivenburgh Wine and Hill Country Spirits. Rivenburgh Wine Incubator operates from this facility, and the tasting room is open most weekends. Like his wines, Rivenburgh’s distilled spirits focus on the finest Texas-grown agriculture. Unique beverages include the Texas Prickly Pear Clear, distilled from hand-harvested prickly pear cacti from nearby Hill Country ranches.
Sherah Mills, a viticulturist and part of the family that owns Rustic Spur Vineyards, sums up Rivenburgh. “He is a strong advocate for the Texas wine industry who never stops fighting for us to move forward.”
And we can all drink to that.