Behind the vine

Adrienne Ash - Ash Wines - Austin, Texas

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I grew up in Lake Tahoe and went to Sonoma State University, right near the Napa Valley wine region. While at school, I would go to tastings, and got into drinking wine and understanding how it's made, but I didn’t see myself going into the wine industry at that point. I got a Biology degree there, and I thought I was going to be doing animal research!

Then, I moved to Austin, Texas and started working in the restaurant industry. I worked at an Italian restaurant that had a great wine menu so I began to teach myself the wines - the regions, why they taste a certain way - and it became a great way to get across a passion for wine in the restaurant and connect to customers. I ended up creating a little cheat sheet for the staff and going through that process it finally clicked in my head - maybe I should find a winery to work for.

I know I could take some aspects of my biology degree and apply it to a wine job, so after searching for various opportunities, I started working at The Austin Winery. The company was quite small when I started and I told them I would run everything service-wise, if they taught me how to make wine. That set off my career. I would pick up winemaking shifts a few times a week and then I started making wine myself. My first wine got made into vinegar, but it didn't dissuade me - I knew I could get it right. I'm really happy to be at an urban winery. First off, you're in the city so you are bringing the winery to the people, and since we're an urban winery, we go out and purchase fruit from different vineyards in Texas, and source from all different areas.

What story does your wine tell?

I make wine out of Amphorae and want to differentiate myself through that production style. At The Austin Winery we like to try different methods, and don’t want to do the same thing every time, so I experiment with different grapes from different regions in Texas.

I have produced 2 wines so far:

The first wine I made was out of Montepulciano grapes from the Texas High Plains. The second one I produced is a Sparkling Sangiovese blended with Picpoul Blanc. They were both aged in amphorae and the Sparkling Sangiovese was made using the Methode Traditionale. Currently I’m working with two more Amphorae I bought from a ceramicist in Oregon and aging a Texas High Plains Tempernillo and an extended skin contact Molvasia Bianco.

I think the main thing that sticks out to people is that I'm 100% amphorae-aged and made. That's what makes me stand out. There's not many Texas wineries that do that. I fully respect and want to be more driven by terroir too, but since we don't own a specific vineyard it's all about the grapes and the process.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

There's a lot of misconceptions in wine, but one that I want to get rid of is that wine is good or bad. I don't like that. From working tasting rooms and watching people try 22 different wines and each pick their favorite wine, I think wine is definitely for each individual. It's so diverse and there's so much to know in this space, and I don't want people to be told oh this is a bad wine, and then feel bad about liking it. Wine is an art form, and it’s about how you perceive it. If someone likes different kinds of wine - nothing about that is wrong or should feel wrong.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

A great thing is that wine is always changing. Wine is always changing, becoming different, and you're never stuck in the same place or bored by it. I love that you can always go to a wine shop and find something new. Every. Single. Time. You should always be encouraged to try new things and explore new varieties, because that’s how you know what you enjoy.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

Firstly, don’t be afraid. Everyone is learning wine at different paces, and it’s important to be encouraged to ask questions and adopt the learning process to suit you. If you don't know something, you'll learn it later.

Secondly, I’d recommend trying to get extra experience in tasting different wines or working at harvest because that's how you learn the most about what's happening.

Where can women find your wine?

I’m only in US. If you’re in Austin, you can come visit and purchase in person, or you can go to The Austin Winery website and purchase wine. There you’ll explore The Collective - which stands for 4 of us winemakers (Cooper Anderson, Trevor Elliot, Ashlyn Smith, Adrienne Ash) - and choose from each of our individual wine projects. We have a license to ship directly to 13 states.