LANDON WINERY

by Julie Taylor

Make Time for Wine!

Photo by Ethan Good

One of the best-kept secrets of Wylie is nestled downtown on the corner of Ballard Avenue and West Oak Street. Landon Winery opened its doors at 103 N. Ballard Ave. in April 2017. In just four short years, Landon Winery has become a staple in Wylie, supporting the Downtown Merchants Association and the Wylie Economic Development Corporation, and sponsoring events such as the Sip and Shop in downtown Wylie.

The Sip and Shop is held twice a year. Landon Winery provides food and drink outside participating shops as customers browse what downtown has to offer. “It’s a great opportunity for people to enjoy an evening out in downtown Wylie,” said Kim DeFoe, Landon Winery manager. “It’s a good way for people to see all the shops we have here. We have a great turnout when we hold this event.”

In addition to the Sip and Shop, Landon Winery holds monthly tasting events that are paired with local vendors, such as Bold BBQ, Tiff’s Treats, Nothing Bundt Cake, and cupcake and popcorn vendors, and movie trivia nights. “They’re always a great hit with our customers,” Kim said. “The events always sell out.” The winery also holds winemaker dinners once a month, where the wine is paired with fine dining provided by a different chef each month. Recently the winemaker dinner attracted 76 people to Wylie, each of whom paid $100. Kim said the winery is planning an intimate, luxurious eight-course winetasting dinner this fall. “The maximum number of guests will be set to 16, so it will be a small intimate setting,” she explained. Other past events include paint on boards, where customers painted on wine barrel staves, paint on wine glasses, and yoga and wine.

The COVID pandemic affected many businesses, but Landon Winery had a pandemic plan in place and only had to shut down for six weeks. The winery offered virtual tastings and home wine delivery, said Bob Landon, owner. “Customers come by and pick up their wine, or they can have it delivered, and then we hold a virtual wine tasting online and suggest food that would go well with the featured wine of the month,” Bob said.

In fact, the winery was able to expand next door to 101 N. Ballard Ave., offering a large enough space for rehearsal dinners, weddings, showers, receptions, and endof-life celebrations. Kim said the space features a winding staircase and a large open area for seating or dancing, as well as private restrooms. In the main tasting room, wine tasting is available at any time during operating hours. The winery also has an upstairs lounge for private parties.

The winery encourages customers to join its Wine Club, which includes perks such as 20% off all purchases (including wine, retail purchases and the Small Plates Food menu), Wine Club pick-up parties, and access to members-only promotions and events. Club members also enjoy first access to new wines. Membership in the Wine Club is free, and within the club there are five tiers to choose from – Sweet Club, White Club, Mixed Club, Red Club, and Premium Club. Premium members enjoy three bottles of Barrel Reserve wines delivered twice a year. The winery also has Wine Down Wednesday every week, which features half-price bottles of wine consumed on site. The winery releases new wines every other month. “We’re one of the largest wineries in the state and the country,” Bob said.

Landon’s passion for wine making began in his seventh grade science class in the small town of Canton, Mo., when he was taught to ferment grapes into wine. “It was such a fascinating process,” he said. “I asked my parents if I could try it at home in our garage. To my surprise, my dad being a Southern Baptist preacher, they agreed.” His passion for wine making may have been inherited, Bob said; his grandfather, who came from Germany, had his own vineyard and produced his own wine. “In Germany, people often made their own wine, beer, and other alcoholic drinks,” he explained. “My grandfather mentioned to me years later he was surprised I never noticed that his iced tea had bubbles in it.”

Bob’s interest in making his own wine grew into a passion over the years. He continued to make his own wine in his basement until he decided to leave the corporate financial world 16 years ago and open his own winery. He opened the first Landon Winery in McKinney and has since added wineries in Greenville, Wylie, Coppell and Grapevine. The Greenville location, a 50,000-square-foot distribution center, was built in 1939 and is the main production facility. “The business continues to expand over the years, and we have more than doubled our production,” Bob said.

Kim said events are held at all five locations on a monthly and weekly basis. “All five locations support each other. We make our best effort to use local vendors for our events. For example, I asked Bold BBQ to come out to an event at one of our other locations, and it was great. It gave them exposure to that area, as well as helped us with our event.”

Landon Winery is located at 103 N. Ballard Avenue. It is open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m., Friday from noon to 11 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Visit their website at landonwinery. com to learn about upcoming events and to join the Wine Club. The winery can also be contacted at wylie@ landonwinery.com or 972-442-0155. •

Photos courtesy of Landon Winery