If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. Except for growing the grapes, Dionisio is an actual working winery in EaDo, across the street from Kim Son on Jefferson. They opened a year and a half ago, and business is good. Jimmy Aranda and wife, Clarice Aranda, are the owners, wine experts and juice experimenters.
After giving up a career with AT&T and as an avowed Scotch man, Aranda started making wine in his garage because Clarice liked wine. He initially gave bottles away. Then he began charging $10, then $15, then $20 per bottle. Finally, when he was charging $25 a bottle, Aranda believed he could make a go at a business. He opened the Jefferson Street winery and hasn’t looked back.
Dionisio Winery is novel for many reasons: It’s a winery with no grape vines; the winemaker specializes in fruit wines; there’s a dress code; and they have an unusual name. First the name: Most visitors think it is some derivative of Dionysus, the Roman god of wine and merriment. In fact, it is actually Aranda’s paternal grandfather’s name. He was mostly raised by his grandfather, and Aranda said the name is an homage to what his grandfather taught him.
The absence of a vineyard is the first thing to notice about Dionisio. Aranda uses the same grape purveyor since he opened and did extensive research and tasting to make sure he was getting exactly what he needed for his imaginative wines. (And let’s be honest: Plenty of Texas wineries buy grapes from out of state.) The winery contains 10 30-gallon stainless steel tanks, and he has three 300-gallon tanks on order.
The space itself has been a work in progress. Aranda, his wife and a few friends have done the build-out themselves and are still looking to enlarge the space and make a viewing window for the tanks. The space is long and narrow but well-appointed with a spacious sitting area, high-top tables and a roomy bar. They encourage a dressier clientele by enforcing a dress code of at least business casual. No shorts or ball caps. This ain’t no Washington Avenue wine dive. (Three people have been turned away to date.)
Aranda has developed several original fruit wine blends and says he never adds any preservatives. Because they are so fresh and unpreserved, these wines last just three months unopened. Dionisio has several traditional red and white wines, but it’s the fruit wines that set this winery apart in the market. Aranda says he noticed that younger drinkers preferred sweeter wines, such as Muscato, Reisling and Port, so he added fruit to his basic wines and created some truly delicious and imaginative blends.
Dionisio Winery currently produces Green Apple Riesling, Peach Chardonnay, Cranberry Malbec, Pomegranate Zinfandel, Strawberry White Merlot and Black Cherry Pinot Noir. Aranda is working on a few more flavor combos, but I was sworn to secrecy.
In the meantime, Dionisio offers private labeling services. They don’t just put your label on their wine; the winery has the capacity to make any flavor concoction you want. Aranda does warn that he is not responsible for the taste if you come up with some crazy fruit blend like kiwi and tomato.
Dionisio has ventured into the wine cocktail arena with a Dionisiorita and a Pink Floyd. They are both made with his Sauvignon Blanc, one with lime and the other with lemon. (Beyond that the recipes are proprietary.) The Dionisiorita tastes something like a tequila margarita, and the Pink Floyd is pink lemonade with a kick.
Dionisio also offers Wine 101 classes and is available for private parties. Details, hours of operation and more is on the website.
Dionisio Winery, 2110 Jefferson, 713-906-2499, dionisiowinery.com