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CTX wineries could see effects from California wildfires

Posted at 9:42 PM, Oct 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-18 22:52:15-04

After 12 years in business, the owner of Salado Wine Company, June Ritterbusch has winemaking down to a science.

"When we pick the grapes with the white grapes they go through the crusher and distemper and so they are all smashed we stick them in here," Ritterbusch said.

The winery opened in 2005 and has served the Village of Salado since then.

"I was really interested in opening a winery because I love Salado and I saw that Salado was a popular tourist town and I wanted to offer something that the tourists didn't have," Ritterbusch said.

So she did just that and has taken the small Village of Salado by storm.

"We process the grapes, we bottle the wine and we ferment is all right here and then we work with grapes from other vineyards in the area as well and a long time ago we bought some grapes from California as well."

Which is why the wildfires happening in California hit close to home.

"I've gotten several emails from vendors that I work with, for example, our cork vendor is in Napa and they send out emails saying they can't be available because they are with their families and it makes you feel a little sad about how much people have gone through. People have worked hard for their wineries."

And while the state of Texas has no wildfires threatening this winery, there are colder months coming.

"Grapes have an annual cycle just like apple trees or peach trees."

Which is why Ritterbusch isn't worried about the cooler months, rather she welcomes them with a nice glass of wine.

She added that as these cooler months pour in, her heart pours out to her wine family in California

"We just want to let them know they are in our thoughts and prayers," Ritterbusch said.

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