American Wine Trail - Food and Drink International

AMERICAN WINE TRAIL }
STE. GENEVIEVE WINES
A Taste of Texas
Ste. Genevieve winery promotes Texas as a wine-producing state. B Y
LORI SICHTERMANN
LONE STAR: Ste. Genevieve
endorses Texas for wine.
P
Pat Prendergast, president of Ste. Genevieve Wines in Fort Stockton, Texas, has
spent a lifetime in the wine business. “Wine is in my blood, literally and figuratively,” he says. Ste. Genevieve Winery sits on 1,600 acres of west Texas land leased
from The University of Texas Land System, which benefits Texas A&M and The
University of Texas. Ste. Genevieve has 600 acres of vineyard at its west Texas location, and this year, the winery plans to sell 640,000 cases of wine in white, red and
rose varieties.
In terms of domestic wine production, Ste. Genevieve ranks as the 23rd-largest
winery in the United States. And while the winery has experienced success since
it opened in 1981, it’s not been easy growing. According to Prendergast, Ste.
Genevieve still has a lot of ground to cover – literally and figuratively.
T H E W R AT H F O R G R A P E S
The hardest and riskiest part of his business, Prendergast relates, is growing
grapes in Texas. “You have to have thick skin to do this – no pun intended,” he says.
Although Texas vines produce quality grapes, the risk involved in growing them is
28 food and drink • spring 2011 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
much higher than in other wine-producing states, such as California and Washington. As Prendergast explains, late
spring freezes are always a concern, as
are hail storms. “We’re at a high eleva- >
C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E
STE. GENEVIEVE WINES
ANNUAL PRODUCTION: 640,000 cases
EMPLOYEES: 40
HEADQUARTERS: Fort Stockton, Texas
SPECIALTY: Texas wines
PAT PRENDERGAST, PRESIDENT:
“You have to be passionate about
what you do in this business. There are
constant challenges, and in order to be
successful, you need perseverance.”
AMERICAN WINE TRAIL }
STE. GENEVIEVE WINES
EARTH DAY: The soil gives
Ste. Genevieve’s wine flavor.
> tion – 2,700 feet. So, we often have problems with hail damage.”
At its peak in 2005, Ste. Genevieve Winery consisted of
1,000 acres of vineyards. However, over the course of several growing seasons, the winery was hit with severe weather.
Freezing temperatures, hail and strong winds damaged nearly 400 acres of land. As Prendergast explains, Ste. Genevieve
is replanting to make up the lost acreage.
Although the atmospheric conditions may be tough on the
Limestone has a lot of calcium
in it, which gives our wines
a smoky, almost oaky taste.
We get a lot of earthiness
naturally from our soil.’
30 food and drink • spring 2011 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
grapes, west Texas actually provides some unique benefits
when it comes to growing wine. “We have a lot of limestone
in our soil,” Prendergast explains. “Limestone has a lot of
calcium in it, which gives our wines a smoky, almost oaky
taste. I often get the question of how much oak is in our
wines. People are surprised when I tell them ‘none’ because
if we did add oak, it would be overpowering. We get a lot of
earthiness naturally from our soil.”
The sunshine in west Texas is plentiful, but it also can be
brutal. Therefore, grapes at the Ste. Genevieve winery are
harvested at night. “As it gets warm, the grapes get more rubbery and are harder to pull off of the vine,” Prendergast
explains. “During night harvesting, the air is cooler and it’s
easier to remove the grapes from the vine – not to mention
it’s easier on our employees.”
SPREADING THE WORD OF WINE
Since taking over at Ste. Genevieve Wines in 2004,
Prendergast has made significant progress with the winery.
{{ A
AM
MEER
RIIC
CA
AN
N W
WIIN
NEE T
TR
RA
AIILL
+++++
However, he feels there still is a lot of work to be done.
“When I came into the company, our goals were to diversify,” Prendergast explains. “We want to develop and sell
more wine at different and higher price points and in more
states and markets.”
According to Prendergast, Ste. Genevieve sells 86
percent of the wine it manufactures in Texas to
Texans. “We’re way behind California, Washington
and New York in terms of awareness of our state
wines,” he adds. “Many people don’t even know
Texas produces wine.”
Over the past five years, Prendergast has aggressively marketed Ste. Genevieve wines, developing a
three-tiered product line with matching price points for
each wine. “We’ve made strong inroads into higher
price points with other Texas accolade products,”
Prendergast says. “We’re not just a one-dimensional
winery with one price segment. Instead, we’ve made
efforts, and we’re doing well to hit the higher price
points. It’s good to see that our efforts are really
paying off.”
More than 15 varieties of Ste. Genevieve
wine are available to consumers via three
distinct lines. The most affordable tier of
Ste. Genevieve wines are Texas Red,
Texas White and Texas Blush. The middle
and upper tiers of Ste. Genevieve includes
popular varieties such as the winery’s top
seller: Ste. Genevieve Chardonnay.
In an effort to spread the word regarding
Texas wines, Ste. Genevieve has expanded its reach to consumers outside of
Texas. The winery has made its products
available in grocery, liquor and drug stores
in more places outside of Texas. The winery also has entered the restaurant market.
“There’s a lot of share to be grown in the
restaurant market,” Prendergast notes. “It’s
a great place for us to expand awareness
of our brand and of Texas wine.”
As Ste. Genevieve continues its efforts
to promote its brand of wines, as well as
the Texas wine industry, Prendergast is
conscious of the hard work ahead. “You
can’t just turn on a switch and be successful at all your objectives,” he says. “You
have to be passionate about what you do in
this business. There are constant challenges, and in order to be successful, you
need perseverance. Thankfully, at Ste.
Genevieve, we have all the right elements
to grow and meet our goals.”
A F RU I T F U L C A R E E R
Pat Prendergast, president of Ste. Genevieve Wines in
Fort Stockton, Texas, is a man with a mission. He eagerly
is at work spreading the word about his brand of Ste.
Genevieve Wines and about Texas wine as a viable player in the wine market. And Prendergast is the perfect
man for the job. He’s spent his entire career in the
wine industry, thus he knows quite a bit regarding
the business side of the grape.
Prendergast began his career when he was 21,
after he was recruited by E & J Gallo of Modesto, Calif.
“I worked for Gallo for four years in sales and sales
management roles,” Prendergast explains. “While
with Gallo, I went to business school, interning at the
winery during summers. After two years, I returned
full-time to Gallo with an MBA in marketing.”
For more than six years, Prendergast worked his
way through Gallo’s corporate structure. “I worked in
sales and marketing roles at Gallo, eventually
becoming the winery’s director of sales and marketing for Northern Europe. I moved to the United
Kingdom with my family and lived there for
three years while in that role.”
Eventually, Prendergast left Gallo to start
his own company. Based on his experiences
working in the international wine industry,
Prendergast started an international wine
brokerage company for various wine
brands. His company represented wineries
that did well in their domestic markets,
but wanted to grow export sales. “After
three years I sold the company to our
biggest client,” Prendergast adds.
In 2003, Prendergast came to Ste.
Genevieve Wines, but after making the
owners an interesting proposition. “I knew
the owners were interested in selling the
company, so I made a deal with them that
I would help improve the operation and
position it for sale,” he explains. “I also told
them that I might be an interested buyer.”
Prendergast came through on his end
of the deal – improving the company and
growing its brands. Under his leadership,
the winery has expanded its product offering and its reach throughout Texas and
beyond. He bought the company in 2005
and continues to work toward this objective of growth for Ste. Genevieve Wines.
Prendergast’s experience in the industry undeniably plays a role in the continued success of Ste. Genevieve Wines,
and, as he explains, that knowledge is
priceless. “There’s a lot of knowledge that
is required to do this well. You need a lot
of experience, passion and fortitude to
progress,” he explains. “Our operation is
successful because we love what we do,
and we’re constantly learning how to do
it better.”
food and drink • spring 2011 • www.fooddrink-magazine.com
31