TEXAS BORN AND GROWN
About Meierstone Vineyards
Meierstone Vineyards is a family-owned winery in the Texas Hill Country with deep Texas roots. The tasting room resides on the 555-acre Meierstone Ranch, a fifth generation working farm and ranch in Stonewall, Texas. We proudly support the Texas viticulture movement and source grapes from local growers around the state. We believe in making small-batch, premium wine using sustainable processes wherever possible, from environmentally friendly farming practices, winemaking processes, and barrel aging programs. Our wine portfolio showcases the natural terroir of Texas, which we proudly celebrate with every new vintage.
About the Family
Albert Meier (1921-2014) was a farmer, entrepreneur, inventor and master machinist. His inventions include the peanut harvester, which he created when he was 16 years old, as much of the land in and around Gillespie County grew peanuts. He then came up with a land-clearing method by casting a large 6′ iron ball with an axel core, which was chained to two bulldozers by ship anchor chains (each link weighing 100lbs), to knock down trees and create farmland and other infrastructure, like the Fort Hood Army Base. The iron ball is now called the “wrecking ball” and is displayed as the gate ornament to the property’s entrance. After clearing land around Texas for some time, Albert purchased and ran the J.I. Case tractor dealership in Fredericksburg for 20 years with his wife, Dora. Upon retirement, he spent his time cultivating his fields and restoring antique tractors and cars – a collection which is still preserved today.
However, his inventor spirit precedes him. His great grandfather, Jacob Brodbeck, designed, built, and flew the world’s first “air ship”, a self-powering passenger carrier in 1865 near Luckenbach, TX. Brodbeck’s air ship managed to lift off from the ground above 12 feet and fly a distance of about 100 feet before the coil came unwound and the ship crashed into a chicken coup, injuring the inventor. It may have not been an earth-shattering feat, but it certainly qualified as the first successful powered flight of an aircraft, predating Wilbur and Orville’s Kittyhawk flight by 40 years. A bronze monument of Jacob Brodbeck is on display in the Fredericksburg town square.
About the Farm & Ranch
Meierstone Farm & Ranch was purchased in three sections, beginning in 1959. The pastures were terraced and plowed into fields, which rotate between grain crops of corn, wheat, and oats. Water tanks were built to support the cattle, and exotic and native deer enjoy their multiple feeding areas. Originally belonging to a family of turkey farmers, a sizeable flock of turkey still roam the back part of the property, often making a clever appearance on Thanksgiving Day.
Aside from farming row crops, it was commonplace for Texas Hill Country families to grow and use native grapes for winemaking in the Texas Hill Country. Dora Meier (1922-2015) was particularly skilled at the craft, making wines from various grapes varieties and peaches from her garden.
About the Name
With the last three generations being only-children, “Meierstone” is a joining of the final female surnames, Meier and Stone, as a nod to the family’s heritage.
