The Austin Winery
Spaghetti Western 2023: all Sangiovese, one Walker Vineyards block in the Texas High Plains, a cool wet spring then heat and wind, 205 cases, made downstairs.
Why go
Nicolai McCrary describes the range here as natural and low-intervention, and says there is usually something interesting open on a given day.1 The producer's own page makes the sourcing concrete: Spaghetti Western 2023, all Sangiovese off Walker Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, 205 cases made, from a season the winery describes as a cool wet spring followed by heat and wind that pushed ripening and shrank the berries.2 The room is a two-story industrial warehouse filled with tables, barrels and plants.1 Food trucks park right outside, and McCrary names Nixtamal, Reem's Falafel and Knuckle Sandwich among them, so an afternoon of tasting can turn into dinner.1 The tasting room sits at 440 E Saint Elmo Road in the St. Elmo warehouse district, in a complex that also holds Still Austin Distillery, St. Elmo Brewing and Texas Sake Company, each inspected as its own business.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: a glass of something orange and funky, which is the pour McCrary points a first-timer at.1
- Or: the current single-vineyard bottling if it is pouring. Spaghetti Western 2023 is all Sangiovese off Walker Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, and the winery made 205 cases, which is small enough that the room is the reliable place to find it.2
- Cheapest good move: take a bottle and drink it there. The winery charges no corkage.1
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary, The Infatuation Austin:
they don’t charge a corkage fee, making it one of the more affordable options for natural wine in town
.1 - On the room, same review: he calls it a surprisingly cozy two-story industrial warehouse, filled with lots of tables and barrels, plus a bunch of plants to liven up the space.1
- Why there is no score: the Infatuation rates only places where you can eat a full meal, so there is a byline here and no number. The blank is a scope rule and it is not a low verdict.1
Good to know
- Hygiene: Austin Public Health scored the kitchen 95 on 18 February 2025 and 95 on 25 January 2024, on a scale where 70 is the failing line. The city files the business as
Austin Winery, The
, which is worth knowing if you go looking.3 - Eating: the food trucks outside are the kitchen. Nixtamal, Reem's Falafel and Knuckle Sandwich were parked there when McCrary wrote.1
Verdict
could-visit — The Austin Winery is an urban winery in the St. Elmo warehouse district, making wine from Texas High Plains fruit on the premises. The current Sangiovese comes off one vineyard in 205 cases, so the scale is small enough that the room is the reliable place to drink it. The Infatuation's Nicolai McCrary describes the range as natural and low-intervention, the room as a two-story warehouse full of tables, barrels and plants, and the corkage as free, which he calls one of the more affordable ways to drink natural wine in the city. Food trucks park outside, so a session there can be a meal. It sits in a complex with a distillery, a brewery and a sake maker, which makes the trip work for a group with different tastes. The city has scored it 95 twice. Published tasting-room hours are still missing, so check before you drive south.