Faith, determination keeps Texas winery going after Hurricane Harvey

Refugio winery back in production after getting hit by Hurricane Harvey

REFUGIO, TexasTexas South Wind is a quaint vineyard and winery located in Refugio, Texas.

It is one of few wineries near the coast. 

The place has been around for about 10 years and its wine can be found in 160 stores nationwide. 

Last August, everything came to a halt, as the eye of Hurricane Harvey sat on top of Refugio for three hours. 

"We had no idea what we would find when we got back," owner Regina Staggs said.

After the storm passed, the Staggs Family went back to find serious damage.

Not only was the family home destroyed, but half of the vineyard was ruined.

As a result, the winery and vineyard had to close down and production was halted for about 90 days. 

"During the hurricane, our wine production suffered tremendously, because we had so much we had to deal with," Staggs said.

Seven months later, with a little faith and determination, Texas South Wind is getting back to some normalcy.

"Our production is coming back up, and our grape vines are blossoming," Staggs said.

Texas South Wind is now back open Monday through Saturday, and for the first time since the hurricane, music will return to the vineyard on April 21.

"It's a great blessing for us to have this," Staggs said. 


About the Author:

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.