Mission Portejas

Grape:

Texas Convent

Grapes sourced from:

Rio Farms

Monte Alto, Texas

Finish:

Sweet; Fortified

The Story:

For centuries, missionaries helped the French and Spanish claim and settle early Texas by establishing missions in strategic locations and on rivers.  On the ruins of the French Fort St. Louis near Lavaca Bay and Garcitas Creek, the Spanish built a mission in 1722 before moving it to Mission Valley's Guadalupe River and to Goliad's San Antonio River as La Bahia to escape hostile Indians.  In the late 1850's, French nuns founded the first convent in North America in Brownsville and brought the now rare Convent grapes from France to make sacramental wine.  The grapes that survived and adapted have made a dessert wine that reflects its old world roots and its Texas mission heritage.