Have you ever imagined a quiet and relaxing day at a winery … in a commercial business park?
Although you wouldn’t think to find a Texas winery tucked away in a strip of businesses located off Anderson Mill Road, it’s actually quite a pleasant surprise to find your way to this family winery with the warmest of welcomes.
Bent Oak Winery opened up their doors in October 2015. Take a trip to the east side of the Lake Travis area and get ready to enjoy a taste of wines made with grapes sourced from both California and Texas.
Meet the Team Behind the Wine
On your trip, you’ll be delighted to meet the whole crew: husband and wife John and Audrey Catalano, and sibling Marilee Catalano and her wife Debbie Bruce.
John brings 15 years of experience producing distinctive wines while wife, Audrey brings her passion for wines and warm hospitality to the operation.
Marilee runs the Operations Support arena with her 30 years of IT development while wife, Debbie brings her 30+ years of Program/Project Management to complete the entourage’s wildly talented stat sheet. Talk about a dream team!
Take a Private Tour
Once you enter the humble establishment, you will find an adorably cozy sitting area.
Pushing on just steps further, the warmly decorated establishment opens up to a large warehouse style area that houses wood and steel wine barrels, along with other wine equipment that holds the harvested grapes and contraptions that extract the juice.
Tucked back into a small corner, John’s “mad-scientist” lab area looks like a mini modern man-cave where he can work peacefully next to all of the precious grapes that are fermenting and getting ready to produce some of the most delicious wine you will sip on.
A Variety of Wines to Sample
Bent Oak’s current selections are:
- Blanc Du Bois from the East Texas Range
- Cabernet Sauvignon from the California Sonoma Mountains
- Chardonnay from the California Russian River Valley
- Zinfandel from the California Dry Creek Valley
Out of all, I really enjoyed the Blanc Du Bois as it reflects notes of fruit and is semi-sweet — most like the dessert wines I typically fancy. Their wines have a very fresh and clean taste with a delightful finish.
What’s There to Love About Bent Oak Winery?
They are a family owned/operated company that serves up a great product.
Forget planning for a trip to a winery hours away from home. You can make the drive to their location just off the intersection of RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road for a relaxing wine tasting.
And when asking John if Bent Oak Winery ever planned to “go big” (corporate), his reply was, “No — I want this to stay in the family and we’re just doing what we love to do.”
Tasting Room Hours & Location
Saturdays 11am-6pm
Sundays noon-5pm
Bent Oak Winery (map)
2000 Windy Terrace, Bldg 2-B
Cedar Park, TX 78613
512.788.3254
