Taste the Difference
November is USO month!!!
$1.00 will be donated to the USO for every bottle of wine sold during the month.
My mom was working at a USO when she met my dad. So this is a way for me to give back to them and you to give to help keep the spirits up for our service men that are away from home during the holidays.
- Tom Knotts
IN THE MID SIXTIES Tom Knotts and his father Max Knotts tried their hand at winemaking. Tom reminisces about nearly getting KICKED OUT of college for having a WINE EXPLOSION in his dorm closet right before a dorm check. This was the beginning of a life long pursuit.
Max would eventually start an experimental vineyard and winery named DOS OKIES Vineyard & Winery, Inc. as a way to demonstrate the possibilities of the grape industry on Oklahoma soil. He was also instrumental in starting the first state wide Association of Grape Growers and Winemakers.
When Tom realized he was actually going to live long enough to RETIRE, he began the search for his next adventure. He naturally leaned toward the wine industry. So he started the way he always starts, by RESEARCHING the subject. He has read about all of the books printed on wine and if they were printed in another language he at least LOOKED AT THE PICTURES. He worked at Dos Okies since its beginning and has taken all of the classes offered at Grayson County College in Sherman Texas at least twice. He continues to attend seminars and other courses to stay current with innovations in the industry. With a plan in mind, Redbud Ridge Vineyard & Winery was born.
The current LOCATION was purchased in 2002 and the first 1/2 ACRE of grapes were planted.
JUGGLING a new vineyard, a full time job, and taking care of Dos Okies continues until 2005, which was the LAST HARVEST at Dos Okies. The facility has been repurposed and is no longer the home of said Dos Okies.
Tom retired in 2007 and opened the doors of Redbud Ridge Vineyard & Winery in October of 2008. Yes...that was the HEIGHT of the financial meltdown.
With more than 40 years of VINIFICATION EXPERIENCE Redbud Ridge wine can be bought exclusively at the Redbud Vineyard. Stop by and visit Tom and the gang next time you see the big “WINERY OPEN” banner displayed out by the highway.
Located on HWY 9 just East of SE 72nd st.
(If you’re coming from I-35, twelve minutes east of exit 108A)
Boy, have they come a long way from bootlegging out of a college dorm closet.
