Winery license costStart at www.ttb.gov. You should start there by finding out who the agent for winery licensing in your area is. Now is a good time to start, btw .. the feds have...
Maybe there is a bit of a difference in winemaking culture between Texas and other regions such as the the Pacific Northwest. While it is true that Texans tend to be corteous, it's also true that there isn't much of a winemaking tradition over here. For example, when I talk to people who live in Washington State, it seems that everyone is familiar with what a grapevine trellis looks like, and everyone seems to have an uncle who "worked for such-and-such vineyard for over 30 years". Here in Texas, it seems that most people have never seen a vineyard.
I'll give you another example. Last summer I drove to Fredericksburg (the "heart" of the winemaking region in Central Texas) and I knocked on every vineyard's door to ask if they would sell me a pail of grapes after the harvest. Every single one of them reacted like they have never been requested that before, and nobody offered to sell to me. They all raised their eyebrows when I mentioned that I was a home winemaker trying to make a 5-gallon batch.
Enough of the ranting. Ahh, tomorrow I will be in San Francisco enjoying the cool weather.
