Location
Deschain Cellars + Winery + Lounge
8363 US-82
Gainesville, TX 76240
(940) 202-9011
Business Hours
Thursday: 5pm – 9pm
Friday: 2pm – 9pm
Saturday: 12pm-9pm
Sunday: 11:30am – 4pm
*Click on the questions about our winery below to expand answers.*
Visit
It’s your lucky day! You won’t have to navigate miles of rough dirt roads to reach us because we are conveniently located off of US-82. Our guests can enjoy a peaceful drive on paved roads and highways that will lead you straight to our well-maintained gravel driveway and parking area.
Nestled off the highway, our winery offers a unique escape that will make you feel like you’re surrounded by nature. And with our commitment to providing a comfortable and enjoyable experience for all our guests, you can arrive in any vehicle, from a fancy convertible to a motorcycle, with complete peace of mind.
We know that the journey can be just as important as the destination. That’s why we’ve made sure that every aspect of your visit is seamless and enjoyable. So why settle for a rough ride to your wine-tasting experience? Come visit us and savor the fruits of our labor in a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.
Yes, children are allowed, as long as their parents supervise them, and they are not disruptive to other guests. The Red River Valley is known for its population of copperheads, so make sure that children stay nearby in public areas and do not wander into the wooded area. Young adults under 21 may not consume alcohol.
Dogs are allowed on the patio and outside tables as long as they are not disruptive to other guests, owners keep the dog on a leash and take care of scooping their own pets’ poop like in other public places. Dogs are not allowed in the tasting room except under special circumstances. They are never allowed on the velvet banquette. Please call if you have any questions.
We have one ADA bathroom that is to the left of the North entrance door. If you walk around the sidewalk to the east, there is another door that opens to a public bathroom with four fully enclosed restrooms.
Events, Attractions & Lodging
Yes. We love live music and will be scheduling events across a variety of genres from Jazz to Rock to Country and everything in between. We will host solo artists on the patio and larger bands on the stage. Please check our events calendar regularly, follow us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter to see who’s playing. Visit events calendar.
Admission to our concerts is generally free with the purchase of food and wine. (Please understand that we underwrite the cost of the concerts with food and wine sales from the event. Additionally, most of our musicians drive at least an hour to perform for us, so supporting them with tips allows us to continue attracting high quality artists.)
Yes. Between our tasting room, deck, patio, outdoor areas and production warehouse, we have many options for hosting private and special events. Please contact us at (940) 202-9011 or fill out our contact form for more information.
We have compiled a list of quaint B&Bs and homes, as well as local hotels, within a 20 minute drive of our winery. Please visit our Lodging page for more information.
We have contact information for ride services for our local area, DFW to Gainesville, and Thackerville/Ardmore to Gainesville. Please visit our Partner Ride Services page.
Wine
Our winemaker Willem Johnson’s induction into winemaking was in France and, as a sommelier for many years, he also became an Italian wine expert. He has a passion for Mediterranean varietals, and his winemaking style could be considered “Old World”. He prefers to let the fruit do the talking by aging our wines in neutral wood. The majority of wines he produces are bone dry with no residual sugar, although has won numerous awards for his ports and dessert wines. The ultimate goal is to produce balanced wines that pair well with food and are equally suited for sipping. Additionally, you can be assured that the flavor of our wines is not manipulated with chemicals, dyes or additives such as oak powder and sugar. We strive for each wine to taste “varietally correct”, and we’d rather wait for them to age naturally than rush it with the fake stuff. See our dry Whites. See our dry Reds.
Yes. We have Siren’s Song Dessert Wine (The first vintage of this wine was a Double-Gold Winner of the 2019 San Francisco Chronicle “Sweepstakes Award” as the best dessert wine in the United States!) and Portejas Port Wine. Willem had also put together a small list of his favorite sparkling and sweet offerings from the two plus decades he spent as a sommelier and wine buyer. See our Sweet & Sparkling wines.
No. While we may plant grapes in the future, we believe in focusing on the area we are strong in and, for us, that is winemaking and wine education. (We actually kinda suck at growing stuff.) Co-owner and winemaker Willem Johnson operates as a negociant winemaker by purchasing grapes from other vineyards and processing them to sell them under our label. This practice first began in the French region of Burgundy. This allows a winemaker to choose the very best fruit and enter the market with less investment. A well-known American negociant, Dave Phinney, founder/winemaker of Orin Swift (known for Prisoner, Mannequin, Mercury Head, etc.), shares our philosophy: “find the best fruit from the best vineyards and don’t screw it up”.
As a negociant winemaker, we can source our grapes from anywhere in the country and have them shipped to our facility for processing; however, we prefer to support Texas growers as much as possible. Additionally, the Mediterranean varietals that thrive in Texas are a perfect fit for Willem’s old world winemaking style. With that said, there are occasions where we are either unable to source the fruit we need from Texas, or we can’t pass up an offer for some exquisite fruit from Willem’s West Coast contacts. In these cases, we buy grapes—not juice or finished wine—and process them in-house from sorting to pressing to fermenting to aging to finishing. Our labels include information on where the fruit came from, and we are happy to discuss this in more detail when you visit.
Yes. Our wine club The Underground at Deschain offers wine education, private parties, pop-up dinners and special events. You choose exactly the wines you want each time and receive priority access to limited release, Library, and curated Underground favorites. Membership includes discounts on wine, food and merchandise of up to 20%. Learn more about the wine club.
Food
Yes, we currently serve light fare and will continue to expand our menu in the coming months. We also host pop-up pairing dinners at least once per month. See our food menu.
Currently, no outside food and drink is allowed, but we do offer light fare. See our food menu.
We do realize that the way each individual experiences a wine is very subjective. You may not like wine in general, or you simply may not like our wine-making style. That’s OK because we have a back-up plan so that you can still enjoy our venue! Most visitors can generally find a drink they enjoy between the dry and sweet wines we make in-house or feature from other wineries, Willem’s “secret-recipe” sangrias, our winetails or our non-alcoholic beverages. Our staff can most definitely help you find the right fit for your palate.
There is actually no meat in our chocolate “sausage”, hence the quotes around the word sausage. This confectionary delight is made from chocolate ganache, dried fruit and nuts and rolled to look like a sausage.
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