Val Verde Winery

Del Rio's winery outlasted a statewide industry. Franciscans brought vines to Ysleta in 1682, and the El Paso valley led Texas grape growing into the early twentieth century, while German settlers in the Hill Country turned to wild mustang grapes. By 1895 Texas had about 1,800 acres of vineyards making nearly 1,900 barrels of wine, and Thomas V. Munson of Denison shipped phylloxera-resistant rootstock that helped save Europe's vineyards. In 1900 Val Verde County grew 191,000 pounds of grapes for 5,372 gallons of wine. The state's last other wineries closed in 1919, when Texas voted dry.

What the plaque says

Val Verde Winery Known as Texas' oldest bonded winery; only survivor of about 25 once operated in the state. Founded by Frank Qualia, who came in 1882 to Del Rio (then a town of 200) from Milan, Italy. In 1883 he married Mary Frank. Their children were John, Chris, Margaret, Charles, Mary Louis, and Jeanne. The Qualias and neighbors planted vineyards and made wine in old country tradition. Original winery, still in use, is kept cool by 18-inch adobe walls. Louis Qualia and wife Kathleen use Spanish Lenoir and Herbemont grapes in making 2000 gallons of wine yearly. (1971)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Val Verde Winery — steps away
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.4 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 1.2 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 10.0 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Taylor-Rivers House — 0.3 mi
• Roy Bean C. S. A. — 0.4 mi
• Seminole-Negro Scouts — 0.4 mi
• Dr. John R. Brinkley — 0.5 mi