How an old-world style, sustainable Winery began in Meridian, Texas.

The idea behind Red Caboose Winery started with a concept in the mind of Owner Gary McKibben. He wanted to combine the Old World traditions of winemaking with new sustainable practices, working hand in hand with nature while creating irreducible infusions. McKibben continues to experiment with flavors at the new distillery under the same name and has even moved to craft beer. 

The name comes from the Red Caboose that McKibben purchased and moved to the property in 2003. In 2005, the first bottle of wine was created, the Meridian winery opened in 2007 and the rest is history. 

Today, the Red Caboose is merely part of the iconic backdrop at the vineyard in Meridian, and the signature label of the Red Caboose Distillery in Clifton. Both locations offer sweet and dry wines, with much more to come since the first bottle was sampled. Since then, fellowship, musical acts, and much more have made Red Caboose a tourist destination and frequented local businesses in Bosque County, Texas.

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The best wine begins with the best grapes

Sustainable new and generations-old techniques make Red Caboose Winery unique as a Texas winery. All the varieties of wine produced there are low in sulfite content and are made from estate-grown grapes in the old world tradition of winemaking. Owner Gary McKibben continues to experiment with flavors at the new distillery under the same name, and has even moved to craft beer.  

The red wines are never filtered. The winery uses American white oak barrels to age vinifera up to 36 months before bottling and cellaring. The wines like Tempranillo, Syrah, Tannat, Touriga Nacional, Zinfandel, and Black Spanish (Lenoir), continue to win awards and medals in statewide, national and international competitions. 

The winery boasts nine Best in Texas Awards at Grapefest in Grapevine. Red wines have won more than 60 medals at the Houston Livestock Rodeo Wine Competition. Red Caboose Port won double gold and best of show in the 2012 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in New York. In addition, the rest of the wine family has won numerous golds and double-gold medals.

Our Wine List

RED VARIETIES:

Several Tempranillos, Tempranillo Blends, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Touriga Nacional, Lenoir, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Fran/Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, and many other Red blends.

WHITE VARIETIES:

Banc Du Bosque, Viognier, and Roussanne

Texas-grown grapes sunkissed and watered with rain

Geothermal systems work with nature to provide heating and cooling elements. Electricity provided by solar or wind power makes the system renewable, as Red Caboose Winery is set up. The winery collects electricity from solar panels.

That energy is transferred to the geothermal system. The advantage lies in the efficiency between moving hot or cool air through floors per electric unit. Ground and soil type can be factors in how well the ground loop works, which disperses heat or cold back into the ground surrounding the system. In the winter, heat is absorbed by the solution as it circulates through the warmer earth. Summer brings the hot solution that cools in the ground below the aboveground air system. A water-to-water or water-to-air heat pump is crucial to the process, before transferring through a typical duct system or water heater.

The loop, which is typically buried under a lot leading horizontally or vertically to an existing structure, can last for generations or decades. Maintenance is minimal with geothermal systems, although installation is critical. The pump, air filter and heating coil are typically housed above ground, and serve as the main sources of periodic maintenance.