We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Piela Cox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris Piela, what do you attribute your success to?
We want our wine to be a representation of us. We love working in the vineyard, and we want a final product (wine) that we are not only proud of, but we also enjoy drinking ourselves.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I studied geoscience at the University of Miami and when I decided to pursue oil & gas as a career, I attended Texas A&M University for a masters degree. Setting the goal of an O&G career is what led me to Texas- so number one is setting a goal. Once you have that goal, figure out who to ask for advice on how to achieve this goal. We did the same with our vineyard business- once we decided we wanted to establish a vineyard and a winery, we hired a vineyard advisor (Westover Vineyard Advising) and we engaged with winemakers in the Gulf Coast region of Texas. You can’t do it all yourself. It’s ok to ask for help.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s say it’s a spring visit – Wake up to a sunrise over Toledo bend with a nice cup of coffee or tea, and breakfast at the house.

Paddle boarding or kayaking in the morning,

Take the boat over to Fin and Feather or Lost Frontier for lunch, and ride around for the afternoon looking at the super cool eroded cliffs along the Toledo Bend shoreline.

Grill out at the house, playing cornhole or washers.

Next day- crawfish and shrimp boil on the waterfront, hanging out listening to music and visiting with good friends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Dedicated to my husbands parents, who let us plant a vineyard in their yard!

Instagram: Pineywoods Vineyard

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pineywoodsvineyard

Other: Email- PineywoodsVineyard@gmail.com

Image Credits
Four little birdies photography

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