I never intended to make my own wine…

That might sound strange considering I grew up in a winemaking family. My grandfather Clinton ‘Doc’ McPherson was elbow-deep in Texas wine from the very beginning, a pioneer spreading the gospel of the High Plains with every bottle. Today, my family’s McPherson Cellars makes the kind of ‘classic’ West Texas wines that have slowly garnered a reputation for easy but sophisticated drinking. I’m lucky to have grown up with Texas dust under my fingernails and a splash of Sangiovese in my glass—but only on special occasions. Naturally, I harvest-hopped, and even studied for a year in UC Davis’ department of Viticulture & Enology, but ultimately I found a home on the restaurant floor, slinging bottles by night and studying for the Court of Master Sommelier exams by day. I’d leave the wine making to people with a higher tolerance for early mornings and cold cellars.

Ultimately, Las Espinas was made in answer to the question, “but why not?” An opportunity to purchase fruit arose, and with a little cajoling from my father and a charming gentleman named Shayne, a label was born. While that might sound flippant, everything that has followed has required the full measure of my intelligence, determination, and instinct as a third-generation winemaker. Las Espinas is a return to my roots, a chance to claim the winemaking heritage I’d been gifted, and then neglected, for too long. It’s a privilege to work alongside my father and his assistant winemaker, and try my hand at capturing the many facets of West Texas terroir through my own youthful, female lens (it doesn’t always go hand in hand with my father’s).

Because, of course, the Las Espinas wines are here to play! They’re the joyful coalescence of my experiences as an Advanced Sommelier, a cellar rat, a winemaker’s daughter, and a woman who loves a good glass. Each bottling is spirited, easy-drinking, and stripped of pretention. My limited production size makes Las Espinas a home to tiny lots of fruit from small growers that might otherwise get passed over by large wineries. The emphasis will always be on quality over quantity—each passing vintage represents a seized opportunity.