Spencer Gatlin is the winemaker at Inwood Estate Vineyards in Fredericksburg, TX. Spencer Gatlin is a 2nd-generation winemaker in Texas who, after studying economics at Sonoma State University, joined his family’s wine operation in 2011. He now oversees all production at Inwood Estates Vineyards and Gatlin Family Wines. Spencer began his viticulture career at the age of 7, helping his father in their family’s backyard chardonnay vineyard. Soon after, he began his cellar training and by high school, was a mainstay in the family business as a cellar rat. After college, he rejoined Inwood Estates as an assistant winemaker and, after 10 more years as an apprentice, was promoted to head winemaker in 2021.
Media Inquiries: Spencer Gatlin tspencergatlin@gmail.com | https://inwoodwines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
I am the 3rd generation of Gatlin’s to be in the alcohol industry in Texas. My grandfather, Vernon Gatlin, owned and operated liquor and convenience stores in Dallas for almost 50 years. My father, Dan Gatlin, was among the first growers to plant grapevines in Texas in 1981 and has been instrumental in elevating Texas wine to national standards.
At Inwood Estates, we focus on ultra–low-yield viticulture and vine genetics to achieve exceptional phenolic ripeness and concentration. Our vineyard blocks never exceed 30 clusters per vine and typically target 14–18 clusters per vine, with some wines produced at just 2 clusters per vine.
We are a wine-first family with nearly 100 years in the beverage industry—spanning retail, 45+ years of grape growing and winemaking, and a lifetime immersed in vineyard and cellar work. And with a little luck, one (hopefully both) of my sons will carry on the family tradition.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
I don’t feel constrained by anything in terms of my winemaking abilities and access to quality fruit. We have trusted grow partners who share the same philosophy as we do and when two entities can agree on a shared outcome, the shackles are off, as they say.
Of course, all winery owners would like access to capital for better facilities, but we’ve been able to do quite well with what we have, and I am certain, in time, that access will be granted one way or another. My family built our winery on a single household income over the course of 20 years with the attitude that we will do more with less and let the wines speak for themselves.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Our 2020 Colos is 100% Tempranillo produced at just two clusters per vine, and it is the wine that dispels the myth that ultra-premium wine cannot be made in Texas.
If you look at the world’s great vineyards, they almost all have one thing in common: very low yields. Meanwhile, many vineyards elsewhere are still farming for quantity. That naturally led me to ask the question early on, why wouldn’t we apply that same philosophy in Texas? Read my review of the 2020 Colos Tempranillo here.
Bonus Question: Why Winemaking?
Winemaking is history in action- it blends artistry, analytics, hands-on craftsmanship, creativity, and economics. The reasons to love it are endless. What I enjoy most is the problem-solving: identifying challenges, spending the off-season thinking through possible solutions, and then putting those ideas into practice once harvest begins. You may not know for years which decisions truly worked, but that long arc of trial, learning, and improvement is part of what makes the process so rewarding.