Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Claire Richardson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Claire, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned the craft of winemaking primarily by doing. My first harvest job was at William Chris Vineyards as an intern. A boutique winery, William Chris offered me the opportunity to be involved with all parts of winemaking from the very beginning. In this position I learned cellar work, lab work, and the most important job of them all – cleaning! Eager to learn and to travel, I took advantage of the opportunity to gain work experience overseas through an internship at Marisco Vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand. My internship at Marisco offered me winemaking experience but on a much larger scale. In the months following, I returned to William Chris for another harvest, and again, I returned to New Zealand to take in more of what Marlborough had to offer. During my second time at Marisco I had the pleasure of working as a laboratory intern.

Knowing what I know now, I could have sped up the learning process by doing more harvest internships, asking more questions, and tasting more. However, in terms of doing more harvest internships, I can confidently say that I am content with working two harvests in a year for two years. In the future I hope to continue my education through more harvest work in other locations. As far as asking more questions when learning something new, honestly, I didn’t realize what I didn’t know, until I realized I didn’t know it. The perpetual opportunity to learn is one of the things that drew me to winemaking in the first place. I have come a long way since the beginning and I look forward to many more years of growth in my career. Lastly, tasting wines constantly and from all over the world is one of the best methods to become more educated as a wine professional. Winemaking is a labor of love and requires a lot of patience, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Fortunately, I have not endured many obstacles as I learned winemaking. I am grateful that I had the privilege and opportunity to gain experience in Texas and overseas. This, combined with my passion and willingness to learn and to succeed, has allowed me to achieve many career milestones in a short amount of time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Originally from Houston, Texas, I graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Food Science and Technology, a minor in Horticulture, and an Enology certificate. Through my studies in Food Science the topic of fermentation greatly sparked my interest, which led me down a path to pursue a fermentation focused career. Eager to get into the winery, I made contact with Chris Brundrett of William Chris Vineyards to secure a winery internship. Upon the completion of my internship, I accepted a full-time position as a member of the cellar crew at William Chris. Two months post-graduation I traveled to New Zealand to pursue a Cellar Internship position at Marisco Vineyards in the Marlborough region. I then returned to William Chris in time for the 2019 harvest. Needing more of New Zealand, I left again in December 2019 to travel and gain more work experience abroad. My second time around I held a vineyard job at Mudbrick Vineyards on Waiheke Island, and again, traveled down south back to Marisco. In June 2020, I returned to William Chris as the Assistant Winemaker. A year and a half later, I earned the position as Winemaker for Uplift.

In 2021, William Chris Wine Company purchased Hoover Valley Vineyard, now known as Uplift Vineyard, in Burnet, TX. The first blocks of Uplift were planted in 2010, with the rest of the blocks being planted in the years following. Upon the purchase of Uplift, founders Chris Brundrett and Andrew Sides decided to launch Uplift as its own brand under the William Chris Wine Company family of brands.

Uplift is a 76-acre property with 55 acres planted, 13 grape varieties, a tasting room, and space that will house the winery in the future. At Uplift, we are focused on sharing a sense of place in conjunction with the history of the land and the people who settled it. The tasting experience is educational and will provide a look into the grape growing, winemaking, terroir, and the history of the property. As the winemaker of a single estate vineyard, my goal is to craft wines that are the best representation of the site and the vintage conditions that are dealt to me each year. For me, winemaking is storytelling about the land, the weather patterns of the vintage, the hurdles you encountered that year, and the person who made the wine.

Uplift Vineyard is unique to Texas wine in that we produce wines exclusively from the estate as a way to highlight the unique terroir of the Llano Uplift. As a lover of all things detailed, it is a privilege for me to work within the confines of a single estate. It is almost like working under a magnifying glass by having the opportunity to refine the specifics. Working with multiple varieties on a single site allows me to see how weather patterns, farming practices, and other variables affect the grape varieties that we grow. Each year is packed with lessons learned from the vineyard and is a new opportunity to draw on lessons from the past. Additionally, I have the flexibility to experiment with new techniques in the vineyard and in the winery as a way to innovate and to produce better wine.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best thing that society can do is to share in the production of the work being produced. This can look like telling your friends about the product, sharing it on social media, or making a purchase. More specifically in my work, the best thing that you can do when you are looking for Texas wine in a grocery store, bottle shop, or restaurant is to simply ask for it. As an up-and-coming wine region, we need more people talking about Texas wine and we need more people buying it. Texas makes great wine and it’s time that more people experience it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

By far, the most rewarding part of my work is getting to share it with others. I am thankful to witness how my work positively impacts others’ lives, whether it be through education, memories made with family and friends, or the simple discovery of something new. It is just as wonderful to experience the successes of Uplift alongside a team who continuously puts in hard work, is dedicated to our mission, and is resilient. Truly, I couldn’t do it without them.

Contact Info:

• Website: upliftvineyard.com
• Instagram: @upliftvineyard
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upliftvineyard

Image Credits
Dave Capote, Preston Maddox, and Graham Norwood