We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Clint Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Clint below.

Hi Clint, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Yes, in our region there are dozens and dozens of wine tour providers. What makes us truly unique? Our Guides.

We are the only tour guides that have grown grapes and made wine in Texas. Combined we have almost 40 years of experience in wine and wine related fields. That history combined with a passion for moving the Texas wine industry forward means we are able to offer genuinely insightful experiences.

Through our past work, we have been able to establish quality relationships with some of the top Texas wine producers. Those relationships allow us access to smaller, family-run operations that many other tour providers overlook.

With behind-the-scenes access to production facilities and vineyards, we can share our knowledge on the functions of each. That educational aspect plus a 9 year-track record of having fun allows our guests to go home with the memories of a true Texas wine experience.

Clint, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I now call myself a Fun Liaison. That’s because one of our core missions is to ensure our guests go home with lifetime-worthy memories and an itch for more. I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve been able to sustain our business for over 9 years in a highly competitive and fast-growing market.

I came to the Texas Wine Country as a beer drinker. Wine was not my jam. But a good friend of mine, Chris Brundrett, had started a new winery called William Chris Vineyards and needed some help. As a jack-of-all-trades, I was a good fit for cellar rat work and other winery projects as they began to grow. During this time I was also taught how to grow grapes in Texas by the great Bill Blackmon, the William of William & Chris.

After some time, I moved on to help various other wineries with cellar rat work. As an extrovert with a little bit of personality to spare and a flare for the dramatic, I then got an opportunity to take a wine tour out for Texas Wine Tours. Needless to say, I nailed it. Liked it. Wanted more.

Fast forward when I decided to go after my dream of being my own boss. In 2013, I started Cellar Rat Wine Tours without being fully prepared but a determination to figure it out. And so I did. Over the years, I grew the business and fleet. Today, we’re a lean and mean crew with a couple of kickass employees that have been with me over 6 years.

We offer guided tours, both private and join-in style, in-home wine tastings as well as basic transportation services. We strive to connect with those looking to learn about Texas wine and establish relationships with the wineries. However, we are also big supporters of those who come to our region to simply getaway, be together and have a quality shared experience.

We all share a passion for Texas wine and I’m very proud of that. It’s a wild time to be in this industry and we’re lucky to have a seat on the ride.

Rewind back to 2015 I got an opportunity to purchase some grapes make my own wine. I was missing the winemaking side of the industry so I dove back in. Since then, we have released many vintages under our Cellar Rat brand successfully and we continue to do so. I love easy drinking reds, Sangiovese being my favorite, so that’s our focus. It’s more of a passion project than a profit-maker for us and that’s ok. It helps sustain our brand credibility, keeps our knowledge base fresh and often opens up opportunities for us beyond touring.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In the Spring of 2020, the wineries in our region were unceremoniously shut down. With nowhere to go that meant we had stop running tours. Instead of folding up, we had to find another source of income to keep the lights on. Fortunately, we are blessed with many great friends who happily put us to work in vineyards and wineries until the industry was allowed to reopen.

As the wineries were slowly reopened with many restrictions, we got back on the road and continues to pivot. We came up with options that worked for both the restrictions we were under and for our guests who were desperate to get out and about.

That pivot was successful. It allowed us to maintain our business without detrimental loss. We had enough fight in us to regain strength from the losses we did sustain.

Eventually the restrictions were reduced and our traffic to our region BOOMED. We were right there and ready. Luckily.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met Cadye Ellwanger, my business and life partner, at San Angelo Central High School circa early 2000s. We ran around in different circles so we only knew each other socially.

Fast forward 15 years, I arrive to pick up a bachelorette party for a wine tour. In walks Cadye. Our walks my heart. She rode shotgun that day and we’ve been together ever since. After some time, I was able to convince her to leave the corporate world to share a piece of mine. She now leads our guest relations and marketing efforts. Cellar Rat would not be where it is today without her. And neither would I.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cellarratwinetours.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cellarratwinetours/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CellarRatWineTours/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cellar-rat-wine-tours-fredericksburg-4
• Other: Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g55863-d5232771-Reviews-Cellar_Rat_Wine_Tours-Fredericksburg_Texas.html Google Reviews: https://g.page/r/CfPIbflMNeCcEB0/review

Image Credits
Cellar Rat Wine Tours