We recently connected with Frances Money and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Frances , thanks for joining us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

In a former life, I was a pastry chef, not a winery owner. I worked in downtown Dallas at a high end bakery specializing in wedding cakes. Part of our training was answering phones and fielding questions of potential clients. Our parent company would send test calls in to make sure everyone was friendly and accommodating on the phone. One morning I came in early to finish a grooms cake and was very tired from a long week of decorating and was not in the best mood to answer the phone. In hindsight, I should have let it ring! I did not and proceeded to answer the phone and questions with a not so cheery voice and disposition and low and behold, it was our parent company and one of their test calls. My review was not stellar. The lesson I learned and still remember as I type this paragraph is to always be kind and thoughtful when making first impressions to people, whether it is over the phone or face to face. In the bakery circumstance, if that had been a real client calling with excitement to discuss planning their wedding cake, I just tamped down their excitement level and lost a customer. In the winery business, most people we meet are on vacation or celebrating something so it’s important to match or exceed their level of excitement for the experience. They may not remember all the details of their visit, but they will remember the time they had and want to visit again.

Frances , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Frances Money and I married into the wine business… or rather, the vineyard business. When I met my husband, Carl, he had just started planting the first acre of our five acre vineyard in the Pontotoc, Texas. We were living in Dallas at the time – me baking and him practicing law. Over dinner on one of our first dates, he mentioned owning a farm and starting to plant a vineyard in the Texas Hill Country – I did not believe him. He was a lawyer in Dallas, not a farmer in the Hill Country. Apparently, you can be both! We visited the vineyard about a month later to show me he was not fibbing. A few months later we were married and the following Spring, the rest of the acreage was planted in Tempranillo vines. Originally grown in Sprain, Tempranillo and most Spanish varietal thrive in Texas due to similar climate, elevation, and soil. Fast forward a few years and kids later, we made our first vintage of wine in 2011 and started selling in the wholesale market – Central Market and Whole Foods were our first customers. Two more children and we completed our family of six and opened our Weingarten on Main Street in downtown Fredericksburg. We worked hard to create a family friendly place that mimics the heurigens in Vienna my husband loved while studying in law school overseas. Housed in the oldest building in Fredericksburg, the Weingarten boasts an intimate tasting bar as well as a large courtyard full of German picnic tables. We offer wine flights, wine by the glass and bottle, as well as our Pontotoc Picnic Baskets. These quickly became a fan favorite, filled with local bread and sausage as well as my homemade pimento cheese, spiced pecans, and bittersweet chocolate brownies. Our second location opened last Fall, Pontotoc Vineyard Picnic Table. This location is a contrast in exterior from the Weingarten – it is housed in a 1940s renovated gas station in a stand of live oak trees on the Hwy 290 Wine Trail. The same family friendly atmosphere as well as wine and picnic baskets are available, including our newest basket – they Hye Picnic Basket filled with Curry Chicken salad, local bread, spiced pecans, and sea salt chocolate chip cookies. All this being said, what my husband and I are most proud of are our children. We started this vineyard and opened these locations in hopes that one day on of our four children might want to join the family business and push it into the next era. Even if they do not, it is such a joy having them come to work with us and instilling values of hard work and kindness towards others – invaluable experience and precious moments for us all.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

We have the sweetest love story… Carl and I met in Dallas when I was looking for a new apartment. A friend at the bakery mentioned gave me some recommendations of places to check out and off my mother and I went. The first one we stopped was the cutest white eight plex… I called the number and the person on the other end of the phone said they would be right home. We waited and few minutes and then for the first time, I met my soon to be husband. He showed me the place and of course I was in love with it (&him), but I played it cool and said I had other places to see and would call the following morning, which I did. I was making plans to move into the house and called about floor plans so I could layout my furniture. This call lead to meeting up to measure the space over a few beers, then dinner. Carl keeps a journal and wrote in it that evening we were going to get married. A month later, Carl was being transferred to London with his law firm and asked me to go with him. I was still working in wedding cakes and told him I could not move unless we were married so he said “let’s get married” and that was that. I hung up, yes this whole conversation was over the phone, and starting planning a wedding. Fast forward three months and we are married and moving into our first flat in Covent Garden, London.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth is our best source for new clients. I believe it goes back to the first question about learning a lesson in a former job… Treat everyone with kindness and how you would want to be treated and they will keep coming back. We make it a priority to go out of our way to make their experience at our winery the best it can be… I often meet people on days we are closed to pick up wine or baskets if possible. Taking the extra time to make their visit with us special will come back tenfold.

Contact Info:

• Website:
• Instagram: @pontotocvineyard @pvpicnictable
• Facebook: Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten; Pontotoc Vineyard Picnic Table
• Yelp: Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten; Pontotoc Vineyard Picnic Table