Robert Garza Soliz
Robert Garza Soliz “Bobby” grew up in San Antonio but has deep roots in the Rio Grande Valley. His Garza bloodline includes great grand- parents from Burgos, Tamaulipas, Mexico to his mother, aunts, uncles and cousins all across the RGV from McAllen to Harlingen and into “La Frontera” in Mexico.
After graduating from Holmes High School in 1980, Bobby enlisted in the US Army and served for 3 years of active duty. After his military service Bobby returned to SA and worked with his mom, Amelia Garza Webb, who owned and ran her own businesses. He credits his enthusiasm to hard work, physical labor, and great work ethics to his God-loving parents. He also attributes his love and interest in plants and agriculture to his mom.
One evening in Boerne, Texas in 2008 he and his wife, Geralyn, happened upon a little place who made and bottled wine. Bobby was so intrigued with the process and after a few wine tastings they picked a favorite and made their first batch of wine. Water2Wine walked them through the initial process, cared for the wine until it was ready to be bottled, and then along with a group of friends and family the two went back and bottled and labeled their wine. The two enjoyed the wine so much that Bobby decided that with his scientific background that he could turn his kitchen into his very first winery.
He joined a group of wine makers, the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild, networked and learned from many, to include notable winemaker, Jack Keller, author of “Home Winemaking. The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine,” Jack Wright of Chateau Wright Winery from the Davis Mountains, award-winning winemaker (to include The Munson Cup), Byron Barnes and Friench and Martha of Tarkington Vineyards in Victoria, Texas. Which became known as one of the early Texas irrigated vineyards. They even honored their hometown by naming a University of Arkansas and Texas A&M grape hybrid “Victoria Red.”
With the knowledge gained from these senior winemakers and other SARWG members, Bobby was able to improve his winemaking skills to win multiple awards for his homemade wines at the local level at county fairs and SARWG wine competitions, at the state level at the Texas Wine Grape Growers Association Non-Commercial Wine Competition and at the national and international levels with multiple medals at the Texas International Wine Competition and Winemaker’s International Amateur Competition.
In 2015, Bobby made his knowledge in Enology and Viticulture officially academic by completing the 2-year Texas Tech University Winemaking Certification Program. Along with his wife and Nora Garza (owner of Dos Rios Winery), he was a part of the first graduating class in the summer of 2016. He then continued his education, graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Science with a concentration in Enology and Viticulture from Texas Tech University in 2019. Another notable mentor includes Maureen Qualia who is a fourth-generation winemaker of Val Verde Winery, the oldest continuously running winery in Texas and is also a professor in the Viticulture and Enology program at TTU.
Bobby entered the commercial wine industry in 2021 by responding to a request from Nora for winemaking assistance at her family’s winery. In 2022, Dos Rios and Bobby won their first award with a Silver Medal for their 2018 Dry White Blanc du Bois Wine in the Texas International Wine Competition. Since then, they have won multiple medals for their White Blanc Du Bois and Red Lenoir or ‘Black Spanish’ Wines. They recently received their first medal in the Lone Star International Wine Competition, a silver medal for their 2022 White Dry Blanc du Bois Wine in 2023.
Bobby looks forward to continuing to bring further recognition to the South Texas Region and to Dos Rios Winery with their award-winning Texas Wines. A big “shout out” to Bobby’s original Grape Stomp Crew, his daughters, Lauren Elizabeth and Laina Marie, who helped out in some early morning grape harvests that included Mark and Nancy Nichols’ vineyard in Willow City, Texas and our home wine making endeavors.
