Today we’d like to introduce you to Clint Thomas.
Hi Clint, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Clint Thomas started in the Texas wine industry in the summer of 2010. He began his wine career at William Chris Vineyards as a cellar rat. cleaning tanks, scrubbing drains, and doing general labor at the Hye property and at Granite Hills Vineyards. With no experience in farming or fermentation science, Clint got 100% of his training from Bill Blackmon and Chris Brundrett, both of William Chris Vineyards. From there, Clint started doing contract labor for some other wineries in the Texas Hill country including Stonehouse, Lewis Wines, Grape Creek Vineyards, Pedernales Cellars and others.
During this time of contract labor Clint was contacted by Fredericksburg Limo and Wine Tours where he began working a few tours here and there. Clint’s production experience lends itself perfectly to wine touring. Clint’s good friend George Burns started his tour company Georges 290 Wine Tours during this time. George helped Clint in the early stages to put together Cellar Rat Wine Tours. Cellar Rat Wine Tours was born in may of 2013.
Today the Cellar Rat team is made up of wine-industry experts Chris Black, Donna Renee Johnston and Clint, our resident Wine Guides and Gurus. Behind-the-scenes, Cadye Ellwanger operates as our Guest Concierge, Marketing Magician and Operational Wizard, occasionally hitting the road as well.
After 12 years in operation, Cellar Rat Wine Tours is considered one of the top wine tour/transportation companies in the Fredericksburg/Hill Country area continuing our focus on 100% Texas wine producers and insightful experiences that showcase some of the best in the Texas wine country.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since 2013 we have seen major growth in our region – more wineries, more developments, more tourists and more wine tour competitors. We are constantly challenged to reach our target audience, staying relevant and adjusting to market trends while also finding the balance of staying true to our mission – promoting quality Texas wine in an insightful and entertaining way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Cellar Rat specializes in customized, guided wine tours that highlight quality Texas wineries through insightful and entertaining experiences. Our winery relationships, built over 12 years, and our industry-experienced and knowledgable Guides are really what make us stand out from our competition.
We are most proud of promoting quality, 100% Texas wineries which helps drive the reputation and awareness of the Texas wine industry forward. We have not succumb to tricky gimmicks, party bus antics, false advertising or schticks that you might observe around our competition.
We operate in an area that people choose to visit in order to escape reality, explore, slow down and have adventures. We consider ourselves lucky because we get to create and be a part of those memories that last much longer than the short time they are here. The experiences we provide for our guests live beyond the t-shirts and magnets and for us, that is extremely fulfilling.
We currently have several options: Private Guided Wine Tours, Join-In Style Group Wine Tours, Private Transportation and In-Home Wine Experiences. We run 7 days/week and can accommodate small and larger groups.
We like to say we’re the Anti Party Bus Party Bus because we’re not like the rest but we know how to show our guests a great time (our Google reviews back that up pretty well – toot toot).
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In short; onwards and upwards, if we’re lucky. We view our “industry” as two parts: 1) Tourism and 2) Texas Wine. Both have seen a lot of fluctuation in the last 5 years. Our prediction is that we will continue to see growth related to Texas wine with increased recognition and reputation improvements. Tourism traffic feels less predictable at this point but Fredericksburg has a few major developments in the works, more investments being made locally and continues to reach a broader audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cellarratwinetours.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cellarratwinetours
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CellarRatWineTours/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cellarratwinetours
