My Llano Estacado Winery Experience Via My Instagram Stories

SO THRILLED, I was, to have recently been invited to Llano Estacado Winery.  You see, I am a proud Brand Ambassador for Llano Wines and although I have enjoyed their wines for many years, I’ve never actually toured their winery/facilites.  So when the all-inclusive invite pinged in my inbox, I was A L L  I N !

I, armed with my iPhone, and professional photographer, Meghan Fuller, captured the entire experience.  As you read this, you should  immediately identify which pics are mine and which are Meghan’s.  My pics were mainly posted on IG Stories (a/k/a Instagram Stories.  My fave place to suck up my time) and some of my images below are screen shots from videos that I posted.  I’m also pointing out that as the full Llano Estacado Winery experience (a/k/a wine tasting ALL DAY!!) unfolded, my ability to take a proper picture quickly fell to the wayside. Luckily for us, a party bus and the kind Llano PR team, took us everywhere we needed to be and did everything except for tuck us back into bed at the end of the day. 

Ok ~ now that I’ve explained why my pics are so horrible, here’s how this fab trip went for me.  I left Albuquerque, New Mexico at 6:00 AM on a Thursday morning and flew to Lubbock, Texas via a quick stop in Denver. Upon arrival, I was met by the Llano team and immediately escorted to the party bus with a few other Brand Ambassadors who had also just arrived.  Seeing as it was only 10:00 AM, there wasn’t much of a party going on … but that would quickly change.

We checked into the Hyatt Place to quickly unpack and freshen up.  I took advantage of the hotel room mirror and posted this:

We then all met in the lobby (there were 12 of us), hopped on the party bus with Llano Vice President and Executive Winemaker, Greg Bruni, and headed to the vineyards that grow the grapes for Llano Wines.

I then posted this:

It was at one of these vineyards where we took our very first sip of Llano Wines.

When we loaded back onto the party bus and well … that’s when the party officially began.

We then went from vineyard to vineyard, tasting Llano wine after Llano wine …  laughing, sharing stories … it was great!  And although Greg was a really lovely host (with a heavy-handed wine pore. #YayGreg ,  I posted this:

That’s because when you put a bunch of influencers together, drinking fab wine  … THIS is sure to happen.

Alrighty … so even though *that* happened, we are actually professionals and we pulled ourselves together.  We were then in route to Llano headquarters to fully educate ourselves on Llano wines and their wine making process.

President and CEO, Mark Hyman, was there to greet us.

Along with Jason, who is one of the winemakers.

I learned quite a bit and I love that American wine production has the freedom to be a bit more experimental than perhaps in other parts of the world.

Off we then went to tour the facility and see the wine storage.

Then into the barrel room to … guess what? … taste more Llano wine varieties.

It was here when Greg realized just how much we were all really loving this experience.

The night ended with a special dinner in their event center.

and then final pics in the vineyard.

As you can see, and from what I can remember, I had an amazing time!  I essentially poured myself into bed that night and actually woke up feeling great.  THANK YOU to Llana Estacado Winery for a truly wonderful experience.  XO ~  Jamie

*** Click HERE to learn about all of the many awards Llano Wines have received over the years. You’ll love their wine!  CHEERS!