With variance in hand, Jeff Berwell is looking forward to the day he can open his Platinum Brix Winery wine-tasting room on the Hill County Mile.
Boerne City Council May 28 voted 4-0 to grant Berwell’s request for a variance to state law that restricts the sale of alcoholic beverages within 300 feet of school property.
Berwell’s tasting room — moving into the former Bee Pink Boutique at 248 N. Main St. between The Dienger and the Boerne Visitors Center — is 198.3 feet from the property line of the nearest Boerne ISD building. The former Boerne ISD administrative building on Johns Road currently is being renovated as the George and Bedelia Mitchell Learning Center.
Berwell, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, relocated to Boerne in 2021 and created Platinum Brix Winery two years ago. All of Berwell’s wine is made at his winery on Upper Cibolo Road — which, he said, “is not suitable to have a tasting room.”
“When the opportunity came up to have a small tasting room on Main Street in Boerne, I knew I had to act quickly,” Berwell told council, “because locations on Main Street are hard to find and most are outside my price range.”
The permit he sought from the council would allow for wine service only for a period of two years. There would be no food served at the tasting room, he said.
He holds a one-year renewable lease on the property, which he will seek to renew for an additional year, to match the two-year variance term.
Jeff Berwell, owner Platinum Brix Winery Berwell’s business will consist of a 195 square-foot room to accommodate six to eight patrons primarily on weekends outside of school hours, he said. The building is being branded as “248 North Main Street Chateau” and Platinum Brix will share space with boutiques Real Fashion and The Iron Hummingbird.
He expects to open the wine-tasting room in two to three months.
Berwell said he comes from a line of Italian winemakers and has been making wine for about four years. His wife, who has a doctorate in chemistry, created all the Platinum Brix wines.
Councilman Ty Wolosin questioned the logic of the existing Texas state law.
“If you add food, then it’s OK. You can go to Kleins (Smokehaus) and get a beer, you can go to The Dienger and get a beer, you can go to Compadres and bring your own beer,” said Wolosin, a partner in the Cibolo Creek Brewing Company. “But because they have food, it’s alright. But then someone wants a wine-tasting room, then it’s a danger. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Berwell said he has amassed “quite a following” from his monthly sales at Boerne Market Days and looks forward to “showcasing Boerne as a serious competitor in the industry (and) bring premium local wines to downtown Boerne.”
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