Above all else, it is a love story. First, there was a French teenager who spent ten years learning to be a winemaker. It was his passion. Then, there was his love for his wife and daughter. He was willing to move halfway across the world so the three of them could live as a family.
Steve Hari earned master’s certifications in viticulture (the study of growing grapes) and oenology (the study of winemaking) in France. He has been a winemaker for more than three decades. In 2008, he and his wife Stéphanie purchased a vineyard near the city of Beaune, in the Bourgogne region of France (Americans know it as Burgundy). Steve inspected the grapes daily; at harvest time, he used time-honored methods of making French wine. When the couple’s daughter Ines was born, Steve was a doting father.
Unfortunately, Stéphanie wasn’t able to spend much time at home. As a tenured geologist for the Hess Corporation, she often worked in North Africa. Steve wanted to spend more time living as a family, so in 2015, when the Hess Corporation offered Stéphanie a three-year job in Houston, Steve and Ines moved with her.
Learning Texas English was a challenge, but the Hari family found Texans friendly and welcoming, and they enjoyed living together as a family. So, when Stéphanie’s three-year job was extended, they decided to stay.
But Steve missed winemaking.
Fortunately, Steve had made the acquaintance of a French American, Philippe Legrand, who lives in The Woodlands. Philippe, originally from Aubusson, in central France, comes from a family of wine merchants. His grandparents marketed wine, beer, and mineral water–and from the time he was eight years old until he was a teenager, Philippe worked in the business. “I was filling wine bottles in the cellar,” he says, “going with the employees in town to make deliveries.”
The two friends soon established a business partnership. Philippe, an American citizen, was able to navigate the labyrinth of governmental requirements and obtain permits to open a winemaking business, and in 2017, Steve and Philippe purchased a 2100-square foot building in Coldspring to house a winemaking operation.
Steve and Philippe knew that good wine can be made from Texas grapes. In fact, Steve explains, native Texas grapes saved the French wine industry in 1890. A tiny insect, phylloxera, fed on the roots and leaves of grapevines, and by some estimates, the greedy insects destroyed 90 percent of European vineyards. Fortunately, botanists discovered that native Texas grapes are resistant to phylloxera, and by grafting European grape varieties (like merlot and pinot noir) to Texas-grown roots, the European winemaking industry was resurrected.
Steve and Philippe produced their first vintage in 2018, calling it Domaine des Hospitalières. “Because no one can pronounce it,” Steve says with a chuckle, they nicknamed it H-Wines. Soon, H-Wines began winning awards at winemaking contests around Texas.
In the tradition of French winemaking, Steve and Philippe use only locally-grown grapes. In France, Steve explains, wine labels tell the exact part of the country the grapes were grown. In this way, people can be assured of a wine’s terroir—the influence of location, soil, geology, and weather on the flavor of the grapes, and therefore the wine. The label, Steve says, “is a reference for the quality of the wine and respect for the terroir.”
Steve and Philippe make red and white wines, using the two varieties of grapes that flourish along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico: Black Spanish Lenoir (for red wine) and Blanc du Bois (for white). The grapes are grown in vineyards located near Montgomery, Huntsville, New Waverly, and Coldspring.
Because the history of Texas grapes and French winemaking is intertwined, it seems fitting that H-Wines’ tasting room is located in a historical building in Montgomery. Built in 1908, the First State Bank Building provides the perfect backdrop for the Old-World look Steve and Philippe had in mind. The building has a colorful history, and Steve and Philippe enjoy sharing it with patrons. They even use the original safe and vault—which played part in several bank robberies—to store wine. “The temperature never changes,” Steve says. He is fond of using the bank’s original stamp, which is still bolted to a counter, to emboss customers’ receipts as souvenirs of their visits.
Steve and Philippe also enjoy sharing their experiences in the wine industry. Most of the wines offered at the tasting room are French; however, customers can also sample Steve and Philippe’s own H-Wines. Unsurprisingly, Steve and Philippe are adept at helping customers find wines that suit their palates. “Usually, we’re spot on within one to two trials,” Philippe says.
Not long after the H-Wines Tasting Room opened in 2019, the pandemic forced a closure. When Steve and Philippe reopened, loyal customers flocked to downtown Montgomery’s historic district to enjoy good wine, food, and camaraderie with friends, old and new. Wine pairing dinners, served on Wednesdays, soon became a tradition. Each Friday, the menu for the following Wednesday’s dinner is posted to H-Wines’ Facebook page. For example, a recent dinner included a starter of crabcake (paired with chardonnay), a main course of chipotle salmon with roasted vegetables (with pinot noir) and carrot cake bites (with sparkling rosé) for dessert. The tasting room also offers a plentiful Sunday brunch that includes omelets, waffles, fruits and crêpes.
In August 2024, Steve and Philippe opened a restaurant adjacent to the tasting room, furnishing it with American and French antiques. Diners rave about the atmosphere and the eclectic cuisine, which features flavors from France and India. Wine pairing dinners are still served in the historic bank building on Wednesdays; the restaurant and tasting room are both open on Thursdays through Sundays and are available for private parties and events.
On any night, friendly people, laughter and song can turn something as simple as good wine and a charcuterie board into an impromptu party. “We have a good time!” Steve says. “We are like a family.” At a recent wine pairing dinner, Philippe says, a group of individual diners became so friendly, one patron paid everyone’s bill. “The same is seen time and time again when patrons order a bottle and send it down for everyone to taste,” he says, noting that customers sometimes refer to the tasting room as “Cheers of Montgomery.”
Whether they are regulars or are discovering the H-Wines tasting room or restaurant for the first time, customers are charmed by the quaint ambience and the friendly, knowledgeable proprietors. “It has such a cozy, welcoming, loving atmosphere,” says one regular customer. “It’s as if they are opening their own home.”
For more information, visit h-wines.com.
Steve: 832-870- 9303
Philippe: 832-992-2032
Tasting Room
14343 Liberty Street
Montgomery, TX 77356
Wednesday: 5PM – 9PM
Thursday-Friday: 4PM – 10PM
Saturday: 2PM – 10 PM
Sunday: 2PM – 5PM
Winery
110 Pinto Lane
Coldspring, TX 77331
Postcards Magazine
936-293-1188
PO Box 690
Huntsville, TX 77342
