© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

San Antonio unveils red and white wine label to fund wildlife preservation efforts

Courtesy photo
/
San Antonio Zoo

Get TPR's best stories of the day and a jump start to the weekend with the 321 Newsletter — straight to your inbox every day. Sign up for it here.

The San Antonio Zoo unveiled a new line of red and white wine this month to help wildlife.

It's called Conservino. The Zoo said all the proceeds will go to wildlife conservation programs in the Alamo City and throughout the world.

The wine is available at some local restaurants, including Fralo's and Bar 301.

The zoo created the wine in partnership with the Kerrville Hills Winery. It has previously released a beer called Conserveza -- in a partnership with Freetail Brewing Company -- to also help fund conservation efforts.

Jesse Vargas, the Zoo's chief operations officer and an amateur winemaker, teamed up with John Rivenburgh, owner of the Kerrville winery, to develop the wine from Texas grapes.

A statement from the Zoo explained that "Conservino Red Wine offers a flavorful medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo blend, high in tannins with notes of black cherry and baking spice. Conservino White Wine provides a light, crisp Roussanne blend with notes of green fruit and apricot with chamomile undertones."

Vargas explained that proceeds from the new wine will help efforts to protect a variety of species, including the Texas Horned Lizard.

The wine labels reflect and celebrate endangered species. The red wine label shows a Sumatran tiger. There may only be 500 left in the world. The white wine labels shows a southern white rhino, whose numbers are growing, but only two northern white rhinos survive.

TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.