As the winery’s owner, Dane Aziz aims to create a welcoming environment where visitors can feel like they’re enjoying a glass of wine at a friend’s house.
Meet the owner
Born and raised in El Paso with parents who owned a restaurant, Aziz has always wanted to own a small business. He thought he would also become a restauranteur, but his interests led him elsewhere.
“I like chemistry, I like numbers, I like cooking,” Aziz said. “To me making wine is a lot like experimentation ... it’s science.”
While some people’s art form is painting or writing, Aziz said his is cooking and winemaking.
Aziz is a U.S. Air Force veteran and spent 18 years in the semiconductor industry. When he lost his job in 2018, he looked into franchising with Water 2 Wine by visiting the New Braunfels location and meeting the owner.
He learned the ins and outs of winemaking from the New Braunfels vintner for a year leading up to the opening of Water 2 Wine Buda on Valentine’s Day in 2020.
“I was able to work with this vintner and come up with some of my own blends, some more of my own recipes as well,” Aziz said. “The Buda Mill and Grain was just the perfect spot for Water 2 Wine [with] the high vaulted ceiling it just had that really classic farmhouse look and it just makes for a great winery.”
What they offer
All the 40-50 wines made at Water 2 Wine are low-sulfite, low-histamine and low-preservative. This means the drinks have a lower shelf life than store-bought wines, but the taste will be fruitier and won’t cause headaches.
Water 2 Wine Buda labeled wines include reds, whites, dessert and sparkling wines. If guests want to try winemaking, they can sample from the winery’s menu, pick their favorite and get involved in the process of batchmaking their 28 bottles of wine.
How it works
Aziz recommends 4-6 people to attend the winemaking part of the process. It starts with filling a fermentation bucket with water and adding bentonite, an additive to clarify the wine, and must, the crushed grape juice. Guests then add oaks to alter the flavor and color, and yeast to convert the sugars into alcohol.
From there, Water 2 Wine winemakers will put the barrel through primary and secondary fermentation, stabilization and filtration. In 6-8 weeks, the wine will be ready for bottling.
What else
Aziz said community involvement and networking are important to Water 2 Wine Buda’s success. The winery supports local nonprofits such as Buda’s Brightside and encourages guests to bring food from Buda restaurants to enjoy with their drinks.
The charcuterie boards at the winery are from Dolce Grazing, another small local business.
Aziz also said his winery team is “above and beyond” any team he has worked with because of their dedication to the community.
“To me, it's about relationship,” Aziz said. “It's not about just the dollar and the turn of people. That's not what Water 2 Wine is about, at least the Buda location. To me, it's about getting to know the guests and just sitting with them.”
- 304 S. Main Street, Ste. 103, Buda
- www.water2wine.com/buda
