NORTH TEXAS — If you love wine, lean in. About an hour’s drive north of Dallas, a tree-lined, dirt and gravel road bends around a curve revealing a lush and lovely surprise, the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery. It’s 100 windswept acres along Lake Ray Roberts. 

“It’s more than I thought it would be initially,” says owner Fred Cummings, “but I now know it could be more than it is.” 

Dr. Cummings is the MD turned winemaker. He says he’s known since he was a child that he wanted to be a doctor, but it was his grandmother’s wisdom that planted something in his spirit about the soil. 

“She had a grapevine in her backyard and a fig tree,” recalls Cummings. “She says, `Fred’- I must’ve been about nine years old…just come back from Germany. And she picked up some dirt and said, ‘God didn’t make any more of this, so get some’.” And I said, Yes, ma’am.” 

And so he did, ultimately purchasing a former pig farm that became his family’s lakefront home. Then when the kids grew up and away, his wife Mary pushed him to do more with the property. So in 2010, he began to plant grapes. 

“The best grape that we grow on this property is actually grenache, but we grow grenache, tempranillo, and albarino,” explains Cummings. 

It took some years before he turned out a wine-worthy, award-winning harvest. Still, there was something else flourishing on those vines. Cummings says his proudest moment in his winemaking journey was, “my son coming to help me.” 

That would be his son Christopher McIntosh. He’s the vineyard’s winemaker. McIntosh admits that he needed some convincing, but now loves every moment. 

“It’s ours. We get to take it from fruit to glass- every bit of our work goes into each bottle. I get to share that process with- not only my father but the rest of my family. My wife works here, my daughter works here. My sister-in-law works here, my mother-in-law works here. So it really is a family operation which makes it even more special.” 

McIntosh says picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child, but just between us, the grenache has become the winery’s award-winning standout. 

“I like to tell everybody we trick our vines into thinking they’re in the Mediterranean with all this lakefront property,” shares McIntosh with a laugh. “So yeah… that’s our favorite grape. We use it in three different wines. We make a rosé with it, we make a younger grenache, and then we make our estate grenache reserve.” 

Looking out on Lake Ray Roberts, the views are gorgeous, the tasting room polished and modern, the tasty tidbits and artisan cheeses just perfect for sampling. But the true test of a wine is in the sampling. And a tasting room full of visitors insist that  the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery does not disappoint. 

“So it’s very hard work,” explains McIntosh. “But again, every bottle that’s turned out is a show of success. And the biggest show of that is when somebody tastes something and they just smile in awe of what what you put in a bottle for them.” 

And while the wine is smooth and the hospitality wonderful, “We need a bigger place,” admits Cummings. “And we’ve had a few struggles trying to get that done.” 

Dr. Cummings can admit to navigating some bitter realities, Black winemakers are almost non-existent. According to Bloomberg, Black winemakers represent less than one percent of the industry. 

When asked if race has been a barrier in his winery’s growth, Cummings responded, “A little bit.” 

“It has been a little bit. And when you talk about that, I’m a guy that believes that I can do my best and it’s good enough for anyone to appreciate. And that’s how I approach my medical career. I approach wine the same way.” 

 And then a stray thought makes him pause and he adds with a wry smile, “Get more push back on the wine, than we have on treating people… so.” 

When asked what advice he’d share with other minority entrepreneurs contemplating stepping into a space that perhaps the world suggests they do not belong, Cummings replies, “I’ve heard that so many times. I ignored it because I knew I was good enough. No one’s going to tell you that you’re good if you sit in the shadows. You’ve got to step out there.” 

And the Edge of the Lake Crew looks to make even more strides. They’ve got 15 acres planted now and hope to plant as many as 60 of the lake side acres with grape vines. They’re also looking for local support to help make the area a wine destination. 

“You think that you can do this and have a little small thing,” shares Cummings, “but it grows just like the vines grow, the industry grows, and the business grows and you’ve got to be able to expand with it or you kind of get squashed.” 

He admits to thinking about his grandmother often as he contemplates what he’s built and how much more he’d like to see it grow. “You know, she was a small one, but really had determination. And coming out of her upbringing and slavery, if you will. And she wanted her kids and her grandkids to do something, so she was always pushing us forward.” 

And Cummings believes the harvest for the entire industry can be grand. 

“Texas wine is having a moment and we need to really grab hold of that and take advantage of it now, not next week, not last, but now.” 

Texas A&M all-time leading rusher Darren Lewis has died of cancer, the school announced Friday. He was 55.

The university did not say how it learned of Lewis’ death.

A two-time All-American, Lewis also remains the top rusher in Southwest Conference history. He ran for 5,012 yards in four seasons with the Aggies, highlighted by a 1,692-yard season in 1988 and rushing for 1,691 yards in 1990.

In 1988 he was the Southwest Conference Player of the Year and named to his first All-America team. He was the second-leading rusher in the country that season behind Barry Sanders, who ran for 2,628 yards.

Nicknamed “Tank,” Lewis finished tied for eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1990 when he broke the Southwest Conference career rushing record previously held by SMU’s Eric Dickerson, who ran for 4,450 yards. That season earned him his second All-America honor.

Lewis was selected in the sixth round of the 1991 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and played for them for three seasons. His stock fell in the draft after he tested positive for drugs at the league’s combine.

Born in Dallas, Lewis played at local power Carter High School and went on to Texas A&M. He had the top two rushing seasons for the Aggies before Trayveon Williams broke his record, rushing for 1,760 in 2018.

Lewis’ 5,012 career rushing yards ranked him fifth on the NCAA’s all-time rushing list at the conclusion of his college career.

He never tested positive after being drafted by the Bears. He played in 33 games with five starts, rushing for 431 yards.

Lewis struggled with a cocaine addiction after football and went through a divorce and the loss of his house. He was sent to prison more than one, the last time in August 2014 when he pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to armed robberies in the Dallas area and was given a 27-year term in federal prison.

His cancer was diagnosed in prison and he was allowed to leave prison to receive treatment. He recently entered hospice care, according to several published reports.

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — This week Louisiana became the first state in the country to require schools to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms, which struck a nerve with one prominent Republican in Texas.

On his personal X account, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted a screenshot Thursday of a headline noting this milestone for Texas’ neighbor, and he expressed his disappointment in a similar proposal failing to become law here in the state.

“Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools,” Patrick wrote on X.

The Texas Senate approved Senate Bill 1515 along a party-line vote on April 20 last year during the regular legislative session. The legislation, which was introduced by Texas Sen. Phil King of Weatherford, would have made public K-12 schools put up “a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments” in a “conspicuous place in each classroom.” The bill required the display to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, and the text would have to be “in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.”

Members of the public education committee in the Texas House of Representatives advanced the legislation at a May 16, 2023, hearing. However, the full House never took up SB 1515 last year, so the proposal did not advance any further.

In his X posts Thursday, Patrick used that to once again excoriate Speaker Dade Phelan, who won a primary runoff last month against a challenger backed by the lieutenant governor and former President Donald Trump.

“Every Texas Republican House member would have voted for it. But, SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill by letting it languish in committee for a month assuring it would never have time for a vote on the floor,” Patrick wrote. “This was inexcusable and unacceptable. Putting the Ten Commandments back into our schools was obviously not a priority for Dade Phelan.”

Patrick also said this legislation is needed to “remind students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law: the Ten Commandments.” He ended his X post with this promise: “I will pass the 10 Commandments Bill again out of the Senate next session.”

Texas does have a red granite monument listing the Ten Commandments displayed on the Capitol grounds in Austin. According to the Texas State Preservation Board, this was erected in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Texas.

Louisiana’s law, which Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed earlier this week, differs slightly from the proposal debated last year in Texas. For one the size of the displays in Louisiana must be 11 inches by 14 inches. It also applies to more than just K-12 classrooms in public schools. State-funded universities and colleges in the Pelican State must also display a poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” next year.

Civil liberties groups are already planning to file lawsuits to block the law from taking effect in Louisiana, arguing it’s unconstitutional. However, Gov. Landry along with the state’s Republican attorney general said they would look forward to defending the law in court.