Family Traditions | Grateful for Red
Clarence Piwonka has been a member of Capital Farm Credit for more than two decades and a member of the agriculture community for longer than he can remember. Owner of Red’s Grass Farms in South Texas, the tradition of growing-up near family land has become a Piwonka tradition and a part of life’s greatest adventures.
“I am from a family of 10,” said Clarence. “My parents ventured into the turf business somewhere around 1972 and started Red’s Grass Farms. My dad’s nickname was ‘Red’ because of his red hair, so that’s how Red’s Grass Farms came to be. My dad passed away in June of 1985, and we continued to run the operation as a family for another 26 years.”
Like many businesses, time took its toll on the farm and a decision was made to put the operation up for sale. But in September of 2011, Clarence and his wife Lorene made the decision to keep the business in the family and bought it outright.
Clarence and Lorene navigated into a new venture in 2015. Beneath the Oaks Winery and Venue was born on family property in Midfield, Texas.
“Mother Nature blessed us with beautiful, majestic oak trees on our property we call the ‘Homeplace,’ where I was raised with my nine siblings. When my wife and I purchased it from the family trust, we converted my dad’s shop he ran his daily sod farm duties out of, to what we now call the ‘Cantina.’”
After friends and family approached the Piwonka’s about wanting to host weddings on the property, Clarence and Lorene started researching wedding venues.
“By March of 2015, we had added on a reception hall, built a bridal suite, converted the Cantina into the grooms’ quarters and we were in the venue business!”
Lorene had always dreamed of owning a winery. Both she and Clarence enjoyed the wine country of California and the Texas Hill Country and thought it would be fun to offer that atmosphere to their local community.
“We planted a few rows of Black Spanish Grapes for aesthetic purposes,” said Clarence. “They ended up producing enough for us to harvest, and Lorene was able to make all the wine for our daughter’s wedding.”
“The feedback we received from friends and family was great and really pushed us to move forward on opening the winery,” he added. After a lot of consideration, we decided to work with a winemaker in Georgetown. We still harvest the grapes we grow and send them to our winemaker to make our Estate Black Spanish Dessert Wine.”
With almost all the grapes Texas grown, the Piwonka’s wine and wedding venue business has flourished. Their hobby has now become a new operation, but one they are most definitely okay with.
“We have our daughter and her husband and some wonderful employees who operate the venue which gives Lorene and I plenty of time to escape and enjoy life, which we feel is a wonderful thing.”
At Capital Farm Credit, helping Texans succeed in agriculture is what we build our business and relationships on. We are an extended part of our members’ family and share in the celebration of reaching new milestones. One of the many benefits of doing business with Capital Farm Credit is our Cooperative Returns Program. In March, patronage checks are distributed to members. As a cooperative, our members share in our earnings.
“My relationship with Capital Farm Credit has been absolutely flawless,” said Clarence. “I could not find a negative thing to say about anyone that I have worked with. All very professional and very knowledgeable, plus the patronage to us is like a vacation savings account.”
From Clarence’s father’s vision of a turf grass operation to a thriving venue with bottles of wine, a lot of appreciation can be said to go to “Red” to all who visit the family operations.
“We are blessed with three beautiful grandkids that spend a lot of time on the farms and around the venue & winery,” said Clarence. “I feel pretty certain the family tradition will continue.”
To learn more about Beneath the Oaks Winery and Venue visit: Beneath The Oaks
Red’s Grass Farms, Inc. delivers throughout Texas. For more information visit: Red's Grass Farms, Inc.
Clarence Piwonka and Thomas Kyle, CFC Relationship Manager