Landon Winery plans Red River winery, vineyard and lodging project in Denison

Landon Winery, the North Texas company that owns Gainesville's historic S.H. Kress building, is planning a site along the Red River in Denison where it would make wine, beer and spirits, grow grapes and host overnight guests, according to the company and its planning consultant.

The winery's website says the plans call for a winery, brewery, distillery and vineyard on the river. Antero Group, the consultant on the work, lists Landon as its client for a Denison master plan that pairs wine production with lodging and commercial space.

Landon calls the project an early-stage effort and says it expects to open in the coming years. The company gives no date.

Antero says its assignment covers traffic and utility infrastructure and includes coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on floodplain adjustments.

Zoning decisions in Denison pass through two bodies. The city says its Planning and Zoning Commission makes a recommendation, and the City Council holds its own public hearing and casts the deciding vote.

The project has a history with Denison's economic development arm. A Landon request for more time on its project near the JM property appeared on the Denison Development Alliance agenda for Nov. 20, 2025. The alliance has also awarded the winery Destination Creation, facade and fire-suppression grants. In a testimonial the alliance published, Bob Landon credited that help with paying for a sprinkler system and storefront work. Gainesville's economic development corporation has identified him as the company's president.

The Texas Pecan Growers Association scheduled a July 23, 2025, tour of Bob Landon's native pecan orchard along the Red River, which the group described as covering more than 100 acres. The brochure does not say the orchard and the Denison development sit on the same parcel.

The company reports running seven tasting rooms across North Texas and says it started its brewery and distillery operations in 2025. In July 2023, the Gainesville Economic Development Corporation announced Landon's purchase of the Kress building at 201 W. California Street, describing it as the company's planned seventh location.

Grapes have long roots in Denison. Grayson College's T.V. Munson Memorial Vineyard, started in 1974, keeps more than 60 of Munson's original varieties and sends cuttings to growers and breeders across the country, the college says.

Pairing a vineyard with a place to sleep has a regional precedent. Fortunata Winery in Aubrey offers villa stays along with dining, weddings and events, according to its website.

A 2025 study sponsored by the trade group WineAmerica estimated statewide wine-tourism spending in Texas at roughly half a billion dollars a year. Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 industry report estimated that U.S. wine sales slipped in 2025 in both volume and revenue.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension says newly planted grapevines can take as long as three years to bear fruit.