Anadarko's Woods & Waters Winery, Vineyard and Bistro

This past Saturday we took a short road trip from Oklahoma City to Anadarko, Oklahoma, to have lunch at the Woods and Waters Winery and Vineyard. This Oklahoma winery has been in operation for 10 years and now has some 12,000 grape vines in 11 different varieties growing in the vineyards. It was surprising to find a vineyard in the southwest portion of Oklahoma that resembled an Old World vineyard in Spain or France. However, this part of Oklahoma does have some rolling hills and the vineyards managed to gracefully slope, providing a respite from flat, dry terrain of much of this portion of Oklahoma.

Woods and Waters is open each Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. for wine tastings and purchases. Dale and Lena Pound, the winery owners, have added a Bistro that is open on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. To 6 p.m. After browsing the menu at the winery Web site, I knew I needed to make the short drive (just a little over an hour) to Anadarko for lunch.

The Woods and Waters Bistro looks out over a pond and vineyards through a wall of windows. We selected a table that gave us a full view outdoors so we could watch the workers pruning the vines. Although it was early March and the vines had not yet leafed out, and even the grass and the trees were still dormant, it was a lovely view for lunch. The menu is full of fresh, homemade options and my companion and I took our time making our selections. I settled on the ravioli - one Five Cheese and one Florentine - and my companion chose the Sauvignon panini featuring roast beef, bacon, pepperoni and provolone cheese. You can tell which one of us is the vegetarian! I tasted both the dry and the sweet award-winning Woods and Waters Gewürztraminer and decided to have the dry with my lunch.

My companion's panini was accompanied by a traditional salad of lettuce, a tart coleslaw, Oklahoma pickles and veggie chips. My ravioli was served on a bed of wilted greens, topped with a roasted tomato slice and marinara sauce with banana pepper slices and sautéed red peppers on the side. Both dishes were delicious and served in an appetizing fashion. My wine was also the perfect accompaniment to my meal. Dale came by during our meal to see how we liked it and I had a chance to chat with him about the winery's history. It was a pleasant experience to have the owner of the establishment take an interest in our opinion of the Bistro and the Winery.

Of course, we were not the only diners at Woods and Waters that day. A group of ladies were there for a bridal shower. A mother and father were there with their children and several other groups of two and three were coming and going during our visit. The venue is setup to handle large groups, including weddings and receptions. Dale told me that they had already hosted two wedding thus far in 2009. You can see pictures of a past wedding at the Woods and Waters Web site. The Bistro is also equipped to handle live music and outdoor dining.

After lunch we went to pay our bill and purchase a couple of bottles of wine (the dry Gewürztraminer and the award-winning Shiraz) and talked with Dale some more. We discussed the difficulties Oklahoma wineries have encountered with the liquor wholesalers in distributing their wines within the state and the success in the law that now allows the wineries to sell directly to liquor stores. Personally, I want the law changed further to allow the wineries to deliver directly to my home and told Dale I would continue to write my state representatives about this matter.

We enjoyed our visit to Woods and Waters and are already making plans to go back with friends when things have greened up. I give the Bistro two thumbs up and the wines two glasses up! You can contact Woods and Waters through their Web site www.woodsandwaterswinery.com, by phone 580-588-2515, or by mail RR3 Box 160C, Anadarko, OK 73005.