What started as a thirty-year friendship became a well-regarded wine brand based on the unlikely pairing of cabernet sauvignon and rodeo. Made by a female Dallas-born winemaker, Remington Jorgensen, with art from a Texas-based artist, Steve Wrubel, Ride & Ridden is infused with the best of what the Lone Star State offers.
David Green, founder and partner of Ride & Ridden Wine Co., has spent over 25 years in the wine industry. As the owner of Royal Wine & Spirits, he knew he wanted to bring a California cabernet to the most extensive domestic wine market in the United States – Texas. With vast industry knowledge, he knew that the Texan love of big things, including the bold flavors of a cabernet, would lend itself to a lasting brand.
Friends since they were 19, Green and Wrubel went their separate ways after college but remained in touch over the years. After graduating from Berkeley, Wrubel returned to school and got a Master's degree in photography. He spent over 25 years developing his art in many applications before discovering rodeo in 2019 after watching the short film Try and Love. Wrubel says that after watching the movie, he traded his sedan for a Ford pickup truck, looked up the closest rodeo, grabbed his cameras, and dove headfirst into the world of rodeo.
Since then, he has become well known for his beautiful images of cowboys, bucking broncos, and bull riders. He says focusing his lens on fine art and rodeo is "one of the best decisions he ever made." Wrubel fell in love with everything about the sport, from the drive between rodeos to the people and the thrill he gets up close to the action.
"There is nothing like the adrenaline I feel when standing in the dirt waiting for that bucking horse to explode from the chute. Maintaining my composure while that dynamo comes flying at me is like nothing I've ever experienced," says Wrubel. "It's where I thrive – creatively, that is it. The goodness, toughness, and humility of the people I meet make it all worthwhile and keep me coming back."
While Wrubel was making a name for himself in the art world, Green was thinking about launching a new wine brand. He saw one of Wrubel's rodeo photographs and knew right away that he had to reconnect with his friend.
"Seeing his Let's Ride imagery gobsmacked me, I had a very visceral and emotional connection to it immediately," says Green. "I pulled out my phone and called him and said, 'We need to use these images on a wine brand now!'"
The friends both saw something powerful in Western-inspired iconography, and the idea of Ride & Ridden came to fruition. The duo spent a lot of time pondering the brand at Wrubel's family home on the Silverado Trail in Napa Valley. Wrubel recounts how they came up with the name four years ago while eating and drinking under a fig tree against the backdrop of the Western skies.
"I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished with this idea—the recognition of Ride & Ridden in the rodeo world and Western culture is beyond what I ever expected," says Wrubel.
Available at H.E.B. and Central Market and ranging in price between $23 to $45, Green deliberately keeps his wine under the $50 price point. Focusing on the premier wine regions of Napa Valley, Paso Robles, and Sonoma County, Ride & Ridden has received accolades for both its value and tasting notes. Green says the wines pair well with everything from brisket tacos to spaghetti bolognese and flat iron steak frites.
After all, there is nothing like a good taco and great cabernet to bring out the cowboy in all of us. rideandridden.com
Cabernet is king and there’s no greater domestic wine market in the US than Texas. – David Green Founder and Partner, Ride & Ridden Wine Co.