Step through the gates at In Contrada and you might forget you’re still in Texas. Jasmine hangs in the air, live music drifts through the vines, and somewhere nearby, a wood-fired pizza is bubbling to life. It feels more like a lazy afternoon in the Italian countryside than a weekend in San Antonio.
That’s exactly what Ed and his wife, Karen, had in mind when they found the property during the pandemic. With their travel plans grounded, they started dreaming. “We wanted to offer people a true Italian experience,” Ed says. “Great wine, incredible food, and that easy sense of community. But right here at home.”
The name In Contrada means “your neighborhood,” and that spirit is everywhere you look. Guests are treated like regulars, and regulars often become family. “We say it takes a vineyard,” says Ed’s daughter, Bree Caron, now the general manager. “We’ve had members get married here, celebrate milestones here, even come to grieve. It’s not just a business. It’s personal.”
From goat yoga to candlelit dinners, In Contrada is a little bit playful and a whole lot soulful. Guests lounge among the vines, cooled by misters and shaded by sails, sipping wines that have taken home 23 awards, including two Best of Class. As the sun sets and the string lights flicker on, the whole place transforms.
If the vineyard were a person, Ed says, “She’d be an Italian grandmother, warm, welcoming, and always ready to feed you.” That warmth is woven into everything, especially the food. Their chef, Claudio, who comes from Italy, brings with him 50 years of experience making fantastic, authentic Italian cuisine. He turns out rustic, soul-satisfying dishes that feel straight from the old country. Local favorites include the grilled calamari over Tuscan bean salad, the housemade Bolognese, and focaccia with olive tapenade.
And then there’s the wine. The Branceleone (returning this fall), Tempranillo, and refreshingly fun Pico Le Bolle, which means “tiny bubbles,” are guest favorites. Perfect with pizza, seafood, or a long conversation under the stars. And oh man, the pizza is delicious. People get weirdly passionate about it, and they’re not wrong.
Still, what guests talk about most isn’t what’s on the menu. It’s how it feels. “There’s this moment,” Bree says, “when the music’s playing, the lights are twinkling, and the night air is just right. You take a breath and realize… you don’t want to be anywhere else.”
One evening, during a Navy retirement celebration, guests in full dress whites stood and saluted beneath the vineyard lights. The sunset, the stillness, the reverence. It wasn’t just a party. It was a memory etched into the soul of this place.
“That’s the heart of it,” Ed says. “We wanted to create something beautiful and real. And we’re just getting started.”
Sip & Savor: Try the award-winning Pico Le Bolle, housemade Bolognese, or grilled calamari over Tuscan beans. Don’t miss the live music, trivia nights, or goat yoga under the vines. It’s Tuscany vibes, no passport required.