A woman in a pink sleeveless top pours red wine into a glass at a tasting session. Two people sit at the counter, facing her, with several empty and filled wine glasses in front of them. The setting appears bright and welcoming.

Meet the People, Learn the Legend

Our story stretches from the Atlantic Coast of Ireland to North Texas to these rugged hillsides off the Pacific Coast of California. Our people come from farms and theaters and newsrooms, from the East, the South, and the West. Our timeline begins back in 1852. But before we get to that, please allow us to introduce ourselves today.

Meet Your Hosts

A brown and white dog is lying down in front of a sign that reads "SIXMILEBRIDGE." The dog is looking upward, and the background includes a building and greenery.

The Legend of Sixmilebridge

The storyline and bloodline behind Sixmilebridge stretch across continent and ocean, decade and century, to the village of Sixmilebridge, in County Clare, Ireland in 1852. That year, the landed gentry of the region sent a militia to try to coerce eighteen farmer tenants to vote against their own interests. The citizens refused. When they gathered to protest the strong-arm tactics, the militia responded by opening fire, killing six and wounding eight.

A vintage road sign with a black border on a beige background points to "Sixmilebridge" and its Irish name "Droichead Abhann Uí Chearnaigh," indicating a distance of six miles.

When the smoke had settled and the dust had cleared, a red ceremonial hat, called a “biretta,” lay on the cobblestones, two holes marking where a bullet had passed clean through it. The biretta’s owner, Father Michael Clune, miraculously survived. Later, Zachariah Wallace, editor of The Anglo-Celt newspaper, was charged with libel against the state and imprisoned for six months after describing the event in print as “willful and deliberate murder.”

A smiling older couple holds hands, standing in front of a wooden wall. The woman has long brown hair and is wearing a patterned blouse, while the man has gray hair and is wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and jeans.

That same year, a young man named Jacobus Moroney left Sixmilebridge and the unthinkable memories of that day, and struck out in search of a better, freer life. Jacobus, along with his wife and son, James, landed in Texas, where James’s great-grandson, our proprietor Jim Moroney III, would devote his career to supporting the free press. The Dallas Morning News would earn three Pulitzer Prizes and many other honors under Jim’s leadership as its longtime publisher.

A person holds an open booklet featuring a photograph of someone tending to a vineyard. The pages describe vineyard characteristics and list various wine-related details. Glasses of wine and papers are visible on the table.

To Jim, and to all of us, Fr. Clune’s bullet-hole-ridden biretta is symbolic of the ongoing struggle to support the democratic process. Our logo depicts the hat hanging from a taut line, as straight as the path of a bullet, as strong as blood, as long as a story well told.

We farm organically.  We put on water sparingly. We let our limestone soil speak clearly. We intervene in the winemaking minimally. We  greet you with a glass of wine and a smile. We attend to you as much as you want or as little as you need. We want you to come in happy and to depart happier. Welcome to Sixmilebridge.

Jim Moroney, Proprietor
book your winery visit
A person pours wine into a glass at a wooden counter while two people watch and smile. The setting appears to be a tasting room, with wine glasses and bottles arranged neatly on the counter.