There are two distinct stories here. First, the fantastic French provincial home nestled on 1.6 acres on Inwood Road now on the market for under $3 million. But the juicier story is the thousands of rare grapes growing in the backyard, a crop that is the only active, professionally-managed vineyard in the city of Dallas.
Yes, the home listed for $2.995 million by Cassie Bledsoe of Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate has an active working vineyard from which the beloved local wine, Inwood Estates Vineyards wine, was established.
The French provincial home is a prize in of itself with five bedrooms, four full baths, one-half bath, and 5,165 square feet. Sitting on 1.6 beautifully treed acres, the 1950-home provides plenty of privacy with its 10’ wrought-iron and wood fence and two electric driveway gates. External wood shutters and twin Bevolo gaslight lamps flank the thick front door that has a caged peephole, as if you were entering a castle or 1920s speakeasy.
Speakeasy isn’t a stretch. After all, an urban vineyard is a pretty unusual proposition in Texas, where Blue Laws still say you can’t buy vodka for Bloody Marys on Sunday morning. But Dan Gatlin and his family were determined to try growing a certain species of grapes in the backyard of his Inwood and Lovers Lane home. Gatlin, along with West Texas vineyard owner Neal Newsom, established Inwood Estates Vineyards in 1997 and the lone active vineyard was born in big D.
The listing agent Bledsoe says she’s never had a listing like this. Dallas homes don’t typically have rows of wine grape-bearing vines in the backyard. “This home sits in the heart of Dallas, but it feels more like the Texas Hill Country or Napa Valley,” the Dave Perry-Miller agent says.
Inside this Inwood Estates home, you’ll find original hardwood floors, stucco walls, and subtle details that define this 1950s home. Like the door to no ordinary wine rack. The frame and door to this antique Jamison freezer door once belonged to an old icehouse. (Today a convenience store, though you’re not alone in still calling them icehouses.)
Next to the dining room, the kitchen has soapstone countertops and backsplash, and professional-grade stainless steel appliances including built-in refrigerator/freezer, full-size wine rack, Viking cooktop and ovens, and a Salamander broiler. The kitchen opens up to the family room with fireplace and dual Pella sliding glass doors.
The home has five total bedrooms, including the three upstairs, one guest quarters bedroom, and downstairs master suite, which was recently updated with sauna, standalone shower with body sprays, garden tub, and large 12×12 foot closet. That’s in addition to the two closets in the large master bedroom with tall tray ceilings. The guest quarters are above the three-car garage that has room for an optional lift to transform the garage for four cars. The guest quarters have vaulted, beamed ceilings with built-in cabinets, linen closet, and wet bar.
The 1.6 acre property has an ample backyard where you could build a pool, tennis court, putt-putt course, and half a dozen more outdoor toys, and still have plenty of the room for the vineyards that occupy the back of the property. The vineyards have their own entrance for Inwood Estate Vineyards staff, who come in 5 to 6 times a year to prune and pick the grapes. The crop has drip irritation that’s provided by the vineyard, so the homeowners have no water bill to pay here.
You wouldn’t typically think of Inwood and Lovers as the grape capital of Dallas County. It’s not officially, but despite the fact this particular kind of grape hadn’t grown very well in Texas before, Gatlin grew tempranillo grapes here for a chardonnay that wine press has called a ringer for good Chablis. Today, the wine is made in Fredericksburg and a wine tasting room is located in the Design District. From the wine mags: Inwood’s range also includes an unusual blend of chardonnay and the sherry grape palomino, and superb cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo–cabernet blends. “Note that Gatlin’s reds are best after at least a decade of age,” observes Texas-based wine writer and Daily Meal contributor Andrew Chalk, “and not showy while young.” Chalk adds, “Even with the highest prices in the state, Gatlin always sells out and every top Texas restaurant has an Inwood wine on the list.”
