Bending Branch Promotes Jennifer Cernosek to Chief Operating Officer

June 1, 2026 (Comfort, TX) — Bending Branch today announced it has named its first Chief Operating Officer, promoting Jennifer Cernosek to the new position. Since joining the winery as direct-to-consumer manager in 2018, Cernosek has advanced from General Manager to commanding the full breadth of a four-brand company. She now leads a team of nearly 40 individuals spanning winemaking and cellar operations, bourbon production, vineyard management, hospitality, marketing, sales and facilities, along with a robust custom crush program serving more than 20 Texas wineries.

“Jennifer came to Bending Branch with exceptional skills and a remarkable work ethic, and she has played an integral role in the growth and development of the business,” said Dr. Bob Young, CEO and Executive Winemaker. “She knows our people, our partners and our mission with a depth that only comes from genuine commitment, and she leads this company with the same care and integrity as if it were her own. Promoting her to COO is both the right recognition for what she has contributed and the right foundation for where Bending Branch is headed.”

Cernosek brings a record of organizational leadership and managing complex operations. Before joining Bending Branch, she served as engagement director for a statewide organization with approximately 65,000 members. She has served her community through association committees and in long-time volunteer leadership roles, including as a board director of the Comfort Area Foundation. She holds a WSET Level 3 certification and is a credentialed Executive Bourbon Steward, teaching WSET Levels 1 and 2 classes as well as the Associate Bourbon Steward course.

“In addition to the caliber of our wines and bourbons, it’s the quality of the people at Bending Branch that makes this company truly extraordinary,” said Cernosek. “From our incredible team to our grower partners and industry relationships across Texas, this is a remarkable group of people doing exceptional work. Serving alongside Dr. Bob, Alison and this entire team is a privilege, and I am deeply honored to lead in this capacity.”

About Bending Branch and its Brands
Bending Branch, which includes a portfolio of four brands, was founded in 2009 by Dr. Bob Young, his wife Brenda, and their daughter Alison, who is President and Master Bourbon Blender. Bending Branch Winery is widely recognized as the Tannat House of Texas, a leader in the state’s wine industry and one of its most innovative and decorated producers. Driven by a commitment to science,

artisanal craftsmanship and sustainability, the winery has earned top honors at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, Houston Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, and the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, was named 2020 Grand Champion at the Texas Sustainable Winegrowing Competition, and was recognized as a 2024 Hot Brand by WineBusiness Monthly.

Bending Branch Winery has been receiving national recognition for its groundbreaking work with Texas White Oak aging to elevate Texas terroir with wines and bourbons, which has been researched and spearheaded by Dr. Bob Young.

The winery also operates a custom crush program serving more than 20 Texas wineries, reflecting its broader role in the growth of the Texas wine industry.

Bending Branch also owns and operates the Ursa Vineyards wine brand, acquired in 2014, which brings a California-produced dimension to the lineup, with the majority of its wine sales and wine club membership rooted in Texas. Bourbon brands Bending Branch 1840 and ChickenDuck, both launched in 2023, extend the company’s commitment to craft and innovation beyond the wine cellar.

In 2025, Bending Branch opened a striking 5,500 square foot tasting room on its Comfort estate, designed to immerse visitors in the full breadth of the portfolio. The facility features multiple indoor tasting areas, a dedicated library wine tasting room, a merchandise shop and expansive outdoor spaces.

The winery’s onsite estate vineyard in Comfort has been organically farmed since its founding. In partnership with other organic vineyard sites in the state, Bending Branch Winery’s first certified organic wine release is anticipated in Spring 2027.

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Announces 2025 Champion Wines

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is proud to present the Champion Wines from 
the 2025-2026 International Wine Competition, held September 29-30, 2025. This year’s winners were 
selected from a robust field of 921 wines, judged by a distinguished panel of 60 experts and nine judges 
returning to select the champion wines. Over 314 wineries from 13 countries, including 243 wines from 
39 Texas wineries submitted entries. 

Many of the Champion Wines will be available in H-E-B stores during February 2026 or can be ordered 
online at heb.com. 

Top 15 Champion Wines: 
• Grand Champion – 2022 Ride & Ridden California Cabernet Sauvignon 
• Reserve Champion – NV Champagne Lanson Le Black Label Brut 
• Top All-Around Winery – Rombauer Vineyards 
• Best of Herd Texas Winery – Bending Branch Winery 
• Best of Show Red – 2022 Opaque Darkness, Paso Robles 
• Best of Show White – 2023 Rombauer Chardonnay, Carneros 
• Best of Show Rosé – 2025 Oyster Bay Marlborough Rosé 
• Best of Show International – 2022 Bodegas Emilio Moro Malleolus, Ribera del Duero DO 
• Best of Show Texas Red – 2020 Bending Branch Winery Reserve Petit Verdot, Texas High  
Plains, Narra Vineyards 
• Best of Show Texas White – 2023 Becker Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay, Texas  
• Best of Show Texas Rosé – 2024 Michael Ros Winery Sangiovese Rosé, Michael Ros Vineyards 
• Best of Show Sparkling – NV Maison Albert Bichot Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Réserve 
• Best of Show Sweet – NV Messina Hof Winery Beau, Tribute Series 
• Best of Show Value – 2022 Juan Gil Silver Label Monastrell, Jumilla DO 
• Best of Show Featured Country (Italy) –2019 Pasqua 'Famiglia Pasqua' Amarone della  
Valpolicella DOCG 

The full list of award winners (including Double Gold and Top of Class) will be released no later than 
October 14, and can be found by clicking here.

Join us to celebrate these exceptional wines at the Champion Wine Auction & Dinner on Wednesday, 
January 7, 2026, at the San Antonio Shrine Auditorium. The evening will feature a grand tasting, silent and 
live auctions, and the chance to mingle with winemakers and enthusiasts. Visit 
www.sarodeo.com/wine for tickets and details. 

About the Competition and Its Impact 
The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo International Wine Competition began in 2010 and has grown into 
one of the premier wine competitions in the country, attracting entries from renowned wineries around 
the globe. Proceeds from the Champion Wine Auction & Dinner directly support the San Antonio Stock 
Show & Rodeo Scholarship Fund, helping fund the education of Texas youth. Since its inception, the 
Rodeo has committed more than $287 million to education through scholarships, grants, endowments, 
and other programs. Proceeds from the Wine Events benefit the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo 
Scholarship Fund with a portion for the advancement of viticulture.
 

SA Rodeo Contact: Jennifer Wilson 210-982-5391 

Taking Texas terroir to the next level with Texas white oak-aged wines

PRESS RELEASE

COMFORT, Texas – Building on its foundation of innovation, Bending Branch Winery announces the upcoming release of three new wines aged with Texas white oak. The first winery to ever use Texas white oak as part of its wine aging program, Bending Branch selected this new oak profile to add another layer of Texas terroir to its wines.

“We are committed to making not only the best Texas wines but also to put our own stamp on Texas terroir, innovation and sustainability,” said Dr. Bob Young, Bending Branch Winery co-owner and executive winemaker. “The Texas white oak offers distinct flavor characteristics of spice, caramel and vanilla while also providing a more sustainable approach to oak aging.”

The first wines aged with Texas white oak include:

2021 Texas Cowboy Cuvée Reserve, Newsom Vineyards, Texas High Plains
(a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Malbec)

• Double Gold – 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

2020 Tannat Reserve, Tallent Vineyards, Texas Hill Country

• Silver – 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

2020 Petit Verdot Reserve, Narra Vineyards, Texas High Plains

• Gold – 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

“We have been working on this project for the past six years to secure the best Texas white oak available and to experiment with different toast levels and aging protocols with a handful of different wines,” Young added. “We will continue to age various wines in Texas white oak and compare it to American, French, Hungarian and other oak barrels to create wines with unique and distinctly Texas flavor profiles.”

The winery worked with an East Texas sawmill to harvest white oak from an East Texas forest and cut it into boards that were seasoned at the sawmill and Bending Branch over two years. Prior to coopering barrels and as a first step, the winery elected to produce Texas oak chains as a sustainable method to age Texas wine. The chains were toasted to different levels by an expert cooperage partner and placed in various neutral oak barrels filled with Texas wines of different varieties based on the results of bench trials.  

Bending Branch Winery, recently named a 2024 Hot Brand by WineBusiness Monthly, is known for its innovation, experimentation and sustainability. It is the only winery with a flash détente machine and it also uses cryo-maceration, both of which extract more polyphenols that are responsible for flavor compounds, tannins and color in wine. Both techniques are highly instrumental in a hot climate like Texas to help deliver phenolic maturity.

Dr. Bob relies on his medical background and UC Davis training to apply modern winemaking techniques to carry out research and experiments to ever improve the quality of Texas wines in the face of increasingly challenging climatic growing conditions.

Bending Branch Winery will release its first three wines aged with Texas white oak at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 7th at the Tale of Texas Oak Tasting event at Bending Branch Winery. Additional wines and also bourbons aged in Texas white oak are in progress. In 2023, Bending Branch launched two bourbon brands, Bending Branch 1840 and ChickenDuck.