Grapes under bird netting at William Chris Vineyards, June 2024.
In December 2022 MeLinda and I were planning to head out on a wine trip, and that morning I happened to see that William Chris Vineyards had made the World’s Best Vineyards list. No. 56 in the world, and by their count the first Texas winery ever on it. We managed to book a last minute reservation.
It was their standard tasting. I’m not 100% sure what was on the menu. Maybe that year’s Artist Blend, maybe a Mourvèdre. We stuck to reds. We signed up for the Hye Society, their wine club, on that very first visit. You had to buy four bottles to get on the waitlist, and I can’t tell you what we bought. Those bottles are long gone. We were off the waitlist by May.
That was the first of sixteen visits so far. William Chris, I think, is our anchor wine club.
They kept making the list, too. No. 60 in 2023, No. 63 in 2024, and No. 31 on the top 50 in 2025.
What we go back for
Their blends really stand out. They make a solid Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon, but really it’s the Hunter, the Artist Blend, the Winegrower’s Wife. And it seems like every time we go we’re surprised by something new. The Winegrower’s Wife was one of those. So was the Uplift Vineyard Blend they make under the William Chris label.
I’m not a huge fan of whites and rosés, but I do like some of their whites. The rosé is eh.
I’ve got a lot of William Chris bottles cellaring. Not wasting any of them was one of the reasons I made the app.
Why they matter for Texas wine
I really feel like they are incredibly important for Texas wine. Start with the grapes. Everything they make is 100% Texas grown, from more than 40 partner vineyards across the state. Three are their own estates: the Hye Estate, Uplift up in Burnet County and Hunter Family Vineyard out in Terry County. Families they partner with farm the rest, from the Pedernales River in the Hill Country to the High Plains around Lubbock to Dell Valley at the foot of Guadalupe Peak. Some of those vines go back a long way. Boxing Rabbit went in the ground in 1975 (their grower page).
Bill Blackmon and Chris Brundrett started William Chris in Hye in 2008. Around 2006, two years before that, Chris told Andy Timmons, a High Plains cotton grower, that he ought to try planting Mourvèdre. It was the first Mourvèdre planted in the Texas High Plains, and today it’s one of the most planted grapes in Texas.
Chris has also spent years pushing for wine with a Texas appellation on the label to be 100% Texas grown (Wine Enthusiast). In 2021, with Chris as president of Texas Wine Growers, the group helped introduce House Bill 1957, and it took effect that September. It didn’t get all the way to 100%, but it raised the bar. Now a label that names an AVA needs 85% of its grapes from that AVA, a single vineyard needs 95%, and whatever’s left has to be Texas fruit (Wine Industry Advisor). They’re still at it. There’s a petition in to make Dell Valley its own AVA.
The medals keep coming, too. At the 2026 TEXSOM Awards, William Chris Wine Co. took a Judge’s Selection, four Platinum medals and two Golds (BevNET).
Planning a visit
Take your time and plan for more than the tasting itself. You really want to explore the grounds. Grab a glass, listen to live music and relax.
The tasting room is at 10352 U.S. Highway 290 in Hye. The Winemaker’s Tasting is the standard one, $30 a person, standing, and they take walk-ins Monday through Thursday when there’s room. There’s also a seated Elevated tasting at $40 and a Chef’s Table with food at $95. They’re open 11 to 5 Sunday through Wednesday and 10 to 6 Thursday through Saturday. That’s as of September 2026, so check their visit page before you go.
In 2026 they opened a tasting room in downtown Fredericksburg too. We haven’t been yet.
Doug