Marcy Stellfox
Things to Do
‘Grab Your Best Gal Pal and Go’ Trip: Shopping, Wineries, & More
William Chris Vineyards
Photo: Flickr/AdamBarhan
Now that you’ve had lunch, it’s time to move on to the next winery. A unique boutique winery, William Chris Vineyards is located past the Hye Market just off of Highway 290. The rustic but eclectic repurposed Dieke family farmhouse serves as an intimate tasting room and goes hand in hand with winery’s Old World style wines. The modern tasting room built behind the farmhouse serves up space for larger group tastings and reveals the beautiful outdoor area overlooking some of the winery’s vineyards where outdoor tastings are held and live music plays most weekends.
The folks at William Chris consider themselves winegrowers as opposed to winemakers. Their motto is that they don’t just make wine, they grow it. That’s a nod to the William Chris philosophy of utilizing low impact techniques and the Texas terroir to produce quality wines with that unique Texas signature. And there’s proof they know what they’re doing. In a prestigious blind tasting competition in Lyon, France, William Chris turned heads when they walked away with gold and silver medals beating out some of the best wines in the world for top honors.
This boutique winery is for dry wine drinkers. Make reservations for a private tour and tasting. Try the 2015 Mary Ruth white blend, 2015 Texas Mouvedre, and the 2014 Skeleton Key. Heck, try them all. They’re all that good. William Chris Vineyards, 10352 U.S. Highway 290, Hye; Phone: 830-998-7654
Fiesta Vineyards
Photo: Facebook/FiestaWinery
The next stop on this one-day girlfriend getaway is another winery. Fiesta Vineyard & Winery also located on Highway 290 provides you with a unique opportunity to taste a large variety of wines. This family-owned winery isn’t so much a tasting room as it is a wine bar. The Baxter/McCoury families work together to produce vintages made from a myriad of grapes including cabernet sauvignon, Mourvedre, malbec, Vignoles, Viognier, Montepulciano, Marsanne.
