William Chris Vineyards

This was our 2^nd visit. Love the atmosphere of this tasting room. The wines were nice and staff very friendly.

Great time at William Chris! Sabrina was very attentive and knowledgeable. The pâté was delicious. I will return.

Beautiful people… beautiful scenery… beautiful wine… can’t go wrong with Williams and Chris!

William Chris easily has the best wine in the hill country. The vineyard is well managed and staff is knowledgeable, short waits (reservations), and a truly personalized experience. The adding food has been a very welcome, albeit limited, addition. If you want a quality experience that doesn’t focus on quantity and drunk bachelorette’s, try William Chris.

William Chris has quickly become one of my favorite Hill Country stops. While some people dislike the fact that they require reservations on weekends, I completely understand why they do. My husband and I enjoyed the one-​on-​one attention we received because of our tasting reservation, whereas at other wineries, we have spent good money on tastings, but because of the workers being distracted by serving other people, we didn’t really get to learn much about the wine. We’ve only done a tasting there once, but have visited several other times just to buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it on their beautiful property. Every time we’ve done this, the workers have been very friendly and accommodating.
While I really like their wine, what attracts me to William Chris beyond their lovely property and friendly staff, is the fact that they’re very dog friendly! Not only has our dog been welcomed outside, but they even let us bring her inside to enjoy our tasting. Because of that, William Chris really won us over! I now find it totally acceptable to drive the hour from Austin just to go enjoy a nice day and a bottle of wine. My husband and I love to sit and enjoy a picnic and wine, while our sweet pup is able to roam and play. It’s a win-​win for all!

Wow… Was driving the wine trail and another winery recommended this one. So we drove over here and walked into the tasting room only to be told by by a «hostess» that they are reservation-​only on the weekend. That we could buy a bottle without tasting it and go sit outside.
Yea… We just dropped over $ 200 at another vineyard and joined the wine club in addition to that. On to the next vineyard to spend our money.

Its our new favorite Winery in the hill country. We had a lovely Sunday afternoon tasting all there wines and sitting outside listening some live music, enjoying a bottle and indulged on a cheese board. The staff here at the winery are full of life and very pleasant to be around.
After our tasting we ended up purchasing 4 bottles and joining their Hye society wine club. We definitely will be back next month and plan to spend the day out in the large oak groves. They have a wonderful property is also very beautiful and peaceful!
$ 15 for 5 tasting is a good price. I noticed someone else comment on how they thought it was expensive, not by any means. It is comparable to others in the area. Don’t go to California wine country if you think $ 15 is expensive cause you will end up paying $ 25+ for tasting of wines that don’t even compare to William Chris!

The atmosphere, wine, and staff are awesome! I would highly recommend a stop here if you have a chance. I am not much OF a white wine fan but the 2014 Mary Ruth was wonderful. Didn’t find a wine I didn’t enjoy! Great stop :)

I first heard about William Chris Vineyard from my jeweler, who was also a member of their wine club, as I ask her for suggestions of vineyards close to Fredericksburg, TX for me and my girlfriends romantic weekend getaway and for my surprise proposal to her. She recommended William Chris for good wines and just a beautiful vineyard to do my proposal in. So I contacted William Chris with my surprise proposal ideas after Grape Creek Vineyard nearby declined to accommodate my idea for my surprise proposal because, they said they will be too busy to accommodate. I knew I have the perfect vineyard for my proposal when my call was answered by Rachael Theberge, Wine Club Manager and was their event coordinator at the time and was greeted, excited to accommodate my surprise proposal needs! Rachael was nothing short of fantastic, hospitable and very nice to work with. She immediately took upon her the task on making sure that this surprise proposal is done the right way and the way I wanted to. We both shared the same idea for my proposal and right away, she made me feel relieved by reassuring me that she will take care of everything, down to the last detail to make this surprise proposal possible. She even referred me to a professional photographer whom they often work with for proposals done in their vineyard and she too was fantastic to work it! Rachael is definitely a «Proposal Fairy» or «Proposal Guru» if that can be added to her title! She kept in contact with me for a couple of months leading up to this past weekend for the day of my proposal. At the arranged time of our arrival to the vineyard, she was at the desk outside to greet us and personally escort us inside to our wine tasting schedule. Though I do not drink wines often, I must say that their wines are absolutely delicious! Me and my now fiancé loved it so much that we got a bottled to take home. The only regret we had was that we did not buy more bottles to take home! This vineyard is fairly new to this area compare to the surrounding vineyards who has been in Hye, TX making wines for years. For them to be relatively new to the wine business, they know what they are doing and are able to produce delicious tasting wines. At the time of our visit, the weather was beautiful and just the perfect weather for my surprise proposal! A musician was outside on the deck, serenading people drinking wine and enjoying the weather. We had a small cheese plate and we enjoyed it. Wish we could have ordered more food for variety. All in all, we will definitely be coming back to William Chris Vineyard whenever we are back in the area, not just because this place is memorable for us, but just to relax and enjoy the company of good people, and relaxing ambiance.
Shout out to Rachael Theberge (Wine Club Manager) and Jerah (Sommelier) who made our first visit as memorable as possible!

William and Chris is on the pricier side of where we went, approaching Napa tasting fees. But their grounds are beautiful, wine very drinkable and the staff was super friendly and knowledgeable.
We bought two of their glass to take home even though our house is lousy with glassware. They are good quality crystal.
This was out last stop on Saturday and we were glad we made it here. They are super busy so you’ll want to make a reservation. We didn’t but they were able to accommodate pretty quickly after they saw how cold we were. Plus one for W&C.
We had a delicious cheese and meat plate and spent a good amount of time with our server. Their wines are pretty good for Texas wines. If you are looking of a good place to end your tour you could do a lot worse than W&C. We’ll definitely be back the next time we get out of town visitors who want to see what Texas Wine is like.

Just amazing! The wine, the staff, the view — all incredible! We did the tasting then had a glass of rose (so good!) and sat under the oak trees. The best vineyard we have been to! Highly recommend. I will DEFINITELY be going back!

Sabrina is AMAZING!!! Not only did she have a plethora of knowledge about the wines on the estate, she was an absolute breath of fresh air to talk to! My sister was visiting from Indiana and we had such a great time UNTIL we learned we couldn’t tip on the credit card… THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! As a person that worked in the service industry for over twenty years, gratuity is no brainer and very few people carry cash these days. TO THE OWNERS OF THE VINEYARD: add a tip line to the credit card slip so we can show your people how great they are!!! My sister was so adamant to leave Sabrina a tip that she insisted on writing her a check :)
Thank you Sabrina for making my day with my sis so special… and for the amazing chocolate too ;)

Attention Austinites bound for Fredericksburg: Stop at William Chris along the way! Be sure to make a reservation online too– I made one the day of, but just to be sure, you might want to book yours ahead of time.
Everything we tried here was delicious, but their Rose REALLY stood out for me. Easily my most favorite Rose on the planet! The patio is lovely and the vineyards are close by making this a beautiful scene to sip on wine with friends.
The only real downside was that this winery is much more expensive than the Driftwood wineries and most wineries in Fredericksburg. I don’t think you can get a bottle here for under $ 30 nor a glass for under $ 9.
But that Rose is WONDERFUL!

Okay, definitely went on an off day back in February. I was back on the Texas Wine Trail with my friend for a photo shoot for her photography and we decided to come here because she has had pleasurable experiences in the past. Anxious to give this place another try, we definitely were not disappointed.
It was a fairly slow day (Wednesday early afternoon would presumably be the reason why), and we had the opportunity to get to do a one-​on-​one seated tasting in the Wine Club area. Sure, don’t have to ask us twice!
Keith guided us through our tastings, and he was amazing! I learned so much about the history, the wine, the winemakers, etc. during our time with him. He even showed us around to some of the vineyards and showed us the barrels as well.
Okay, the wine… some of my favorites:
Mary Ruth — perfect way to start a day, simple, sweet, yummy
2013 Artist Blend — bold, almost smokey red wine
2011 Black Jacque Port & Jacquez Port — cannot decide which one I like better! Both were so different but phenomenal in different ways
Also best part… the spiced pecans you get while tasting!
Overall, the wines I tried this time were great, the property is beautiful, and the experience I had this time was wonderful. If this is how things are done regularly, William Chris should be a top stop for you on the Wine Trail. Mind you prices are a bit more on the high side, but when you learn about the wine and the passion/​love behind all of the operations, you see why.

Hands-​down my favorite winery in the hill country, making my favorite Texas wine. I almost don’t want to Unilocal about it and let the secret out!
My first visit here was several years back, when tastings happened in the farmhouse. Now they have a more modern tasting room and deck. I brought my husband out here for a rainy Father’s Day with our wee one. Fortunately it was not crowded and there were no bachelorette party caravans. (Best day of the year for hill country winery visits!)
As usual, the wines were above and beyond. We ended up having a couple of glasses out on the deck, paired with a cheese and hummus plate, listening to live music. Baby was welcomed and the staff were personable and friendly. The food was particularly good– I’m talking olive bread with that cheese plate, not just some generic white bread.
We ended up buying way too much wine. They waive your tasting charge once you get a few bottles, and you get a case discount for over 6 or 12 bottles or something. Yes, as other reviews mention, the wine is not cheap. But it’s damn good, and the grapes are grown in Texas. As I recall, not all the other wineries in the area use exclusively Texan grapes. And not many of the wineries have wine this good, either. Their selections are SOLID.
I’m going to have a tough time topping Father’s Day next year. We might just have to do a repeat visit.

This was one of the best wineries I found in the Texas Hill Country. William Chris was recommended, and I was very impressed with the overall experience. They have an estate winery near Austin and use almost exclusively Texas grapes, although many come from different parts of Texas. According to the knowledgeable tasting room staff, the soil in the Texas Hill Country has a lot of minerals which create a strong and spicy wine they are still trying to tame.
The winery has a cool rural Texas vibe, casual but elegant with a clean modern tasting room overlooking the small estate vineyards. They are a rather expensive winery with high tasting fees and bottle costs, but the added price comes through in the quality. I really enjoyed their Skeleton Key — a blend of Hill Country grapes that makes use of the spicy characteristics. Their Madera is really unique with a special onsite Madera room where they agitate the barrels to duplicate the historic aging process.
I highly recommend visiting William Chris if you are serious about wine. Several of the other wineries have cheaper product and are more lively, but this was the best overall experience on the trip.

I appreciate your response. I totally understand your concern and attempt in trying to make the experience better for the guest. My experience has been that even some of the larger vineyards are able to accommodate the crowds and provide a wonderful experience.
One of the newer wineries located in the Hill Country has started requiring reservations, however they have a new experience that provides a entrée prepared by an executive chef. While its not an actual «entrée» We found that experience was an awesome experience.
I wish you luck with the new reservation system. As I continued my tour I spoke with another tour guest who remarked on the negative experience. Unlike myself, this was the only time that they were able to do the tour. The additional issue would be the knowing exactly where I would be on the tour and the availability to get back by the reservation time.
I will keep the new reservation requirements in mind during my next trip.
Regards

By far the best portfolio of offerings I’ve ever tasted in a Texas winery. Some I personally liked more than others, but every single wine we tried, out of 7 total, was well balanced. These guys know what they’re doing, and it gives me much more hope that Texas will over time become a great wine region. Like the best of their peers, there’s no attempt here to go with popular varietals such as merlot. The emphasis is all on what sort of grapes grow well in Texas, and a pride in making just Texas wines.
In addition to the wine quality, it’s a really nice location. Whether hanging out on the patio, or lingering in the new main tasting room or the old club member original farmhouse, it’s just a great way to spend an afternoon. We will be regulars.

Very friendly and well setup tasting room with a large patio and lawn area as well. Our server had a lot of knowledge about the wines and winery and was happy to answer all our questions.
Our tasting was very good and we were offered extra «off the list» wines as well. We purchased five of their wines and were very impressed with the quality, which in our opinion is rivaling California and Washington wineries. When you compare price points to out of state wine you are still getting a bargain.
If you want to see a quality winery but not travel a thousand miles to get there, this is the place to go.

William Chris Vineyards has been on my must visit list for sometime now. When I ask others in the Texas wine industry what wineries they suggest I visit, the majority suggest William Chris as a top favorite. This winery is so loved that they weren’t even taking Wine Club members at my visit; they could only place my name on a waiting list. However, they do have a loyalty type program in which overtime based on how much I purchase I could be eligible for different levels of discounts. They encourage reservations which you can book on Unilocal,especially for the weekends, but it is not a must.
William Chris is a family owned winery creating wine from 100% Texas grapes which are sourced from a variety of estate and partner vineyards located in the Texas high planes and hill country. They have a modern new tasting room that is attached to a historic 1905 farmhouse, that now serves as the Wine Club members tasting room. It was a slow Friday afternoon when I visited, so the staff member took me on a tour of the farmhouse and beautiful cozy member only tasting room. I also got a chance to see the warm shed in which the Madeira style port is made. On the weekends he noted that they utilize the port to make special cocktail drinks for purchase. The tasting room is located on a beautiful property that overlooks acres of grapes with a tree shaded patio. My experience here was very positive. I had a great tasting with a highly informative and passionate staff member. They also have food that you can purchase to enjoy with your wine after the tasting. Yes, the bottle prices here on average are slightly higher than other Texas vineyards, about $ 30 – 46 per bottle. But, the quality of the wine itself was also good. They are creating Texas style fruit forward wines, that are positively well balanced, with a nice good finish, some even with a light complexity and spice. They were all out of whites, so I only had a chance to try reds. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like here. I specifically liked the Sparkling Rose, Emotion, Hunter 2012, and Fortified Roussane 2013.