Hahne Estates Winery

If you’ve never met owner Gary Hahne before, then you’re in for a real treat. Besides his wine making history, he always has great stories to tell about the Hill Country and LBJ Ranch. His family has good history to one of the states famous politicians, Lyndon B. Johnson. Gary has many tall and true tales that makes a good story telling experience while sipping his wines. You can also view much of his family’s history with the Johnsons as can be seen with some unique photographs that are displayed on the wall. Besides the family history, he has a good selection of wine to try out. Right now, he’s getting his grapes from just about anywhere he can. In Stonewall, he is planning on planting a vineyard starting with an acre of Nero d’Avola. This is one of the hot and dry Italian varietals that has a potential to do well in the Hill County’s climate. There are currently five wines available in his new tasting room that opened up back in July. For the whites, you’ll start off with the Blanco. It’s a Viognier blend with nice intense favors. The Blanco River artwork on the label is quite spectacular. The Opa is a dry Rose‘ that is a blend of Riesling, Thurgaw, and Spatburgunder (aka Pinot Noir). A very nice chilled Rose‘ to have for those extended summer fall months in Texas. The label depiction is a pencil drawing version of Gary’s grandfather on a horse. The actually picture is on the wall. Yes, his «Opa» actually did what you see on the label and, of course, there’s a good story Gary will tell you about that one as well. The Texanti is Gary’s take on Chianti style wines — good fruit flavors for this Sangiovese blend. Gary’s take on a Bordeaux style wine is called Texas Tapestry. It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, and Nero d’Avola. It’s quite bold, has good tannins, and well balanced. The addition of Nero d’Avola is his unique take on this classic red blend. He might be on to something here. The last wine is Armadillo WH. The WH stands for World Headquarters. It’s a sweet Cab, but with only 1% residual sugar — quite nice to have in the afternoon. It’s a real treat to have a true local making wine in the Texas Hill Country. The great and interesting stories Gary tells just adds to that unique experience that you won’t find elsewhere. Stop by his shop along Johnson City’s square on your next wine trek thru these parts. You’ll have a pleasant time here sipping and chatting with Gary. Enjoy!

Hahne Estates Winery Tasting Room is located in downtown Johnson City next to the Pecan Street Brewery. The tasting room has been open for about four months, but owner and winemaker, Gary Hahne, has been making wine for a lifetime. Gary is a Texas Hill Country Native and his family roots date back to his great grandparents who immigrated to the Stonewall area from Germany. His parents were close friends to LBJ and Lady Bird. The Hahne surname in German translates to the English word rooster, which ties to the colorful rooster found on the winery’s logo.
There is no tasting fee to sample the four dry wines, and one sweet Sangria style wine on the tasting menu. Each bottle of wine tells a different story of the Hahne family and the surrounding hill country. As you sip and savor the flavor of the well balanced, delicious, palatable wines. You can walk around the winery and enjoy the historic pictures of the Hahne family, and hear about the family and area history. I had the great pleasure of being able to talk with Gary himself about his amazing family heritage.
I enjoyed all of the five wines. My favorite was a bold; well balanced, red blend (Tempranillo, Cab Sauv, and Nero D’Avola) entitled Texas Tapestry. I also loved the Texas styled Chianti appropriately named Texanti. This was a softer red, fruit forward, but well balanced with lingering notes. I also very much enjoyed the dry rose that is named after Gary’s grandfather, Opa. The Viognier blend was also surprisingly good, with interesting peach like notes.
My visit here was delightful, and I hope to return soon. Gary is passionate about making quality wine to enjoy with us, and to pass down his story to be remembered for years to come.