Our Story
Growing Texas Wine Since 2008
What began as an acquaintance as winemakers in the Hill Country became a collaboration between William “Bill” Blackmon and Chris Brundrett; one that’s based on a shared winemaking philosophy and a vision for what the Texas wine industry is capable of. Bill and Chris agree that great wines are not made, but grown in the vineyard. They also believe that wine should be inspired by the pleasure that is shared with an extended community of friends and family over a bottle. The creation of each new vintage depends greatly upon these two priorities.
Today, William Chris Vineyards continues to reach for a level of quality that represents the very best of Texas in each new vintage. It is with confidence in our process and pride in our team, community, and the special place we call home, that we inscribe each bottle of William Chris Vineyards wine with this greeting: We are pleased to share a piece of our world.
Winemaking Philosophy
At William Chris, we believe great wine starts with where it’s grown. Texas vineyards, Texas farmers, Texas soil. The story begins there. That’s why we’re proud to stand alongside 23 of the world’s leading wine regions in the global Wine Origins Alliance, advocating for truth in labeling and the protection of place names around the world.
In 2021, we helped champion new labeling legislation here in Texas so wine lovers could know, with confidence, what truly makes a Texas wine Texan: grown here, crafted here, and reflective of the land we call home.
Thoughtful winemaking begins long before a bottle reaches your table. Harvest timing is a balance of chemistry, experience, and farmer’s intuition, and every vintage is shaped by Mother Nature herself. Weather, ripeness, acidity, and flavor all come together in ways that can never be repeated, only respected.
Visit our tasting room and you’ll taste those differences from year to year, a living record of each season in the vineyard and a reminder that real Texas wine is grown, not made.
PROCESSING
In the cellar, Chris and Tony guide each wine with a light hand, allowing it to express the character of the vineyard it came from. After the fruit is harvested, destemmed, crushed, and pressed, our team uses open-air fermentation whenever possible, honoring time-tested, pre-industrial methods that let the wine develop naturally.
Throughout fermentation, multiple daily punchdowns are done by hand to encourage a gentle maceration and thoughtful extraction of color, texture, and aromatics. Once each wine is barreled or transferred to concrete to age, we practice minimal handling. This patient approach allows our wines to gain depth, nuance, and layered complexity as they evolve over time.
AGING
Our still wines are racked with the goal of minimal air contact over a 12 to 18 month period. The barrel program includes high-quality French, American, and Eastern European oak, using first through third-year barrels with carefully selected toast profiles matched to the needs of each variety.
Chris, Tony, and the winemaking team continue to push Texas wine forward through thoughtful experimentation and purposeful aging techniques. Alongside oak barrels, we age select wines in concrete tanks, which provide a slow, natural exchange of oxygen throughout fermentation and maturation. William Chris Vineyards is also home to the first Galileo concrete tank imported into the United States from Bordeaux, crafted exclusively for our cellar and used to further explore the possibilities of Texas-grown wine.
William Chris in the Press
William Chris Vineyards Leadership
William Chris Vineyards is a Proud Member of Texas Wine Growers. A 501(c)(6) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the integrity of Texas wine. We believe that Texas has the potential to be one of the great wine regions in the world, and we are committed to helping Texas winemakers achieve their full potential.