Texas Wine Industry Veterans Open the New Yates Winery in Hye, TX
The owners of Spicewood Vineyards are set opened Yates, Texas’s newest premium winery in Hye, Texas in September, 2016. Building on the experience of making award-winning wines at Spicewood Vineyards, the Yates team is eager to expand its winemaking with a new winery proudly carrying the family name.
Led by owner, Ron Yates, along with a talented winery team from Spicewood, the new winery will make high quality wine in proximity to several other wineries on the Wine Road 290.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved at Spicewood Vineyard since purchasing the winery almost a decade ago,” says owner, Ron Yates. “We’ve learned a lot from our success at Spicewood, and will use that experience to create this new, namesake winery with a different focus. Spicewood Vineyard will remain committed to making Texas wine with estate-grown Portuguese and Spanish grapes. Yates will make top-notch Rhone, Spanish, and Italian style wines, along with several vineyard-designated Tempranillo wines with fruit gown in the Texas Hill Country, West Texas, Davis Mountain, and the Texas High Plains. Texas wine lovers will have a lot to choose from.”
Yates will offer a distinctive wine experience at a 6,000 square-foot contemporary winery that includes a 20,000 case production facility, and an adjacent 1,800 square-foot, covered crush pad. Initially, guests will enjoy tastings of Yates premium wines on the patio overlooking the vineyards and in the production winery. Visitors can choose from eight wines to purchase by the glass or by the bottle to enjoy at the winery or while exploring the property. In the near future, Yates will complete a Pavilion that will serve as a tasting area with cheese and wine pairings, as well as a site for wine club and other events space. It will be abutted by a relaxing swimming pool.
Soon guests will enjoy an elegant, 5,000 square foot tasting room, complete with a private room for library wines and cellar for private tastings. The tasting room building will also feature an underground cellar for Gran Reserva Tempranillo aging.
“Building a completely new facility is a winemaker’s dream,” says Yates winemaker, Todd Crowell. “I was able to design the winery from the ground up with the exact specifications we want to create the highest quality wines possible. We installed the finest state-of-the-art equipment such as a custom designed crush pad complete with a variable speed crusher and a programmable ‘smart’ press, a two-inch diaphragm pump for gentle juice and wine transfers, and fully jacketed stainless steel tanks accessible via aluminum catwalk. Soon, we will be doubling our tank capacity with French oak tanks and a champagne tank. The result will be excellence in the bottle.”
The winery is situated on 15.8 acres abutting Highway 290. The acreage is currently planted four acres of primarily Tempranillo grapevines, with an additional six acres of estate vineyards planned. As a specialist in Tempranillo, Yates will plant that grape extensively in its vineyards, along with grapes such as Graciano and Petite Sirah.
Beyond our estate-grown fruit, we work with well-established grape growers in Texas who share the passion for being in the vineyard to ensure we have a steady supply of high-quality grapes in a wide selection of varieties. Yates has long-held relationships with top grape growers to source excellent fruit for its wines. Near-term vintages will include grapes such as Albariño, Grenache, Malbec, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Touriga Nacional and Viognier from top Texas vineyards like Bingham Vineyards, Bayer Family Vineyards, Martin’s Vineyards, Reddy Vineyards, Farmhouse Vineyards, as well as others. In addition, Yates will source ultra-premium Pinot Noir and Zinfandel from California.
Note: Yates will be open to guests by appointment only starting in September.
Connect with Yates
For Reservations contact: Reservations@Yateswines.com
About Yates
Established with a mission to create the finest wines in Texas, Yates builds on the award winning experience of its sister winery, Spicewood Vineyards. The family-owned and operated winery employs a seasoned team of winemaking experts, using start-of-the-art equipment to craft Spanish, Italian, Rhone-style wines with estate-grown and sourced grapes. Opening in September, 2016, Yates, is Texas’s newest premium winery located in Hye, Texas in the center of the Texas wine country.
About Spicewood Vineyards
Founded in 1992, Spicewood Vineyards, produces the finest award winning wines. Wines that are known for their timeless appeal and unique flavor of the Texas Hill Country. Nestled in the Texas Hill Country amongst 32 acres of vines, enjoy great wine and a relaxing atmosphere. We have over 12 varieties of wine including Tempranillo, Albarino, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot. Visit us for a wine tasting, glass or bottle. Hosting a special event? Check out our elegant event center.
