Home Care In Hye, TX

While Hye-Way Haus may have closed its doors, its spirit lives on in our memories! This blog serves as a digital memory lane, keeping it alive in our hearts.

When dreaming of visiting Fredericksburg, we think off all the scenic vineyards and wineries all around! What’s even better is getting to wake up to those beautiful vines. While there are multiple bed and breakfasts with a winery and vineyard on site in Fredericksburg, I was immediately drawn to the Hye-Way Haus for a couple of reasons. First, it’s attached to a winery I love, William-Chris Vineyards. Secondly, this bed and breakfast with a vineyard comes with a lot of personality!

I didn’t want to just stay somewhere in Fredericksburg that looked like a normal house. So I fell in love with the color of the exterior, the themed rooms, and the vintage charm that the Hye-Way Haus brought! It’s everything I dreamed of when I thought about a bed and breakfast with a vineyard in Fredericksburg, TX, so as soon as they opened, I knew I wanted to visit.

Now fun fact, although this area is often referred to as Fredericksburg, the area where all the wineries are located on is known as the 290 wine trail and it passes through Johnson City, Hye, Stonewall, and Fredericksburg. Hye is so small that they often say that by the time you’ve said hi, you’ve passed on by, the town of Hye. However, this small unincorporated town has quite its own culture and wine/spirits scene.

Each room in the Hye-Way Haus has a unique theme from the Rose Room, Lavender Room, LBJ Room, Bluebonnet Room, and the Vineyard Room. All of them are so perfectly Texan! The thing I loved about our vineyard room was the dark purple bedspread and the way that it looked over the front lawn covered in vines! It was such a magical thing to wake up to! There were so much subtle wine themed decor and then wine books all around that I wish I had more time to read!

And then the other reason why I knew I had to stay at the Hye-Way Haus as the premier Fredericksburg Bed and Breakfast on a vineyard destination was this claw foot tub! After a day of being on our feet and wine tasting, getting to sit back and relax in this beautiful tub was everything I dreamed of! We also had access to an outside upstairs patio overlooking the vineyard, and a kitchen.

You can book this Fredericksburg Bed and Breakfast with a vineyard through Airbnb. You can use this link for up to $50 off!

Why would you go to the effort of selling your Texas-made wine in New York if you didn’t make much money from it, and there was plenty of demand in your home state?

For William Chris Wine Co., based in the Hill Country town of Hye, it comes from a desire to grow the reputation of Texas’ wine industry, said Chris Brundrett, who co-founded the company with his friend Andrew Sides.

“We sell wine in New York and in different areas where it isn’t necessarily incredibly profitable,” he said. “Our company invests a lot in the growth of that national recognition. It’s important that we’re in those markets, that we’re going into some of those tastings, that we’re presenting our wines, so people can start to identify with them. Because there’s nowhere else in the world where wine tastes like it does that’s grown right here.”

When asked whether oenophiles tend to adopt a snooty attitude toward Texas wines, he described how one of his customers spotted a William Chris baseball cap in Bordeaux, the famed wine-growing region in France.

“He was like, ‘No way!’” Brundrett said. “Most people don’t even know that wine’s grown in Texas.”

William Chris is one of the companies powering the Texas wine industry’s growth. Over the last two years, since it was formed through the merger of Brundrett’s William Chris Vineyards and Sides’ Lost Draw Cellars, its staff has swelled from about 80 employees to 134, they said. It has invested in several expansion projects, acquiring a well-established vineyard near Kingsland, which it is outfitting with a tasting room.

The company is moving the Lost Draw Cellars winery in Fredericksburg, which it deemed too small, to a 24-acre property in Johnson City.

All the company’s wine is made from grapes grown in Texas, they said — whether in the Hill Country, the High Plains area near the Panhandle, or elsewhere. The company also includes the Skeleton Key and Grower Project wine brands. It distributes its wine in several other states and employs a hospitality team to oversee its busy schedule of tastings, dinners and live music shows.

Brundrett and Sides met in the mid-2000s when Brundrett bought grapes from Sides’ uncle, who worked as a farmer and then a vintner in the High Plains. They recently sat to discuss the growth of Texas’ wine industry, the qualities of the state’s various wine-growing regions, and how this year’s extreme weather has affected their grapes. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: Do you handle different aspects of the business?

Sides: We definitely do now. We saw the opportunity to bring our companies together for a bunch of different reasons, but one of them was just to provide focus not only for us, but people within our own companies.

Brundrett: When we first started, it was a little rocky because we were all stepping over each other. I think we’ve come to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Today, Andrew runs all of the production side, from grape to bottle. About midway through the season, I started helping out a lot more on the vineyard management side, just because I’ve farmed in the Hill Country more. We’re also working on two building projects right now. I was in the middle of leading our design team, and Andrew’s asking these really great pointed questions when it came to engineering, getting the project from the design stage to the build stage, and we kind of looked at each other like, “Alright, you need to go take this project over, and I’ll take over the vineyard side.”

Q: And everything runs smoothly?

Brundrett: I would say from a respect and organization side, absolutely. We have some shouting matches every now and then. But it’s really helped. We take a look at our organization every six months and look at, “Hey, what’s working, what’s not? How do we move people around?”

Q: What benefits does the Hill Country offer for growing grapes?

Sides: The number one reason that the industry is thriving out here is traffic. You have metropolitan areas in Austin, San Antonio. Dallas is only about a three-and-a-half-hour drive, and Houston is about three hours.

Brundrett: From a farming perspective, we have two of the most amazing areas to grow grapes.(One is) the Pedernales River Basin right here, which is sandy loam over limestone. That very well-drained, poor soil is perfect for growing grapes. And right up north is the Llano Uplift, a formation that was created about 2.5 billion years ago, with an underground lava field that pushed up, and then over time, got eroded away. What you see today is mostly decomposed granite over sandstone, and that is one of the other most sought-after soils for wine growing in the world. The Hill Country produces some of the best quality fruit in the state. Not that we don’t get high quality out of High Plains as well, because we do. I would say that growing grapes in this region is phenomenal. Drawbacks are, land’s expensive.

Q: I’m guessing increasingly expensive.

Brundrett: Oh yeah, absolutely. We can buy land in the High Plains for $2,000 an acre; this land is $80,000 an acre.(The Hill Country and High Plains) produce different challenges. In the High Plains, we have some of the highest elevation wine growing in the world, from 3,300 to 3,700 feet, which is pretty cool. So some of the coolest nights, highest elevation in the High Plains, which is really favorable to grow grapes into. And a bunch of really experienced farmers. Dell City, another great place: far West Texas, 3,700 feet of elevation.

Sides: The Hill Country AVA(or American Viticultural Area) and High Plains AVA are the two largest AVAs in the country.

Q: Do Hill Country wines tend to have certain taste profiles?

Brundrett: Absolutely. The wines from the Pedernales River Basin taste very different than the wines from the Llano Uplift; then those two taste very different than the High Plains. For an experienced palate, you can tell which one’s which.

Sides: We’re doing a lot of work now to subdivide the AVAs because they are so large. There are wines from different areas within these AVAs that taste very different. We’re trying to sub-appellate, which basically will give the distinction to an even more defined area, and not just blanket statement like the High Plains or the Hill Country.

Q: Do you feel the reputation is growing for Hill Country wines?

Brundrett: 100 percent. We’re getting more and more publications across the country. I mean, it’s like exploding. There’s pluses and minuses, right? The plus is, half the wine at William Chris is sold the day it’s released. So we need more people to grow more grapes and more people to make more wine to support the thirst of Texans and the country.

Q: How has this year’s dry, hot weather affected your fruit?

Brundrett: The grapes are smaller. We didn’t get the spring rains. When the grapes are growing from little pea size to bigger, a lot of the spring rain helps develop those grapes. Last year, for example, we had a really healthy amount of spring rain. We had one of the wettest, coolest springs and cool summers, so the grapes were able to get bigger. We made really high-quality; we had a long growing season. This year, we had a shorter growing season. Because our grapes were smaller, the vines had less to ripen. The grapes are meant to survive, right? They want to ripen that fruit because(the extreme weather is) stressing them out.

The hotter the vintage, generally, the thicker the skin. So you create richer, riper fruit with a little bit higher alcohol, typically. From a winemaker standpoint, the last vintage was really good too.

Sides: Just very different.

Q: Did you have to take measures to protect the grapes?

Brundrett: We watered as much as we could, which is costly from a labor standpoint — just monitoring and rotating all the watering that we had to do. Most grapes, whenever it’s over about 94 degrees, depending on what variety it is, the stomates — basically how the plant breathes — shut down. They’re trying to conserve all their energy. So you have the vine not bringing in the sunshine and making chlorophyll and all that good stuff.

Q: Do you guys think much about climate change?

Brundrett: Absolutely. We’re being engaged more by different wine regions, asking about hot weather growing, because we’ve been used to it for the last 15 years, right? Climate change, in a weird way, has been almost positively affecting us in that we haven’t had a spring frost because it’s been warmer.

Q: Looking into the future, do you think it poses a threat to the industry?

Brundrett: We’re going to have to continue to adapt and evolve. We’re already pretty set up in that we’re growing a lot of hot weather varieties. We don’t grow hardly anything cold weather. I think of any grape region, we’re probably the most prepared because, say, Napa(Valley in California) thrives on cabernet sauvignon. Well, if they don’t prepare to start making the hot weather cabernet, it’s tough for them to shift.

Q: I suppose that dealing with extreme weather is just part of the business.

Brundrett: A lot of winemakers that I know, on the West Coast, they have this very consistent weather pattern because they’re coastal. We’re continental climate. We have drastic swings in our vintages, and it has made us way better winemakers because we have to adapt to every weather event that happens. I think our fans really love that and find that interesting because we’ll make great wine out of the ’21 vintage, and we’ll make great wine out of the ’22 vintage.

Sides: The coolest thing for me about making wine is there’s not a recipe to it. With beer, you just throw everything into a tank and try to make it taste the same every time, but we get a different product to work with, which you only get to use one time a year. The end product is different. We celebrate that for different reasons.

Oct 5, 2022|Updated Oct 6, 2022 2:34 p.m.

HYE, Texas — One doesn’t have to travel all the way to Kentucky to visit a bourbon distillery, as there is a great option right here in Central Texas.

During a visit to the Hill Country just outside Fredericksburg, Texas, I was invited to attend an event at the Garrison Brothers Distillery, located in the city of Hye. As a bourbon drinker I was excited to get to the distillery and give Texas bourbon a try.

Garrison Brothers Distillery is a little off the beaten path, but it truly makes it part of the experience. I loaded up my truck with my dog, Ranger, and we hit the road. Scenic views, beautiful sunrises and rolling hills are just some of the amazing things you will experience on your drive to the distillery.

We arrived and were immediately greeted with a frontier-style vibe and an eclectic clientele that ranged from bikers to bourbon enthusiasts seeking a reprieve from the wine culture of the Hill Country. Fire pits, cornhole boards and other games were readily available for visitors.

I went up to the covered bar area, known as the “Whiskey Shack,” which had plenty of seating for large groups, and went to see what offerings were on the board. From ordering bourbon neat or on the rocks, to cocktail classics like an Old Fashioned or Bourbon Sour, there were many options to choose from. Being that it was a little chilly outside, I stayed away from the frozen Dr. Pepper with Garrison Brothers Bourbon, and instead started with a Hot Toddy.

Ranger and I sat by one of the fire pits to take in the views, listen to the live music and enjoy the Texas bourbon. We watched as tour groups lined up to board trailers outfitted with seats to take a tour of the 68-acre property. We didn’t go on the tour, but I definitely plan to go on my next visit. Tours are $10 during the week and $20 during the weekend, with tastings included. Making reservations on the Garrison Brothers website is highly encouraged as the tours do fill up quickly.

After warming up by the fire, I figured I’d continue to warm up with a bourbon flight. I was a particular fan of the Single Barrel A, but the Small Batch was also quite good. I perused the menu for some food options as well and settled on the tri-tip street tacos. For those that are not fans of the “brown water,” Garrison Brothers also offers beer and wine at their “honor box.” Essentially, the distillery can’t sell beer or wine, but a small $5 contribution to the honor box will enable them to continue to keep the coolers stocked with local beer and wine.

Dogs are not the only family members that are welcomed at the distillery, it is child friendly as well. The kind staff at the venue just encourage you to make sure you keep an eye out for them as the property is a working ranch with a lot of vehicle traffic. Even horses are welcome to the property. In fact, if you ride your horse to participate in the tour, the tour fee is waived.

After enjoying my bourbon flight, I went into the gift shop to see what awesome merchandise I could pick up. I settled on some shirts, a hat and of course I had to take a few bottles of bourbon home for the collection. I again settled on the Small Batch and the Single Barrel A. The cozy gift shop had some very unique items for the home and bar, aside from classy apparel.

As I walked outside, I happened to run into Mary Katherine Wood, the director of hospitality at the distillery. She noticed the 82nd Airborne Division patch on my shirt and thanked me for serving. We had a great conversation about how the distillery was proud to honor those who serve in every capacity, from military service to first responders. She pointed to a sign right near the entrance to the gift shop which politely asked for visitors who serve or have served in such capacities to let the staff know.

The entire team at the distillery were friendly and engaging, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere combined with the allure of various special events. From tasting events, live music performances and their annual “Red, White & Bourbon” event that is held annually to support the Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, there is no shortage of events that can make your journey to the distillery an adventure.

I will definitely be visiting again soon, as it was truly a nice getaway to sit back, relax and take in the views of the Hill Country. The bourbon may have also drawn me in as well.

If you would like to plan a visit to the Garrison Brothers Distillery, they are located at 1826 Hye-Albert Road, in Hye, Texas. They are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit garrisonbros.com/visit-hye.

The Deike brothers from Hye, Texas took sibling rivalry to another level. In August 1935 they left their regular jobs on the farm, at the store and the cotton gin to battle the Stanczak brothers from Waukegan, Illinois for the All Brothers Baseball Championship.

Baseball was big stuff in the Texas Hill Country, so it was natural that Fritz Deike’s 9 sons, ranging in age from 13 to 32, would form a family baseball team.

Hill Country baseball was a social event in those days - part athletic contest and part community picnic. Every town of any size, and some places that weren’t towns at all, had teams. Big crowds turned out to watch the games. There wasn’t much else to do on Sunday afternoons in the 1930s.

Baseball was more than entertainment. It was a respite from tough times. It helped a generation of isolated Hill Country folk endure the Great Depression. Baseball was the peoples’ game. It had a purity that doesn’t exist anymore.

In Fredericksburg, teams played at the baseball field in the middle of the horse track at the old fairgrounds (today the HEB parking lot) or at Seipp’s Park (today behind Ambleside School).

The baseball field in Hye was behind the store and post office. The field was nothing fancy. The bases were tow-sacks filled with sand. The backstop was made of chicken wire. There were no bleachers. Fritz Deike’s sheep kept the grass mowed and left a little fertilizer behind.

Many people in Hye believed that of all the Deike brothers, pitcher Marvin, had the most talent. The twins, Clarence and Ernest, played center field and second base. Fred played third, Herman played catcher, Emil played first, and Victor played left field. Edwin was a good right fielder even though he was blind in one eye. Levi was the shortstop and the manager.

Back in the 1920s a tall, serious kid from Johnson City sometimes played with the team. In an interview with writer Carlton Stowers, Fred Deike recalled that Lyndon Johnson, “was a darn good first baseman. Had a lot of reach. Not many ground balls got by him that I can remember. And he could hit pretty well.”

Lyndon had already taken a government job the day a salesman for the Nueces Coffee Company made a sales call at the store in Hye. After hearing about the town’s all-brothers baseball team, the salesman convinced his company to sponsor a game between the Deike brothers and the Stanczaks, another all brothers team from Waukegan, Illinois.

The date for the All Brothers Baseball Championship was August 18, 1935.The place was Wichita, Kansas. The coffee company bought spanking new uniforms for the Deike brothers and kicked in $600 for traveling expenses.

The Deikes made the trip from Hye to Wichita in 2 Model A Fords. The 600-mile trip took 6 days.

There was a semi-pro baseball World Series in Wichita that same weekend. The Deike brothers watched some of the games. Fred Deike was especially impressed with the pitcher for the Bismarck, North Dakota team. Leroy “Satchel” Paige had 60 strikeouts in 4 games.

Finally, the day arrived for the All Brothers Baseball Championship. The Deike brothers were confident, but the Stanczak brothers were the favorites. The Stanczaks had played together longer. Three of them had professional experience.

The Stanczaks could call on powerful reserves. The third baseman was a Catholic priest.

The Deike brothers started strong scoring 3 runs in the second inning. Then Marvin’s curve ball stopped curving. Brother Fred moved to the mound from third but had no better luck.

The Deikes had never played a night game and were bumfuzzled by the lights.

The Stanczaks scored 7 runs in their half of the second and won the game 11-5.

Soon the Deike brothers returned to the world they were born to in Blanco County. They married. Some of them moved away. But a picture of the brothers, standing straight and tall in their new uniforms, still hangs in the old store - a reminder of their brief moment in the national spotlight.

Texas Hill Country is one of the most beautiful stretches of the Lone Star State, and its impressive wine scene is only growing.

From early spring well into early winter, there is always a great time to take a weekend trip through Texas Hill Country — home to some of the most stunning landscapes in Texas.

This vast, rural region of south-central Texas is conveniently close to all major cities. Its rolling hills are only an hour-long drive from Austin and San Antonio and a four-hour jaunt from Dallas and Houston. You will not have an easier day trip in the largest continental state in the country.

The hills dotted with sprawling cypress and oak trees make for an idyllic road trip route that's especially picturesque in spring and fall. Some of the lushest fields of bluebonnets bloom in spring, and there's nothing more Texan than a bluebonnet photograph.

The main attraction of the region is no longer a secret — Texas Hill Country has become widely known as Texas Wine Country. In fact, Texas is the fifth-highest wine-producing state and is home to the fifth-highest number of wineries, according to data from WineAmerica.org. Texas wine isn't new, but it is rapidly growing, and the quality is only getting better as growers perfect the grapes that do best in the rocky Texas soil.

There are a few noteworthy towns along Highway 290, better known as the Texas Wine Trail, where you will find numerous vacation rentals and historic hotels. Some newer and noteworthy rental accommodations to book are Honey Tree Farm for a real treehouse experience, A-Frame Ranch for tucked-away luxury cabins, and Blue Skies Retro Resort for incredibly fun vintage trailer stays. For a true luxury experience with zero hassle, book a stay at La Cantera Resort & Spa, a Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards winner outside of San Antonio, and their concierge will plan a wine country tour day trip for you.

When it comes to touring wineries, there are bus and limousine tours, of course, but for a more intimate experience, designate a driver to achieve the real road trip vibe. (Drivers should be weary of the abundant deer population along the roadway.) From Dripping Springs to Fredericksburg, the wineries and distilleries are in such abundance, planning can quickly become overwhelming for the first-timer.

The best route to choose is based on wine preference, notable wineries, and approximate distance to your booked accommodation. The Texas Vintners Cup is a solid start for selecting award-winning wineries.

Lost Draw Cellars and Slate Theory Winery are in Fredericksburg and offer tastings by reservation. Out on the wine trail, in Hye, Texas, William Chris Vineyards boasts panoramic views of Hill Country from its stunning modern welcome center and Hye Society Wine Club. The new building opened in 2019, and the wine tastings in the library offer a delectable crash course in Texas wines. From learning about the best Texas-grown grapes to sampling the best vintages available, the expert-guided tasting is a valuable experience.

Back in the town of Fredericksburg, take a stroll down Main Street, where you can sip wine and beer while you shop. With a long history of German influence, Otto's German Bistro is the best place in town for a Texas German dinner. For the brunch lovers, Hill & Vine offers a unique brunch menu with black-eyed pea hummus and peachy pecan pancakes. Short on time and need a bite to go? Hye Market and Deli has delicious sandwiches, perfect for lunch in between tastings.

Nature enthusiasts can experience Pedernales Falls State Park and Enchanted Rock State Natural Area — each one has options for anyone who loves to hike, swim, and even ride on horseback. Texas Hill Country, with its winding roads and hilly vistas of live oak trees and prickly pear, is one of the most scenic places in the Lone Star State and offers some of the best wines east of California.