One of Texas’s best kept secrets, where San Antonio-area CEOs and celebrities rub shoulders to dine and drink, may not be so secret anymore. For the first-time in the San Francisco Chronicle’s history of ranking wines across the United States, a Texas Hill Country winery has beat out big-time California producers, achieving the status of having 2025’s best cabernet sauvignon.
Tucked away in the rolling hills of Texas about 40 north of San Antonio, Singing Water Vineyards has been growing grapes and turning into vino for nearly three decades. When Andy and Missy Ivankovich bought the winery about six years ago, they didn’t know much about wine production but sought to do one thing: Produce the perfect cab.
This year, the couple – and their renowned winemaker Pat Johnson – achieved their goal. And it took all six years to do it, as they stowed away wines in oak barrels for that whole time, combining them this year in a blend which won over the 50 judges who ranked varieties from all over the country.
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“I do think it’s a dream,” Andy Ivankovich told MySA. “It’s one of those things, as a Christian, too, I think God has fun with these things like this. When you’re somebody who doesn’t come from the industry, you partner up with a few folks and say, ‘Let’s create the best cab in the nation,’ and it actually happens. Even though it took five years.”
It’s certainly no small feat. Cabernet sauvignon makes up 60% of the red wine market in the United States, meaning Singing Water Vineyards was taking on thousands of other producers – many which operate on a larger scale and under more favorable grape-growing conditions. On top of that, the couple was competing in the $90 to $99 price range, which Ivankovich explained is the most competitive market within the category.
A look through previous winners will show this best-in-class ranking has never gone to a Texas winery before. In fact, it’s pretty much exclusively gone to producers out of Napa Valley or Sonoma in California. What’s even more interesting, Singing Water Vineyards is completely separated from the stretch of Hill Country in Fredericksburg which, some might say, is overpopulated with vineyards.
This separation from has been deemed the epicenter of Texas Wine Country by Southern Living is more than mileage. In fact, the Ivankovich vision centered around a family-oriented, Texas-centric vision that didn’t try to look like Tuscany or France the way other vineyards are wont to do. In fact, this is what keeps Singing Water Vineyards customers coming back.
“This is my favorite local winery there for many years, and especially since Andy took over the winery,” San Antonio Vascular Surgeon Gerardo Ortega told MySA. “The winery is somewhere where you go, and you can meet the owner. You can meet the winemaker. You can take the family – it’s family-oriented.”
Ortega was actually the first person to purchase the country’s best cab. Now, he’s a repeat customer who opens a bottle every so often. Though, he says at its price, it’s definitely reserved for special occasions, like when a special visitor is in town or close friends are gathered around enjoying steaks.
While a wine winning such an honor can spell a cash grab for big wineries, Singing Water Vineyards isn’t going to get rich off the best-in-class title. In fact, they only sell to wine club members who frequent their winery and a select few restaurants in San Antonio.
If you want to grab a bottle – which it seems is the only way to enjoy 2025’s best cabernet sauvignon – you’ll have to join the club or visit Cypress Grille or Peggy’s on the Green in Boerne. Or you can partake in a luxurious dining experience at Kirby’s Steakhouse and Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse in San Antonio.
The local pride around this little Texas winery’s big win, with Ivankovich saying he loves to hear, “We always knew the wine was great but its sweeter knowing it took out Napa."
Jan 25, 2025
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Zachary-Taylor Wright is a local native, spending half his time in the Texas Hill Country, namely Boerne, and the Alamo City. He fell in love with politics and news reporting during his time at San Antonio College where he was the editor of the college district newspaper. Now, he’s back in the city where it all began.