As if we needed another excuse to drink wine, the Texas Department of Agriculture designated October as “Texas Wine Month,” and we’re ready to pop corks and give props to Texas. Cheers to our state’s growing list of 400-plus wineries.

In late August, my family visited Fredericksburg, Texas, for a few days of wine-ing and unwinding. (Read about our trip in “Swirl & Sip: Tasting Fredericksburg” in the October-November issue of My Table, now on newsstands.) We wanted to explore what Texas wine was all about, and a tasting tour down Wine Road 290 was just the place to start. Our wine tour guide insisted that William Chris Vineyards was a vineyard we had to visit.

After our tasting at William Chris, we enjoyed a glass of the Enchanté, the winery’s flagship red blend, on the patio overlooking the vineyards, and this is where we met one of the winegrowers of William Chris, Chris Brundrett. He pulled up a chair, joined the conversation and gave us some background on himself and the vineyards.

During a trip to the Hill Country during college, Brundrett experienced a kind revelation. Returning to Texas A&M he changed his major to horticulture the following day. Fast forward a few years to graduation — Brundrett decided to head back up to the Hill Country and gain experience in wineries and vineyards. He eventually took on head winemaking responsibilities for several wine labels and managed vineyards in both the Hill Country and the High Plains.

The other half of William Chris, Bill Blackmon, has 30 years of wine-growing experience, having worked with some of the earliest Texas wineries. What started as a friendship between the two men eventually evolved into something bigger. In 2008, the duo bottled their first vintage under the William Chris label.

To kick-off Texas Wine Month, we got nosy with Brundrett to see what life is like for one of Texas’ finest winegrowers — a rather enviable profession.

Why Texas wine?

After college I had a few job offers in California, and right before I took one I had tasted a few Texas wines, which I thought were truly exceptional. I felt like something really cool was happening in Texas, and I didn’t want to miss it.

What is your history with wine partner William? 

He is one of my best friends and now like my brother. We have been through a lot together. He was managing a vineyard when I first started in the industry. I would always call him and ask stupid questions. He would always laugh when I told him some new innovative project I was working on. We seemed to always hang out and talk wine together and were both passionate about the same things. One day we got pissed off enough or inspired enough, depending how you look at it, to quit our jobs and start our own company. We never looked back, just kept on raising the bar and kept pushing each other to grow better wine.

“Ten years ago, I was…

Trying to shake my hangover after a three-day fraternity party when the Aggies beat OU … or was that 11 years ago? Either way I was loving the restaurant business and going to class when the keggerator was empty.”

“As a child, I wanted to be…

A cowboy or football player, or a helicopter pilot like my father.”

WHAT IS the TEXAS WINE MYTH YOU HEAR most OFTEN?

“It’s too hot to grow grapes here.”

Have you always been a wine drinker? 

Yes. I started drinking wine when I was 19 or 20. Really bad wine, of course, but I think it was always being immersed in the restaurant business that it was always a part of life. I really enjoyed being able to think about where the wine was grown and how the different regions all tasted different.

If you weren’t making wine, what would you be doing? 

Living in a teepee in New Mexico.

What is your best wine hangover remedy? 

French press [coffee] with honey and a lengua taco. This is followed by a kombucha tea and a Dr Pepper.

When you’re not drinking wine, what is your drink of choice?

I enjoy all sorts of beer and bourbon. I’m also a pretty big Cognac fan.

Is there something tasting guests do that makes you shudder?

There are no dumb questions. It’s like making fun of someone at the driving range. Our guests come out to learn about wine, and that is so cool. One thing that I cannot get over is the running joke about I Love Lucy. We truly have this amazing life getting to live in the Hill Country and grow wine, but when someone references I Love Lucy I think of that scene in the movie Office Space when everyone is asking the main character if he remembered his TPS reports. We hear it eight times a day, and, no, we don’t stomp the grapes like Lucy.

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