William Chris Vineyards has opened the new Rebecca Caroline tasting room to showcase its sparkling wines. Pam LeBlanc photo

William Chris Vineyards has officially entered the bubbly business.

The Hill Country winemaker west of Johnson City opened the doors of its Rebecca Caroline tasting room today. I stopped by for a sneak peak, and sampled four types of sparkling wine, all made with Texas grapes.

The history runs deep.

The new tasting room occupies the old Hye Post Office on Highway 290, across the road from the main winery. Lyndon Baines Johnson mailed his first letter here when he was 4 years old, and years later, as president, swore in his postmaster general on the front steps. Inside, you can belly up to what was once the counter of the old post office, see some of the building’s original mailboxes or look up at the stamped tin ceiling. (A tiny post office still functions in one corner of the 120-year-old building for a few hours a day.)

From the front porch, you’ll see a faux storefront for M.L. Leddy’s, a Fort Worth-based bootmaker. Peek inside and you’ll see an antique barber chair, a cache of old ledgers and some cool old hats and boots. Just don’t plan on placing an order. The shop isn’t real; it never opens.

The Rebecca Caroline tasting room also serves raw oysters and caviar.

Co-founder Chris Brundrett stands among the grapevines at William Chris Vineyards. Pam LeBlanc photo

Chris Brundrett and Bill Blackmon teamed up to start William Chris Vineyards in 2008. While the winery has gussied itself up in recent years, expanding and adding a formal tasting room in 2019, it’s held on to its small-town roots.

“We get to see hyper experienced wine connoisseurs and people who just downed a Dr Pepper,” Brundrett said. “Wine can be so dang intimidating.”

The Fredericksburg area is now the second largest wine region in the country, behind California. It’s known for a variety of grapes, including tannat, a full-bodied red heavy on tannins and dark fruit flavors.

William Chris Vineyards grows some of its grapes on site. All the grapes used in its wine are Texas grown. Pam LeBlanc photo

William Chris Vineyards sees about 60,000 visitors annually. It uses grapes grown in the High Plains of Texas, the Fredericksburg area, the Llano Uplift and the ancient salt flats of West Texas to make its wines.

“We used to hear that Texas wine sucked,” Brundrett says. “That perception has changed. People know who we are now.”

Reservations are recommended.