The Legacy of Uplift Vineyards: A Commitment to Sustainability
In 2021, when Reed Williams decided to pass along the vineyard he’d established in 2013, he hand-selected the William Chris Vineyards team to carry on the vineyard's care and legacy, knowing the team's passion for sustainably-grown grapevines. William Chris established Uplift Vineyards, an entirely Estate-dedicated project which would thereafter tend the land with the original vineyard team, honoring the land's special history. The production of wines from the top grapes of each vintage makes a small portfolio of terroir-driven wines which can be tasted at the Estate property, accompanied by an in-depth experience amongst the vines. The assistant winemaker at William Chris was sent to craft the thoughtful Estate collection at Uplift, and Claire Richardson is now one of the youngest and most celebrated female winemakers in Texas today.
The Vineyard's Location: Hoover's Valley and its Unique Geology
Formerly known as Hoover’s Valley Vineyard due to its location within the Hoover’s Valley, this 22-hectare vineyard is planted to thirteen Rhône, Mediterranean, and Bordeaux varieties that were hand-selected for each of the four major soil types of the vineyard. Below these topsoils lie one of the greatest repositories of rare earth minerals in the United States. So abundant are there stones perched on this granitic site that they can be plucked from amongst the vines and identified as quartz, feldspar and llanite, which is unique to only this location in the world.
The Ancient Granitic Dome
The vineyard sits on a granitic dome that formed over 1.1 billion years ago as tectonic plates shifted and magma hardened to eventually form igneous rock. Over time, layers of sedimentary rock formed over and then eroded away, leaving this ancient granitic dome in the alluvial fan of the Colorado River, which deposited shallow topsoils along its path. In the Texas Hill Country AVA, no other site sees rock this old pushed so close to the surface. The grapes yield fruit with both power and elegance every year.
