AUSTIN, TEXAS (October 2020) – Texas winemakers and business leaders Chris Brundrett and Andrew Sides announced today the merger of William Chris Vineyards and Lost Draw Cellars, effective immediately. With a shared vision and set of values, this merger is an evolution of a long history of close partnerships between WCV’s Brundrett and LDC’s Sides, including the founding of Yes We Can Wine Sway Rosé, the Lone Star State’s first Texas-grown canned wine brand.
While the brands will maintain separate winemakers and portfolios, the merger will allow both operations to leverage an expanded array of tools to make wine more efficiently for their collective fans. More importantly, together, the companies will expand benefits across the teams, including comprehensive health insurance, wine education programs, and personal development training. Shared access to the best vineyards across the state will allow for more streamlined and efficient production practices while strengthening the merged company’s wine program as a whole.
“Andrew and I have been advocating for each other’s businesses and brands, as well as scouting vineyards together for years. It’s natural to bring our two companies together and provide more resources that will create an amazing place for our teams to work as we continue to share incredible, intentional, Texas-grown wines with the world. This merger just makes it all official. We have been talking about this move for a few years and almost had it wrapped up before COVID hit, but now we’re finally able to take this next step. Lost Draw Cellars is doing incredible work in the Texas wine industry, and we look forward to expanding our shared footprint in the overall North American wine landscape.” said Brundrett.
Added Sides, “The key ingredients here are our shared vision and values. At Lost Draw Cellars, we’ve always focused on the grape growing side of winemaking. We believe that expressing in the bottle what our vineyards are capable of here in Texas is the best way to continue gaining recognition and credibility, not just in the US, but worldwide. At the end of the day, the most important thing for us is to create a place where people are fired up to come to work and be part of something meaningful. We don’t want to just be in this industry, we want to help build, shape, and evolve it.”
William Chris Vineyards and Lost Draw Cellars are both leaders in producing 100 percent Texas-grown wine. Both vineyards pride themselves on producing premium, terroir-driven wines alongside a memorable, world-class experience. As part of the merger, the William Chris and Lost Draw brands and wine programs will remain distinct entities. The individual winemakers will remain in place and will have control over the wine being produced under each roof, and the wine clubs for each of the vineyards will also remain unchanged with independent benefits and releases.
The merger of William Chris Vineyards and Lost Draw Cellars will fall under a new parent company, William Chris Wine Company. In addition to Brundrett and Sides, who will take the lead on all day-to-day operations for the company, founding partners Bill Blackmon of WCV, along with Andy Timmons and Troy Ottmers of Lost Draw Cellars, will continue to hold advisory roles within the organization.
For more information on William Chris Vineyards, please visit williamchriswines.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram @WilliamChrisVineyards. For more information on Lost Draw Cellars, please visit lostdrawcellars.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram @LostDrawCellars.
ABOUT WILLIAM CHRIS VINEYARDS
William Chris Vineyards is a leader in producing 100 percent Texas-grown wine. Since 2008, winegrowers William “Bill” Blackmon and Chris Brundrett have managed estate vineyards and partnered with family-owned farms to source only the highest quality fruit. William Chris prides itself on expressing genuine Texas terroir through their wines while delivering a one-of-a-kind experience. Their approach integrates farming, tradition, and local culture, and Bill and Chris kept this in mind as they sought out a property on which to build their winery. Deciding on a pioneer farm settlement in the historic town of Hye, Texas, they began the project to restore the 1905 Deike farmhouse, which became the original William Chris Tasting Room. William Chris Vineyards is pleased to share a piece of their world and cannot wait to share it with you. For more information, please visit williamchriswines.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram @WilliamChrisVineyards.
ABOUT LOST DRAW CELLARS
Founded in 2012 by Andrew Sides, Troy Ottmers, and Andy Timmons, Lost Draw Cellars is a family-owned business with deep Texas roots. As a proud producer of 100 percent Texas-grown wines, Lost Draw got its start producing wines from the highly acclaimed Lost Draw Vineyards in the Texas High Plains. The tasting room and winery reside in the heart of Fredericksburg, Texas, in a historic building that has been in the Ottmers family for four generations and was once a Gulf Distribution business. The team is committed to producing quality wines that highlight the unique terroir of Texas. Lost Draw prides itself on working with grapes that thrive in the semi-arid climate of the region and works to continuously improve the growing process in a sustainable way. In addition to the vineyards they manage themselves, the team partners with some of the best vineyards in the state as a way of supporting Texas farmers. Learn more about Lost Draw Cellars and plan a visit at lostdrawcellars.com. Follow them on Instagram (@lostdrawcellars) or Facebook (Lost Draw Cellars).
ABOUT WILLIAM CHRIS WINE COMPANY
William Chris Wine Company was founded in October 2020 by William Chris Vineyards’ Chris Brundrett and Lost Draw Cellars’ Andrew Sides. Built from a shared vision and set of values, WCWC is the parent company of the William Chris Vineyards (est. 2008), Lost Draw Cellars (est. 2012), Skeleton Key (est. 2015), and Grower Project (est. 2015) brands, and is the leading producer of 100 percent Texas-grown wines in the Lone Star State. For more information, please visit williamchriswines.com.
