Llano Estacado Winery is staking out new territory, according to a press release from January 14, 2025. Texas’s largest premium winery was recently purchased by a group of investors with big plans.
Currently, Llano Estacado has just one public location: A tasting room in Lubbock, Texas that also includes a 200-person event center. The planned expansion includes an outpost in Lubbock’s Cactus Alley Courtyard (opening this spring and reportedly replacing Mano Negra Brewing Co.). There’s also a Main Street tasting room to debut in Fredericksburg later in 2025, and a large development described as “the premier winery experience in the Hill Country” slated for Fredericksburg in 2026.
Founded in 1976, Llano is the second-oldest winery in Texas (after Val Verde Winery). It’s also the second largest (after bulk producer Mesa Vineyards). Llano boomed in the late 1990s when Texas’s wine industry was still in its toddler years. The company’s leadership figured out distribution and scale in a way that few wineries had at the time. According to their website, Llano once accounted for a whopping 40% of wine sales in Texas.
Llano is also a leader in affordability. Crucially, it was able to produce accessible wines at competitive prices and get them onto shelves across Texas. Many of their bottles still retail for under $15. For many years, the Lubbock winery offered 15-20-minute guided tours–often led by students from nearby Texas Tech University–at no charge. (Are Llano’s free tours still a thing in 2025, post-acquisition? It seems like maybe not.*)
Many Texas wine drinkers, including myself are most familiar with Llano for its Sweet Red. The Blush, Moscato, Riesling and Peach wine also bring back happy memories. As a kid, I’d often see Llano’s sweet wines poured at weddings and potlucks, or decked out with a bow in holiday gift baskets.
These time-capsule wines are still available–even the label design looks the same!–and they still sell quite well. My local Total Wine and H-E-B each stock 8 or 10 varieties of sweet and medium-sweet wines from Llano. But not everything the winery produces will give you a toothache. The last several years have brought a string of awards to Llano for dry Texas wines such as their Tempranillo and Gruner Vetliner.
With the move into the Hill Country AVA, Llano is poised to capture “serious” wine tourists and also to retain the broad appeal that has kept it in business for almost 50 years. It’s exciting news. As much as I love to complain about the bougie-fication of Fredericksburg, I’m happy to see a legacy wine company continuing to invest in Texas. I’ll certainly be visiting the Main Street tasting room next time I’m strolling around downtown. And I’ll toast to Llano’s success with a big glass of Sweet Red.
Further Reading:
Llano Estacado Press Release: Llano Estacado Winery Acquired by New Investor Group
Texas Wine Lover: Llano Estacado Winery Ushers in a New Era of Growth and Innovation with New Ownership
*I reached out to Llano Estacado about their tour cost and received this response: “Our winery tours are currently being finalized, and the full schedule, including pricing details, will be posted within the next few weeks. We recommend checking back soon or keeping an eye on our website and social media for updates. We look forward to welcoming you!”
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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