Ron Yates Wines
Seven generations of Yates have worked Texas land, and this one put a wood-fired pizza oven in the tasting room on US-290.2
Why go
Paula Forbes named Ron Yates on the twelve-winery list she came home with for Texas Monthly, describing a multigenerational winery run by a veteran winemaker on the main 290 strip, and she took a rosé away with her.1 The new tasting room she saw going up is now 8,800 square feet with vineyard views and two bars: the Kitchen Bar pours by the glass and the bottle seven days a week alongside the wood oven, and the Central Bar runs the guided tastings Friday to Sunday.2 The fruit is all Texas, much of it from Dell Valley Vineyards at 3,800 feet in the Guadalupe Mountains and Farmhouse Vineyards in the High Plains.4
Order this / avoid
- The 2022 Blanco BDX, 60 percent sauvignon blanc and 40 percent sémillon off that high-desert Dell Valley fruit.4
- The 2019 Bordeaux-style red, 57 percent merlot with 38 percent cabernet sauvignon and 5 percent petit verdot.4
- A rosé. The 2024 is Cinsault from Farmhouse Vineyards, and a Ron Yates rosé is one of the bottles Forbes bought on her trip.41
- Avoid: treating the 93-point James Suckling line on the site as a checked score. It is the winery's own badge and this entry does not carry it.4
What locals & experts say
- Texas Monthly, September 2025. Paula Forbes lists Ron Yates among her twelve Hill Country wine picks and calls it
a multigenerational winery helmed by the veteran winemaker on the main 290 strip.
1 - She names a Ron Yates rosé among the bottles she brought home, which is a purchase rather than a published tasting note.1
- The winery on its own approach:
Respect the land, and don't mess it up in the cellar.
4
Good to know
- Hours: open seven days, 11am to 6pm, as published on 20 August 2026. Kitchen Bar daily 11 to 5.30; Central Bar Friday to Sunday for tastings.2
- Booking: walk-ins are welcome and the winery asks for a reservation at four people or more.2
- Food: a menu built around the wood-fired oven, which is unusual on this stretch of highway.2
- Getting there: 6676 US-290 W in Hye, on the main strip rather than up a side road.2
Verdict
could-visit — The Yates family have worked Texas land for seven generations and now farm wine on the busiest stretch of US-290, in an 8,800 square foot room with a wood-fired oven in it. Paula Forbes put the winery on her twelve-name Hill Country list and took a rosé home, which is a recommendation, and that is the honest weight to give it. The bottles worth asking for are the 2022 Blanco BDX, sauvignon blanc and sémillon off Dell Valley Vineyards at 3,800 feet in the Guadalupe Mountains, and the 2019 Bordeaux-style red at 57 percent merlot. Two badges on the front page, a James Suckling score and a Tasting Table listing, go unverified and are not carried here. Open seven days with pizza and glasses by the bottle, it is the reliable stop on a day when the small cellars are booked out.