Llano Estacado Winery expanding business in Hill Country

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A well-known West Texas winery is now expanding its business in the Hill Country with a wine tasting room and more as it shifts to new leadership.

The Llano Estacado Winery, founded in Lubbock in 1976, will enter the next phase of growth as it expands into Fredericksburg, with a vision of building on the Llano brand, per a news release from the Llano Estacado Winery.

A Llano tasting room on Main Street in Fredericksburg will open this year. Additionally, a winery and tasting room are also planned to open in Fredericksburg in 2026, which promises to offer a "premier winery experience in the Hill Country," according to the winery.

This comes after the winery's president, Mark Hyman, will retire after he joined the winery in 1994. Llano accounts for 40% of Texas wine retail sales, the release said.

The new Llano ownership team includes Bret Perrenoud, who served as general manager of Becker Vineyards for 17 years. He also owns the Airis'Ele Winery near Fredericksburg and will lead as both the winery's owner and general manager, the release said.

"Llano has so much history, distribution, and the largest winemaking facility in the state. This is an incredible opportunity to build on that legacy. The new investment and energy from the ownership team are invigorating," Perrenoud said in the release.

Other members of the Llano ownership team include Lubbock attorneys Kevin Glasheen and Noe Valles, wine enthusiast Ron Ross, retired business executive Bryan Miller and business consultant Aaron Handler, according to the winery.

Llano is well-known for its "Sweet Red" wine and its "range of affordable wines, alongside its award-winning fine wines, which are primarily available through its winery tasting room and wine club."

"The new ownership represents a bright new beginning for Llano. I’m excited to see what they’ll bring to the table to fuel future growth," Hyman said.