Traditional-method sparkling wine and a 140-year-old Hill Country post office don’t appear to have much in common. Yet in Hye, the tiny town 10 miles west of Johnson City, old spaces have a way of taking on new lives. 

This summer, William Chris Vineyards will open a dedicated tasting room for its sparkling label, Rebecca Caroline, inside the historic Hye Post Office. The opening comes as more Texas wineries embrace traditional-method sparkling wine, the same labor- and time-intensive style used to produce Champagne in France.

For William Chris co-founder Chris Brundrett, the project offered a chance to preserve one of Hye’s most recognizable historic buildings while continuing its long tradition as a gathering place. 

“I couldn’t imagine a better place to share Texas terroir with the world than the Hye Post Office,” Brundrett says.