History
With deep Texas roots, a passion for quality, and an appreciation for the future, our winery, conceived in 1975, embraces the best of our tradition and legacy while coursing towards a dynamic representation of globally-competitive, modern wine. Fall Creek Vineyards was conceived through worldly inspiration, and while distinctly Texan in terroir, our wines are crafted with world-class skill and vision. We are proud to share our wine with you.
“We started with the dirt and the vines took root!”
Welcome to FALL CREEK Vineyards, planted in 1975, as the first Texas Hill Country winery! Our family’s heritage is deeply rooted for 5 generations as ranchers, always providing good stewardship of the land we so love. Our resolute goal has been to match the right grape variety to the correct terroir, to grow wines which reflect the complex soils of each specific site and to taste the emotion and joy with which the wines have been conceived!
We produce benchmark wines to stand shoulder to shoulder with the notable wines of the world. Our mission is well stated by Director of Winemaking at Fall Creek Vineyards, Sergio Cuadra, who said, “I did not come here to make great Texas wines, instead I came here to make great, world-class wines that just happen to grow in Texas!” Judging by the flood of accolades and awards, FALL CREEK Vineyards is doing just that!
Ed and Susan Auler took a trip to France in 1973 to look at some of the French breed of cattle for potentially crossing with their Angus herd in the Hill Country. This trip dramatically changed their lives. Ed was practicing law and had taken over the operation of his family’s Hill Country ranch, and he wanted to consider ways to upgrade his ranching operation to enhance its profitability.
Susan was interested in seeing the major wine regions in France, as they had developed an interest in wines. They did visit a French cattle operation, but the bottom line was that they spent 19 days of that trip enjoying the French wine country from Reims to Burgundy to Rhone across the south of France to Bordeaux and Loire and only 2 days looking at cattle! They both rapidly gained an education and appreciation of French wines, foods and culture.
Within 2 years of that trip in 1975, the Aulers had put in a test plot on a corner of their Fall Creek Ranch to experiment with wine growing at the encouragement of Texas A & M and Texas Tech Universities. That test plot grew from ¼ acre to 7 ½ acres in 1979, and Ed decided to give up his law practice, formally establishing the winery facilities in 1980. The Aulers began purchasing 400 acres along the west side of Lake Buchanan which would become the home of Fall Creek Vineyards. So, a chance trip to France changed Ed’s professional focus from law and ranching to wine growing.
In the mid-1980s the Aulers looked to Napa and Sonoma for wine expertise by consulting with U.C. Davis professors, California and French winemakers, and Andre Tchelistcheff as their initial wine consultant to Fall Creek Vineyards. Susan and Ed founded the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival in 1986 to publicize the Texas Hill Country as a known wine region, and Ed’s application to the U.S. government for the Texas Hill Country appellation was granted in 1990. This identified the Texas Hill Country region as a recognized and respected viticultural region, already a natural tourist attraction with beautiful hills and lakes, acclaimed chefs, and now world-class wines.