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Rising Sun Vineyard in McDade is steadily growing like the grapes on its property.
Since opening in 2019, Rising Sun has won several awards, hosted weddings, featured live entertainment and attracted customers from all over Texas and the United States. The serene vineyard is owned and operated by husband and wife Steve Frintz and Sandy Frintz.
According to Steve Frintz, the decision to open a winery happened spontaneously while attending a wedding at a Lake Buchanan winery with his son and daughter.
“We looked at it, and it was like this,” said Frintz as he overlooked his vineyard. “I was like, ‘Well I got water. I’ve got everything I need to do this.’”
His kids, Bart and Tiffany, then gifted them some plants for Christmas that year, and they eventually acquired up to 2,500 plants in order to grow enough grapes for a winery. Previously, Steve Frintz was crafting spirits as a hobby. But overall, operating a vineyard was a completely new vocation for Steve and Sandy.
Rising Sun currently produces two white wines and five red wines, and they’re making about 25,000 pounds of grapes per year. Steve Frintz anticipates they’ll increase their volume by 5,000 pounds in 2023.
Soon after opening, Frintz realized their vineyard was a desirable destination for weddings.
“We kind of started doing little wine tastings and stuff, and next thing you know we have people wanting to get married out in the vineyard,” Steve Frintz said. “So, we had a wedding right off the bat. We opened in September and had a wedding in October.”
In addition to hosting weddings, Rising Sun partakes in a number of events that go beyond just a winery. They’ve held livestock shows, music festivals and various other events in support of McDade Independent School District and the community in general. The Frintz are also planning on opening a brewery in the near future.
In 2020, just as Rising Sun was hitting on all cylinders, they were met with an unexpected challenge: COVID-19. However, unlike most businesses, Rising Sun managed to continue growing during the pandemic, in large part because of the outdoor spacing that the property offers, allowing for easy social distancing among its customers.
Rising Sun also had to become a restaurant in order to stay open, which ultimately became a boon for the enterprise.
“We started making pizzas, and now we’re in the pizza business,” Steve Frintz said. “We have two pizza ovens, and we started having people expect it. So, we’re a full-time pizza place too. It’s just been a cool journey.”
Rising Sun’s ability to thrive throughout the pandemic landed them on a list in Texas Monthly Magazine, recognizing the top four wineries who managed to grow during this trying period.
Rising Sun appeared in Texas Monthly again after submitting some of their wines for a contest. The result: the award for best white wine in all of Texas.
According to Frintz, simply having really good wine is the key to a successful winery. He credited Bob Young for making some of their large batches of wine and teaching Steve more about the wine-making process.
Steve Frintz’ Basque heritage is another component that influences their product.
“I grew up with a lot of that Basque culture,” Frintz said. “We grow tannat, which is a grape that was specifically grown in the Pyrenees Mountains by the Basque, and that is our signature wine… We have two Basque wines that we make with Basque recipes.”
Frintz is proud that Rising Sun has brought in customers from all over in addition to McDade and Elgin. He thanked Sandy for playing an equal role in the vineyard’s success as well as Bart and Tiffany for their support.
