Smithville just scored a new reason to linger by the water. Frontier Cellars officially opened March 7, bringing a veteran-owned winery, a lakefront tasting room and a Texas-focused wine list to a 73-acre property on the edge of town.
Run by Lance and Alysen Bondy, the winery centers everything on Texas-grown fruit. Guests can sip five house wines in a tasting room that looks out over a two-acre lake while snacking on a small-bites menu that leans into wine-friendly comfort: Neapolitan-style flatbreads, herbed cheese spreads and charcuterie boards.
According to Community Impact, the couple spent roughly three years renovating the property before opening the doors. “We feel honored to serve as stewards of the land, preserving as much of the original character as possible while pursuing our dream,” Alysen Bondy told the outlet. Community Impact also notes that Frontier Cellars makes its wines exclusively from Texas-grown grapes and offers both indoor and outdoor seating for visitors who want to linger by the lake. The business website is listed as Frontier Cellars.
Tastings, Food and Events
Frontier Cellars’ five wines come with backstories and artwork that the owners say are matched to the labels, giving tastings a bit of narrative flair along with the usual swirl-and-sip. The glasses are backed up by a shareable menu built for grazing: flatbreads, spreads and boards that make it easy for a table to camp out for an afternoon.
Live music is already on the schedule. Event listings on Shazam (via Bandsintown) show performances booked at the winery. Local directories such as Distillery and Yahoo Local list the tasting room at 157 Hector Road. With indoor and outdoor seating wrapped around a small lake, it sets up nicely as an easy day trip from Austin.
What This Means for Texas Wine
Frontier Cellars’ commitment to Texas-grown grapes lines up with a broader statewide push to get more local bottles on restaurant lists. The The Texas Restaurant Association recently announced a partnership with the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association aimed at expanding opportunities for wineries to work with restaurants across the state. Efforts like that could give smaller producers such as Frontier Cellars more paths to get their wines in front of diners, not just tasting-room regulars.
For current visiting hours, ticketed events and the latest music lineup, check the winery’s site at frontiercellars.com or follow its posted event listings. The Bondys say they plan to keep pouring tastings and hosting concerts that spotlight Texas fruit and those lakefront views.
