Petite Sirah from Missick Cellars Named Among Texas’ Best Wines for 2026

Missick Cellars is gaining statewide recognition as its Texas-grown wines continue to make an impression in major competitions. The Boerne winery has earned a place among the 12 wines named “Best in Texas” in the 2026 Texas Vintners Cup – adding another milestone to its growing list of accolades. The recognition also highlights the winery’s focus on producing wines that reflect the character and fruit of Texas.

The winning wine, a 2023 Petite Sirah, was chosen after blind tasting by a panel that included wine journalist Jessica Dupuy and Master Sommeliers Jack Mason and Craig Collins, according to a press release from Missick Cellars.

Winning wines receive statewide recognition, including a feature in Texas Monthly and promotion through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Uncork Texas Wines program. Recipients also received a custom Texas Vintners Cup belt buckle fabricated by Trailblazer Custom Silversmith and presented by Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller at a ceremony Thursday, September 24, at the GO TEXAN Pavilion during Preview Night of the State Fair of Texas in Dallas.

“This is Texas fruit, judged against the best wines made in this great state,” said Chris Missick, winemaker and co-owner of Missick Cellars with his wife, Laure. “We moved here to make delicious wines that taste of this place. An honor like the Vintners Cup, this early in our Texas journey, provides public recognition to how seriously we take producing high quality, 100% Texas wines.”

The Texas Vintners Cup, now in its sixth year, is the only statewide competition that crowns a definitive “Best in Texas” lineup rather than awarding medals by class. Producers may enter a limited number of wines; judges taste them blind and select twelve.

The recognition comes as Missick Cellars is still in its first season with a public tasting room just off Boerne’s Hill Country Mile. Chris Missick spent more than a decade making wine in New York’s Finger Lakes before relocating his family to the Hill Country and shifting the label to Texas-grown grapes. The winery’s 2024 Texas High Plains Viognier earned Best in Class at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition; its 2023 Texas Dry Riesling took Double Gold at the 2025 Chronicle competition. Chris maintains an active license to practice law, and is currently working on a new book that addresses the intersection of his faith and the vineyard.