Hill Country wine enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the new life anticipated at 113 East Park Street. This charming tasting space in downtown Fredericksburg has long been loved by locals and tourists alike. First, it was home to Lost Draw Cellars, which opened on the property in 2014. The location just behind H-E-B allowed for ample parking space with no need to elbow past the Main Street shoppers.
In 2022, a merger with William Chris Wine Company allowed Lost Draw to make a move to the high-traffic Highway 290 location near Johnson City. The downtown space sat vacant for a while, and residents were curious about what would come. In 2024, Wine For the People moved in after a slight remodel. But it wasn’t long before the property was discovered by a newly emerging partnership that would bring together two established wineries looking for a new home in Fredericksburg.
On Saturday, October 4, 2025, our questions were finally answered as the doors opened at the new Buli Limestone Wines. Much of the property looks the same. The exterior of the buildings has a new sign, but the outdoor seating remains intact. What was once the main entrance door to the tasting room has been repurposed as a VIP space for members and VIP tasting experiences. Instead, the main tasting space is to the left of the outdoor seating with huge windows, comfortable seating, and a cozy feel. The space has a Tuscan feel with marble-topped tables, tufted sofas, rustic wooden beams, and even a fresco on the ceiling above the bar.
Here’s a pro tip…go with a friend and you can taste double the wines if you share! We ordered both the Classic Tasting for $25 and the Reserve Tasting for $45. Both tastings have a combination of Texas and Italian wines with six pours each. The Classic was interesting with both a Texas Sangiovese and a version from Tuscany. The bottle prices for the wines on this flight ranged from $38 to $56, while the Reserve wines were $44 to $85. My personal favorites were the 2020 Dolcetto and 2020 Aglianico from the Texas High Plains. A cheese and charcuterie board was also available, and we were told a café is in the works. A barrel tasting experience is coming soon as well.
But if you’re anything like me, you’re curious how these two very different wineries came together. So here’s a bit of the story of each brand. While I missed the grand opening of the tasting room when the owners were present and shared their story, I had previously heard of Dr. Buly when he first started looking for property in the Fredericksburg area and had learned a bit about him.
Dr. Robert Buly grew up in Western Pennsylvania. His father had served in the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1944, while stationed in Italy, he met a beautiful Italian woman whom he married. They moved to Pennsylvania and raised five sons. All of the boys were fluent in Italian since their mother spoke it at home. They would occasionally vacation in Italy in their mother’s hometown. From childhood, Robert dreamed of owning a property in Italy that could produce wine and olive oil.
As a successful surgeon in New York, he searched for the right gem in Italy, and finally, in 2006, discovered his dream could come true. The land is in the Chianti DOCG region near Siena and already had olive trees and enough land to plant grapevines. Ideally situated at an altitude of 515 meters (1,690 feet for us Americans who don’t use the metric system), the property has cool evenings and a summer breeze that dries out the vineyard after a rain. The vines were planted in 2008, and wine and olive oil became commercially available soon after. You’ll notice 515 and 44 on the labels of some of the wines, which give a nod to the vineyard elevation and to the year Robert’s parents met.
Meanwhile, as Buli Wines were being imported into New York and sold online and to local retailers, the wine industry in Texas was growing and thriving. In 2016, the Stovall and Dierickx families purchased an estate near Wimberley that had previously been a vineyard destroyed by fire. Seven acres were replanted, and a terraced tasting room and production facility were completed. The winery Limestone Terrace Vineyard opened in 2022, with the wines being made by Rob Nida. But ultimately, the families listed the property for sale in 2024.
And still, the wine industry in Texas has been growing and gaining national recognition. Robert Buly took notice of what was happening in the Hill Country, and he started to look for property and an opportunity to grow his brand into Texas. Because he would continue to practice as a knee and hip surgeon in New York, he was also open to a partnership with someone already in the Lone Star State.
The Limestone Terrace property was sold, but Ben and Mody Stovall had the wine bug and were looking for the next home for their brand. As a professional engineer based in Austin, Ben brings a blend of precision and tradition to the brand. The couple recognized early on that winemaking and grape growing take a combination of resilience, resourcefulness, and pride. They also found that the grapes best suited to Texas are not necessarily the most popular grapes that we have learned to love from California. Instead, Mediterranean varieties thrive because they can handle the heat, humidity, droughts, and soils common in Texas. They developed a love for Italian varieties such as Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, and Teroldego.
With both brands looking for a place to call home in the Hill Country, Dr. Buly and the Stovalls have formed a partnership that provides a nice variety in the tasting room. Keep an eye out for coming changes to the property, and, if you live in the area, be sure to ask about the Locals Club.
113 E Park St, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
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