There is a new winery to visit near Lake Buchanan, and the owners are not afraid to have a little fun with their location. Highland Reserves Winery celebrated its grand opening on March 21, 2026, in Buchanan Dam, just a short distance from the dam and Lake Buchanan.
That location has provided plenty of inspiration for the winery’s personality. One of its favorite sayings is, “Dam good wine, for a dam good time!” You will find variations on the dam theme throughout the winery, including its wine club slogan, “Dam good wine, all the time.”
Highland Reserves Winery is owned by Tanner and Katelyn McGhehey, but getting the winery open was very much a family effort. Tanner and Katelyn have credited their aunt and uncle, Becca and Dan Marek, with mentoring them throughout the process and sharing their wine knowledge and experience. Dan is the co-owner and winemaker at Thirsty Mule Winery & Vineyard in Liberty Hill, and he is also the winemaker for Highland Reserves.
The McGheheys have also thanked their uncle Glen for spending countless hours painting and restoring the building, along with other family members who helped with everything from electrical work to babysitting. As they explained when announcing the opening, the winery was built not only around wine, but also around family and the support they received while bringing their plans to life.
We visited on a Saturday when the winery first opened. At the time of our visit, Michelena was our tasting guide. She also works with Dan at Thirsty Mule, so she was already familiar with working in a tasting room.
Highland Reserves had a wide-ranging wine list during our visit, with sweet fruit wines, whites, and reds. These are some of the wines available at the time of our visit:
- White wines
- Riesling (semi-sweet 2%), Texas
- Viognier, Texas
- Pinot Grigio
- Red wines
- Buchanan Bold (Nebbiolo), Texas
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Texas
- Sangiovese, Texas
- Reservoir Red (Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot), Texas
- Shiraz, Texas
- Fruit wines
- Aloha Beaches (passionfruit), sweet
- Lake Day Punch (peach, raspberry), sweet
- Lakeside Blackberry, sweet
- Sweet Inks (peach, apricot), sweet
The sweet wines are made with real fruit rather than simply relying on fruit flavoring. Tastings are either flights of four, five, and a souvenir glass available for an extra cost.
There is also more than wine available. The winery serves beer and specialty drinks, including house-made sangria, frozen sangria, and frozen margaritas. For those beer drinkers out there, beers available at the time of our visit were Yuengling, Dos Equis, Garage Lime Beer, and Shiner.
Snacks include meat and cheese trays, pretzels, popcorn, jerky, and chocolate truffles. The truffle display alone might make it difficult to walk away without trying one, with flavors including caramel, sea salt caramel, crème brûlée, cherry, and several different chocolate selections.
For something more substantial, Amil’s Taste of Chicago is located next door to the winery. The two businesses are connected inside, making it easy to order food and enjoy it with your wine. Because of that arrangement, Highland Reserves does not allow outside food from other establishments.
For Tanner and Katelyn McGhehey, Highland Reserves may be a new winery, but they started with something many successful Texas wineries have relied on from the beginning: family. Add Dan Marek’s winemaking experience, a varied lineup that includes several Texas wines, food right next door, and a location near Lake Buchanan, and there are plenty of reasons to stop in for a dam good time.
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