As with any winery, the heart and soul is the vineyard. The planning for Retreat Hill Vineyard began in 2007 with the purchase of 12 acres of land along FM 362 in southern Grimes county. This land is conveniently located 35 miles south of Bryan/College Station and 40 miles west of The Woodlands Mall.

After acquiring the land, Billy met with Texas Agrilife Vilticulture Extension Associate, Fritz Westover, to discuss the vineyard layout. Because the property was previously a terraced cotton farm, some heavy machinery was used to add gentle slopes and knock down the terraces.

A pretty two-acre plot was laid out with row spacing every ten feet. With vine spacing every eight feet, 1200 Blanc du Bois vines were ordered from Grabowski Vineyard in the fall of 2008. In early January, almost two miles of irrigation system was installed, vineyard end posts were set and the trellis wire for the drip tube and fruiting wire was installed.

On planting day, March 7, 2009, about 30 volunteers showed up to prune and plant the young vines.

After eight hours of back-breaking work, the vineyard was in and all off our volunteers were treated to wine and barbecue in the building that would become the winery. The vines continue to creep up toward the fruiting wire, where they will be trained. Several of the vines have grape clusters, but those will be picked off and thrown away this year. The vineyard will probably yield its first real fruit in 2010 and a full harvest is anticipated for 2011.