Gabe Ellis began learning about wine varietals and winemaking practices two decades ago, fascinated by the educational approach to the tasting experience. Matt Ellis later shared the same interest, and the pair has spent nearly 20 years traveling to California to taste different wines and make friends on the West Coast.

Zooming in

In harnessing those connections with California winemakers, Matt and Gabe Ellis opened Swallow Wines in February 2024, bringing small-batch wines and winemakers to Round Rock.

“We like to carry things that you don't see anywhere else,” Matt Ellis said. “We have gamay, we have orange wines, we have carignane—just different varietals that you won't see in a lot of different places.”

On the menu


Swallow Wines has a curated selection of wines that changes monthly, featuring sparkling, white, rosé and red wines. In addition to selling wine by the glass and bottle, Swallow Wines also has several tasting experiences available for customers ranging from $25-$75 per guest.

The menu features exclusively unfiltered and dry wines, with an emphasis on fruit-forward flavors. Current offerings include a sparkling pinot grigio from Benessere Vineyards, 2023 Rosé of Grenache from Blaire Payton and 2020 Tempranillo Temptation from Crush Vineyards.

The business also sells a variety of packaged snacks, focusing on small businesses and women owned companies.

What’s special about it?


Swallow Wines is registered with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission as a winery, though they do not currently make wine, Matt Ellis said. As a winery, Matt and Gabe Ellis can purchase wines directly from winemakers, instead of going through a distributor with a more limited selection of wines.

Swallow Wines works with around 30 small-scale winemakers to bring over 100 wines to customers.

“[Each producer is] usually typically under 2,000 cases a year,” Gabe Ellis said. “It's [a] very tiny, limited release so once the wines are gone, they're gone forever until next year. It won't be the same wine either—each vintage is going to be completely different.”

One more thing


Swallow Wines also has a free Cellar Club membership where members receive four seasonal shipments of wine per year with three bottles per package. Members can customize each shipment and taste six curated wines before selecting their picks. Other benefits include two complementary wine tasting experiences, first access to events and discounts.

Swallow Wines hosts a variety of events in Round Rock, including meet the winemaker events, tastings and more. The business will host a Hibachi dinner at Swallow Wines to ring in the new year on Dec. 31 with a live Hibachi dinner, games, raffles and wine pairings. Tickets are available for purchase online.

Looking ahead

As Gabe and Matt Ellis approach the two year anniversary of owning Swallow Wines, they are hoping to launch two new wines that they will blend and label themselves.


“That was always the idea, to eventually one day make wine,” Gabe Ellis said. “We were approached by two labels we carry: Pine Mountain Vineyards and Andis Wines.”

They will have a white wine with Pine Mountain Vineyards and a red wine from Andis Wines. They hope to officially launch the two in the first quarter of 2026.