Things to do / Travel Guide
The Texas Hill Country contains 20 of Texas' many fine vineyards. They follow a Y-shaped formation, starting just south of San Antonio, and extending up towards Austin. Once there, the vineyards are located to the north of Austin, and the rest are to the northwest. All of these vineyards are more or less in three clumps, and it isn't difficult to hit all of them in two or three days.
Some of them are more tourist-friendly than others, offering classes in wine tasting and more. Some offer tours, restaurants, and special events, and the nicest offer bed and breakfast as well. Since all of these vineyards are gaining popularity, with their wine winning awards country- and worldwide, many are expanding their visitors' centers, so it is wise to call ahead.
Most of the vineyards have facilities for visitors, but these three are of the most established and well-known:
Grape Creek Vineyards
Grape Creek Vineyards, just east of Fredericksburg, has 17 acres of peaches and raspberries, and table and wine grapes. They have been bottling wine since the late 1980s, and now have to import 70 to 100 tons of grapes a season from a nearby vineyard to keep up with demand for the wine production. Red wines are aged in American oak barrels, the white wines in French oaks. Their own Cabernet Trois, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabarnet, and Cabernet Franc, won a 1995 Texas Restaurant Association medal.
Bell Mountain Vineyards
Bell Mountain Vineyards was established in the Hill Country on 56 acres in 1976 by the Oberhelman family on a chalet-styled vineyard. Every wine is estate-bottled, and the products consist of Chardonnay, Johannesburg Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Fume Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir. Unlike other Texas wineries, Bell Mountain ages their wines a second time and the quality is reflected in the recognition the vineyard has received over the years.
Fall Creek Vineyard
Fall Creek Vineyard overlooks Lake Buchanan and is arguably the prettiest of all the vineyards in the region. This modern winery was actually the Hill Country's first. It was built in 1979, after Ed and Susan Auler built a quarter-acre test vineyard on their Hill Country ranch. By 1979, the experiment had grown to nearly eight acres and they were producing three varieties of wine. Today Fall Creek is one of the state's largest wine producers, maintaining a 65-acre vineyard. It is known for its Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Johannesberg Riesling, and many blended wines. Fall Creek's best-known wine is the Granite Reserve, a blend of Cabernet and Merlot.
Wineries in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Padre Island and Southeastern Texas
Wineries
Dry Comal Creek Vineyards & Winery
Torre di Pietra Vineyards
|
|
|