Let the wine connoisseur beware -visiting Big Rock Winery is more like visiting a mad scientist's working laboratory than it is like visiting a conventional tasting room. Fortunately, the mad scientist is a highly engaging guy and is really enthusiastic about and invested in his wine, so it's...
Ok, ladies. Get your wine glasses ready. This is your kind of place! That's not to say that Cork This! isn't a fun place for guys too. It definitely is. When we visited, I'd say the clientele was pretty evenly split between the genders. But Cork This! is run by two lovely ladies, and it...
We decided to visit Winery on the Gruene on the way back to Dallas from San Antonio. We were looking for a winery near I-35, and according to the AmericanWineryGuide.com map of Texas wineries, Winery on the Gruene fit the bill. It didn't dawn on me until we drove into town that I knew where we...
If it hadn't been for the heat, I might have thought I was in Tuscany. Of course, since it was more than 95 degrees, I knew I was still in Texas, and I hadn't dropped through a wormhole to the countryside near Florence. (Darn it!) The facilities at Duchman Family Winery are reminiscent of an...
This place has a pretty slick setup. Averyone living in or passing through Austin, Texas has heard of Salt Lick BBQ. It's probably the primary draw for the town of Driftwood, Texas, and has fed many a hungry traveler and local since its inception in 1967. (Try the ribs. I'm just saying.) Anyway,...
This is where to come to find out why they call this area the Hill Country. If you're not from Texas, or have spent time only in West Texas or at the Texas beaches, you probably think of Texas as being FLAT. Well, it is. It's also full of piney woods and features the occasional canyon. At any...
It's a pleasant drive from Fredericksburg into Austin; an hour and a half or so depending on where in Austin you're going, on highway 290. Right on the way is Dripping Springs, home to several great wineries, including Driftwood Estate Vineyards and Duchman Family Winery. But I've already...
Visiting a winery's second location is always an interesting experience. Being familiar with the wines, you have an idea about what to expect, but it's still a new place, with new people and a new vibe. The Place: Inwood Estates has been making wine for 30 years, but the Fredericksburg location...
With more than 45 wineries near Fredericksburg, and more coming soon, it takes a bit of effort for one winery to stand out among the crowd. Grape Creek Vineyards distinguishes itself in a number of ways: its old-world-feel facility, its highly informative website, and best of all, its excellent...
Sometimes a winery's biggest asset is its location. Georgetown Winery has prime real estate on the east side of Georgetown's courthouse square, which is full of tourists on the weekends and locals on the weekdays. The Place: Inside, the winery has a fairly small space. It's long and narrow and...
We visited Flat Creek Estate on a hot and steamy August afternoon -but the heat was the only down side of the experience. If it had been 20 degrees cooler, it would have been a perfect afternoon. The Place: If you know Texas Hill Country at all, you're prepared for the winding, two-lane roads....
It was a typical blistering central Texas day when we drove into Westcave Cellars. I noticed two things immediately; the sparkling streamers on the grapevines, which I later learned served as bird deterrents, and the presence of farm equipment, which indicated to me that they were harvesting....