9 must-see vineyards along Wine Road 290 in Texas Hill Country
FREDERICKSBURG, Texas – Highway 290 flirts with the Pedernales River for 40 miles in the Hill Country, offering a taste of the oak-studded landscape and the wines for which Texas is becoming famous.
Trish McCabe Rawls Wineries have been popping up in the area like mushrooms in the last decade or so, and increasing numbers of visitors are coming to sample them. A recent poll by the travel Web site Orbitz.com found that the Hill Country is the nation's second-fastest-growing wine destination, behind only California's Napa Valley.
Of Texas' more than 160 wineries, 30 are in the Hill Country. Nine of them have joined to form Wine Road 290 on the stretch from just east of Johnson City to nine miles west of Fredericksburg.
Most of the nine are boutique wineries, selling only in their own tasting rooms. Several also distribute to restaurants and shops in the state. The group holds six special events annually, with each member showcasing its wines with foods prepared by a local chef.
Join us now on the U.S. 290 sipping trail. We'll start on the east and work our way west.
Texas Hills Vineyard
Handsome wrought-iron gates centered by stars mark this winery's entrance. Owner Gary Gilstrap says all of the vineyard's wines are made from Texas grapes, about 70 percent harvested on the estate and the rest bought from other Texas vineyards.
The tasting room includes a gift shop with a mix of wine-related items and wine friendly nibbles. Their most popular wine? "The Kick Butt Cab," says Camille, the lively hostess. "It's the favorite with customers and at competitions."
Pedernales Cellars
When Larry and Jeanine Kuhlken first planted grapevines near Stonewall in the 1990s, they wanted only to produce the best wine grapes they could. A winery wasn't part of their plan. Then came the second generation: son David, and his wife, Heather; daughter Julie, and her husband, Fredrik Osterberg.
In 2006, David and Fredrik began planning a state-of-the-art winery. It opened just in time for the 2008 harvest, and Pedernales' wines are already winning awards. Sip a glass of wine on the shaded deck while enjoying sweeping views of the Pedernales River Valley.
Woodrose Winery
At Woodrose Winery, employees seat you at a bistro-style table, either inside or on a large, shady deck, and bring the wines to you. The deck rocks with live music on Saturday afternoons.
Pedernales Cellars Woodrose may be the only winery you'll ever visit where hosts can suggest a wine to pair with s'mores, the campfire standby made from graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate. In cold weather, fire pits are set up around the deck, and folks can sip wine while toasting marshmallows for the treats.
Becker Vineyards
Becker, one of the larger, older wineries in the area, was established in 1992. The winery and tasting room occupy a reproduction of a massive 19th-century German stone barn. Taste wines on the porch in summer or inside in front of an open fire in winter.
Beside the winery is a bed-and- breakfast created from a late-1800s log cabin that was original to the property. Poppies and bluebonnets bloom in April and May, a field full of lavender in May and June.
Torre di Pietra
From outside, this winery appears small. But just inside the narrow entrance, the tasting room and gift shop open into a large, inviting space filled with an impressive array of gift offerings, from wine-serving items to Tuscan-style dishes. Look for several wines with whimsical names, such as Dirty Girl and Red Flirt. There's live music on the piazza Saturday afternoons.
Grape Creek Vineyards
The spacious winery tasting room resembles a Tuscan villa. Along with the wine offerings and gift-shop items, you can purchase picnic treats – cheese, salamis, crackers and bruschetta – to accompany a glass of wine on the shady patio. The winery's bed-and-breakfast furnishes great views of the creekside's rolling landscape. With a sitting room, kitchen and two bedrooms, it's comfy for four adults.
Rancho Ponte
Rancho Ponte is the newest kid on the block, opening to the public in February 2009. Owner Ricardo Ponte, a veteran of commercial California vineyards with a four-generation family history of winemaking, moved to Texas to open his winery "because it's easier to get a start here." He already has plans for expansion. The tasting-room staff is friendly and personable.
Fredericksburg Winery
The philosophy here is, "We believe wine should be fun, not serious." This is one relaxed winery, where hosts describe wines by their basic types – dry red, sweet and such – and let visitors taste to find what they like. The entire operation is in one big room: crushers, aging tanks, bottling and labeling, tasting room and gift shop. And it's within a few steps of oodles of restaurants and shops.
Chisholm Trail Winery
The Wild West is celebrated in the ambience of the tasting room and in the wine names here: Belle Starr, Desperado, Silver Spur and Ghostrider, for example. Horses and longhorns in adjacent pastures complete the picture.
When you go:
The wineries
Most of the Wine Road 290 wineries are closed on major holidays.
•Texas Hills Vineyard, 878 Ranch-to-Market Road 2766 (one mile east of U.S. Highway 290/281), Johnson City. Tasting room hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Basic tasting of four wines, free; additional tastes, $1 each; tasting of four premium wines, $5. Tours are free, but must be arranged in advance; no tours on Saturday. Contact: 830-868-2321; www.texashillsvineyard.com
•Pedernales Cellars, 2916 Upper Albert Road, Stonewall. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tasting of five wines, $6; fee is waived with wine purchase. Wine by the glass: $6 to $12. Contact: 830-644-2037; www.pedernalescellars.com
•Woodrose Winery, 662 Woodrose Lane, Stonewall. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Live music 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. Tasting of six basic wines, $7; three sweet wines, $5; three premium wines, $10. Wine by the glass: $6.50 to $9. Contact: 830-644-2539; www.woodrosewinery.com
•Becker Vineyards, 464 Becker Farms Road, Stonewall. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tasting of six wines, $5. Free tours usually leave every 30 minutes every day. B&B, $125 per night. Contact: 830-644-2681; www.beckervineyards.com/index2.htm
•Torre di Pietra, 10915 E. Highway 290, Fredericksburg. Hours: daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tasting of five wines, $5. Contact: 830-644-2829; www.texashillcountrywine.com
•Grape Creek Vineyards, 10587 E. Highway 290, Fredericksburg. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tasting of five white-label wines, $5; three or four black-label, $5; both white- and black-label wines and logo wine glass, $10. B&B (two-night minimum), $165 per night for use of one bedroom; $215 for both. Includes bottle of wine, continental breakfast and free white-label tasting. Contact: 830-644-2710; www.grapecreek.com
•Rancho Ponte Vineyard, 315 Ranch-to-Market Road 1376, Fredericksburg. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday (to 6 p.m. Saturday). Tasting of any five wines, plus a logo wine glass, $8. Contact: 830-990-8555; www.ranchoponte.com
•Fredericksburg Winery, 247 W. Main St., Fredericksburg. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. No fee for tasting of up to six wines, except reserve wines, which are $2 per taste or $5 for three. Contact: 830-990-8747; www.fbgwinery.com
•Chisholm Trail Winery, 2367 Usener Road, Fredericksburg. Hours: noon to 6 p.m. Thursday-Monday; closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Tastings (minimum $5): $1 to $3 each; taste of every wine, $14 and up. Contact: 1-877-990-2675; www.chisholmtrailwinery.com
More food and sipping
Other Fredericksburg places that feature local wines and food:
•Chocolat, 330 W. Main St., 1-800-842-3382; www.chocolat-tx.us. Liquid-center chocolates with bourbon, whiskey, rum, schnapps or wines, plus nonalcoholic fruit nectar or coffee. Also, makes custom chocolates for five of the Wine Road 290 wineries.
•Oberhof Wine Cellar Tasting Room, featuring Bell Mountain Vineyards wines, is at Das Peach Haus, 1406 S. U.S. Highway 87. Das Peach Haus is owned by Fischer & Wieser, maker of cooking sauces, salsas, mustards and jellies. You can sample every Fischer & Wieser product 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday-Tuesday, noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday. Contact: 1-866-997-8969; www.jelly.com/dph
•Cabernet Grill, 2805 S. State Highway 16; 830-990-5734; www.cottonginlodging.com. Chef Ross Burtwell features Texas wines, many of them from the Hill Country, in this fine-dining restaurant. Clustered around the restaurant are seven 19th-century cabins refurbished as B&B lodgings. Landscaping masks sounds from the nearby highway.
•Rather Sweet Bakery and Restaurant, 249 E. Main St., 830-990-0498; www.rathersweet.com. Generous, delicious sandwiches at lunch, enormous breakfast muffins, plus huge cake slices and memorable cookies. Bakery, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; breakfast: 8 to 10 a.m.; lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (2:30 on Saturday).
•Roadside stands throughout the area sell local peaches, tomatoes, blackberries and other produce in summer.
Resource
Information about all Texas wineries: Texas Department of Agriculture, 1-866-489-9463; www.gotexanwine.orgWine Road
290 events
The nine wineries of Wine Road 290 sponsor six themed annual events pairing their wines with food prepared by top area chefs. Visitors pay only the regular tasting fee, if any, of each winery. Dates in 2010 are noted. Contact: www.wineroad290.com
•January: Port 'n Pairings (Jan. 23)
•February: Ragin' Cajun (Feb. 27)
•March: Vino and Pasta (March 20)
•June: Vino el Pastor (June 19)
•July: Chili and Chillin' (July 24)
•September: Kiolbassa and Kabernet (Sept. 18)
Wine trails
Texas Hill Country Wineries, an organization of 22 wineries, sponsors five annual self-guided wine trails. Each runs for two weekends, except Texas Wine Month, which is all of October. Tickets or details: 1-866-621-9463; www.texaswinetrail.com
•February: Wine Lovers Trail
•April: Wine and Wildflower Trail
•August: Harvest Wine Trail
•October: Texas Wine Month Trail
•December: Holiday Wine Trail
Food festival
The Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest is on a Saturday in October each year (next, Oct. 23, 2010). In addition to food and wines, it offers art, a cooking school, entertainment, games and an auction. Contact: 1-866-839-3378 or 830-997-8515; www.fbgfoodandwinefest.com