Posts Tagged Grapevine

http://farinaswinery.homestead.com

Farina’s Winery & Cafe is located in the heart of Grapevine on Main Street and is very easy to find among the other stores and restaurants. The winery opened in 2007 and is owned by Gary Farina.

I visited Grapevine on a Friday night and when I walked in, I discovered the winery is also a fairly large restaurant. There was a large crowd already seated eating dinner and the bar to the left was also full of patrons. When asked if I wanted a table, I explained I would just like to do a wine tasting. We were able to find a seat at the end of the bar for me to do my tasting.

Stephanie introduced herself and helped me with the tasting while she also helped the other bar patrons. There is a fee for tasting three wines: Farina’s red and white wines plus a choice of another Texas winery’s wine for a third. The tastings are poured from the uncorked bottles and a generous portion is given to taste.

Water is served during the tasting and with Farina’s Winery & Cafe being primarily a restaurant specializing in Italian food, you can buy food during the tasting.

Farina’s Winery makes two wines, a red and a white, and both use 100% Texas grapes from Lubbock. The wines are produced at CrossRoads Winery in Frisco.

The winery/restaurant is decorated with gorgeous antiques including a European bar from the 1800′s and a large glass grape cluster chandelier. Live music is held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and space is available for special events.

Farina’s Winery and Cafe is on the Grapevine Wine Trail. If you make it to Grapevine, which is the best place in Texas to visit multiple wineries within walking distance, stop in for a bite to eat and have some of Farina’s Texas wine.

http://www.crosstimberswinery.com

Cross Timbers Winery is located in Grapevine and is the most northern winery in Grapevine making Texas wine. Grapevine is a great location to visit if you want to visit a number of wineries which are in the same vicinity. Cross Timbers Winery is owned by Don Bigbie and opened in 2000.

The winery is easy to find and has ample parking, unlike some of the other wineries in Grapevine where you need to find parking on the street or in crowded parking lots. The winery is in a beautifully restored house which was built in 1875. The house was originally owned by the Dorris and Brock families and was the homestead of a large family farm. The house is believed to be among the five oldest structures remaining in Grapevine.

When I entered the winery, Stefani greeted me in the tasting room. I noticed there were other rooms in the house with tables and chairs where people can enjoy drinking glasses of wine. I took a seat at the tasting bar and Stefani introduced their Texas wine. Cross Timbers Winery uses corks in their bottles except for the white wines which use screw caps.

There is a fee for tasting four wines and the tastings are poured directly from the bottle. A generous amount is given to taste compared to other wine tastings I have done. While tasting my first wine, Stefani went to another room and returned with a plate of cheese and crackers to enjoy during the tasting. This was why Cross Timbers Winery received our “Best Palate Cleansing Food” award from our first TX Wine Lover Awards.

Stefani informed me that 100% of the grapes used by Cross Timbers Winery are Texas grapes. All the production of their Texas wine is done in Lubbock.

Besides individual wine tastings, the winery provides tastings for groups up to 150 people. The tastings can be done in the tasting room where I tasted, on the front porch, the patio, or even the crush pad.

Private events are very popular at Cross Timbers Winery and include events such as weddings, receptions, corporate outings, birthday parties, and family reunions. When private events are not happening, live music is held at the winery. They have outside patios, two covered areas, and 4000 square feet of air conditioned space for the private events.

The winery has a small gift shop and also provides wireless Internet for their customers.

I had a nice visit at Cross Timbers Winery and would highly recommend visiting them the next time you are in Grapevine. If you live in the area, be sure to consider the winery for your next private event.

Cross Timbers Winery is on the Grapevine Wine Trail.