Visiting the Great Texas Wineries and Enjoying Wine
http://www.texashillsvineyard.com Texas Hills Vineyard is located in Johnson City and is owned by Gary and Kathy Gilstrap along with their son Dale Rassett. Dale manages the vineyard, Gary is the winemaker, and Kathy manages the tasting room. Texas Hills Vineyard planted their vineyard in 1995 and the winery opened in 1999. We have been to the winery more than a few times and as you arrive at the winery, the large vineyard is located along the driveway. Grapes grown at {Read More}
http://www.grapecreek.com Grape Creek Vineyards is located in Fredericksburg. The winery was first opened in 1985 by Ned and Nel Simes. Ned passed away in 2004 and Brian and Jennifer Heath bought the winery in 2006. They wanted to bring the “Tuscany in Texas” wine experience to life. Grape Creek Vineyards is situated on a 100 acre property along highway 290 in Fredericksburg. We have visited Grape Creek Vineyards a few times and every time I wanted to take the trolley {Read More}
http://www.bellmountainwine.com Bell Mountain Vineyards is located in Fredericksburg. They planted their vineyard in 1976 and the winery opened in 1983. The winery is owned by Robert (Bob) and Evelyn Oberhelman. The winery was originally called Oberhellmann Vineyards but they then changed it to Bell Mountain Vineyards. When we first went to Fredericksburg, we visited the Bell Mountain Tasting Room which is located on Main Street of Fredericksburg. We were under the wrong impression that you could not visit the actual {Read More}
http://www.clearcreekvineyard.com Clear Creek Winery, Vineyard, & Resort is located in Kemah and is owned by David Skinner. Dee Pedraza is the general manager. Bob Besgrove and Samantha Choate share the winemaking duties with David Skinner. Clear Creek Winery has a luxury bed and breakfast called the Clipper House Inn & Vineyard which is located at the rear of the winery. David Skinner and Kristen Hopper bought the bed and breakfast in 2006. The bed and breakfast has seven antique filled {Read More}
http://www.flatcreekestate.com Flat Creek Estate Vineyard and Winery is located in Marble Falls and is owned by Madelyn and Rick Naber. Flat Creek planted their vineyard in 2000 with 6 acres and 6,000 vines. Today there are nearly 20 acres of vineyards among the 80 acres of property. Grapes grown are Shiraz, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Tempranillo, Muscat Canelli, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, and different Portuguese Port varietals. The winery opened in 2001 as a 5,500 case winery. It was later expanded to {Read More}
http://www.solaroestate.com Solaro Estate is located in Dripping Springs and is owned by Barbara Haderlein and business partner Robert Fritz who is also the winemaker. Robert Fritz’s family bought the property in 1909 where the winery stands today. The first estate vineyards of 8 acres were planted in 2002 with Barbera. The vineyard size grows all the time and today there are 15 acres of vineyards on the 160 acre property and Montepulciano is also grown among the three vineyards present. {Read More}
http://www.valleymillsvineyards.com Valley Mills Vineyards is located in Waco and is owned by Dr. Bill Peper and Amy Peper along with John and Kandi Bagnasco. The winery was opened November 2010. I have visited Valley Mills Vineyards a couple times and the last time I visited I took the opportunity to take a wine class led by Bill Peper. The class was called Vine to Wine and it was a tasting of Valley Mills Vineyards Texas wines along with Dr. Peper {Read More}
The updated Texas winery guide called “Texas Wineries: A Guide” by Barry Shlachter and Amy Culbertson was recently printed in its 12th printing. The guide is designed to be a pocket guide sizing in at a small 5½ inches by 4¼ inches. The book starts out with a statement I definitely agree with: “What could be finer than sitting on an oak-shaded patio, sipping a refreshingly crisp white wine or a full-bodied red – made just a few feet away?” {Read More}
http://www.delaneyvineyards.com Delaney Vineyards & Winery is located in Grapevine. It is one of the only wineries in Grapevine which actually has a vineyard next to the winery. The winery is owned by Jerry Delaney. The winery was completed in 1996 and the first bottling production was in the summer of 1997. I stopped at Delaney Vineyards & Winery during my tour of the Grapevine wineries. The winery is a beautiful 8,000 square foot French chateau inspired building with a 10 {Read More}
There is a danger out there but not everybody has heard of it and what it can do. I had not heard of it until we visited the High Plains of Texas and visited vineyards. It is simply called 2,4-D and sounds innocent but can cause a lot of damage. What is it and why should you care? 2,4-D’s technical name is 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid but is simply called 2,4-D. It is the most widely used herbicide in the world and {Read More}
