Vineyard at Gruene is a fairly new winery which is located in New Braunfels near historic Gruene. They opened in November 2011 and have ten investors in the winery with the primary ones being Jim See and Rick Sturdevant.
I visited the winery with two friends and we were immediately impressed just with the building itself. The winery has two sides with a breezeway between the two. One side is more of a pub with TVs whereas the other side is a large tasting room with many tables. An outside back porch with tables overlooks a newly planted vineyard.
A sign stated live music would be starting soon and during our tasting, a guitarist started playing in the breezeway. A sign directed us to the large tasting room where Trish and Nathan were there behind the tasting bar to help us. We sat at a nearby table and the Vineyard at Gruene wine started being poured. Their bottles are corked and they pour using a measured pourer.
There is a tasting fee for their six wines and you get to keep the glass. You can also stand at the tasting bar to do the tasting. Crackers are available to cleanse your palate and cheese trays are sold if you are hungry.
Nathan was very knowledgeable about the winery and was able to answer any question posed by us. The first question was about the grapes and they use 100% Texas grapes in their Texas wine. We then learned the winemaker for Vineyard at Gruene is the same winemaker at Becker Vineyards so the wines are also produced at Becker’s. One of my friends is a fan of Becker Vineyards so she could taste how the wines were very similar and soon became a fan of Vineyard at Gruene too.
Nathan told us sometimes the owners randomly show up and hold a barbecue. In fact while we were tasting, one of the investors walked by and said goodbye to Nathan. One thing which surprised us is that Vineyard at Gruene also sells beer. They try to satisfy all visitors and during a barbecue a good beer may be preferred over wine.
Besides the live music events which are often held more than once during a weekend, the winery is also available to host special events such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, corporate events, and office parties. A small gift shop is available with clothing, gourmet food items, oils, and chocolate.
Vineyard at Gruene will soon be coming out with a wine club.
Overall, we all enjoyed our visit to Vineyard at Gruene and my friends said they might even be going back the next day. If you find yourself in historic Gruene to do a little honky tonkin’ at Gruene Hall (Texas’ oldest dance hall), shopping, or just visiting the sights, I would recommend you stop and pay a visit to Vineyard at Gruene.
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