Enjoying the 2019 Llano Estacado Winery Wine & Clay Festival

The Llano Estacado Winery Wine & Clay Festival held annually is always a festival of color, fun, and food. And don’t forget wine! Held on the weekend of June 8 and 9, the event features artisans from around the state and country all set up among the vats and barrels of the working winery, and food trucks galore out on the courtyard adjacent to the vineyard. Live music adds to the fun.

The entry fee is just right and gets you a glass and three tickets for wine tasting. The wine pourers are scattered throughout the grounds. So much fun!

The winery itself has such a distinct Spanish architecture to it, you really get the feeling you are somewhere else as you walk through the vineyard. The crowds are always great and not so many that it feels overwhelming. In two words, the day is “just right!”

Some of the artisans include Farm Girl Pottery with some great clay dishes and a fabulous “Farm Girl” – a clay sculpture of a lady with cotton stalks for hair. Perfect for this cotton rich West Texas area. Artistic Creations by Heidy featured wine and soda bottles laid on their side and cut in half and filled with candle wax. The scents were perfect! Cabernet, Strawberry, Champagne, and Coca Cola.

Martin Pothier of Abilene had some absolutely stunning photography prints that were beyond beautiful. Mary Starts Handmade Cast Paper held such unusual items that were perfect and ready to be hung on your wall. A wide assortment of artwork and a wonderfully talented group of artisans.

The food trucks offered everything from burgers to brisket tacos to ice cream snacks. The patio tables were full of folks enjoying the West Texas sunshine, the music provided by the Shane Rogers Band, the food, and of course the wine!

The wine was what we came for. The wines poured were fabulous, but the Llano Estacado wines have already made a name for themselves among wine drinkers. Of course, I am mostly a white wine drinker, with the occasional venture over to the dark side. But for the Wine & Clay event, I went with tastings of the Signature Rosé and the Albariño. Both were stunningly good, so much so that the Albariño was the pick once again for my last tasting. My companion for the day followed my lead but went with a Sangiovese which she found to be even better than expected. (She did point out to me that the Albariño did not necessarily pair well with her dish of butter pecan ice cream from the Kurbside Sweets truck!)

The Llano Estacado Winery is more than just a winery. It is also a wonderful venue for weddings and other celebrations. They have a great staff ready to help you with whatever your needs might be. In this day of destination weddings, make West Texas and Llano Estacado Winery your destination.

Come to West Texas where the days are warm, the evenings are cool, and where winemaking and grape growing is an art form!