Texas Hill Country Wineries Golf Tournament 2021

By Amie Nemec

This Monday morning started overcast and dripping with humidity, at a temperature just below 70. As we wound through the Rockin’ J Ranch community in Blanco to The Vaaler Creek Golf Club, it was easy to notice the beautiful green golf course as well as all of the new home construction. With some of the day’s prizes and the morning’s breakfast tacos in tow, we arrived early to help set things up.

When we arrived, January and Kate from the Texas Hill Country Wineries association had things well in hand. My husband was eager to get on the driving range and I was happy to line up the prizes and raffle items. Shortly, golfers began arriving, checking in, and grabbing their breakfast burritos. The breakfast and lunch were purchased from Delicious Details in Fredericksburg and the fully stuffed burritos this morning did not disappoint.

About 10 minutes before our 9 a.m. start, January welcomed our 22 teams and thanked our sponsors. We appreciate the contributions from Wm Chris Wine Co., Happy State Bank, and Texas Wine Lover, as well as donations made directly to the scholarship fund by some of our industry friends. And just like that, it was time for every team to zoom away in their golf carts to their assigned hole to start the tournament.

Eventually, the clouds parted and the sun shone down. Of course, this made things a bit more toasty for the afternoon. After a full day of birdies and bogies, we all met up in the pavilion to enjoy lunch and chat about the day on the course.

While our players relaxed with their sandwiches or salads, we started the raffle giveaways. Many thanks go to Carl Hudson, who is always generous with donations from his personal collection of wines for the raffle and prizes at this annual event.

Believe it or not, we had four teams who tied with a score of 58! The course has a system for picking the winner by comparing the score for the hardest holes. Our first-place winner was the team of O-I Packaging. I have to say, as the only team with matching golf shirts, we should have known they would win! My husband and our friends came in second place, and the winner of the Last Place prize was Chaparral Professional Land Surveying.

This was such a fun day at the close of crush and we are excited for the future of this fundraiser for the scholarships for viticulture and winemaking students. At last count, we raised $9,512 today! Thanks to every player, team, sponsor, and donor involved!

About the Author

Amie Nemec is a longtime wine lover, Sommelier, and founder of Perspective Cellars tasting room in Fredericksburg, Texas. She is now venturing down the path to learn winemaking, so, along with wine writing and food pairing posts, be on the lookout for Amie’s wines in coming years!