Texas Wine Country

Dawn breaks over a dew-crystallized vineyard. Nearby, the vintner arrives for an early start to the day. In the distance, pickup trucks meander down the ranch-to-market road, watched by curious cattle and goats.

It’s another day in Texas wine country.

Much of the Lone Star State’s fast-growing wine industry is centered in the Hill Country north of San Antonio and west of Austin, a region shaped by an ancient earthquake that buckled limestone and granite into rugged hills and valleys. Today the Hill Country is a favorite getaway destination, dotted with parks, antiques shops, historic attractions, and a growing number of wineries.

Travelers don’t need to worry about getting lost in a tangle of vineyards, however; the Texas Wine Trail makes it easy, leading visitors through the region with an interactive map and links to area establishments. The Wine Trail hosts special events throughout the year including spring’s Wine and Wildflowers Trail and summer’s Harvest Wine Trail, but any time of the year makes a good time to follow this winding pathway.

The route begins just a short drive from Austin’s city limits at Flat Creek Estate, six miles west of Lago Vista. Here 18 acres produce Italian, Rhone and Port varietal grapes that Flat Creek transforms into award-winning wines. They’re so good, in fact, that many of their wines have won competitions across Texas and beyond.

From Flat Creek, the trail meanders—yes, you could say sideways—along the southern reaches of the Highland Lakes to Lost Creek Vineyard, run by husband-wife team David and Patti Brinkman. This winery was named "Best New Winery in Texas" in 2004 by the Texas Wine Society.

Near Lake Buchanan, the largest of the Highland Lakes, stands one of the pioneers of the Texas wine industry: the award-winning Fall Creek Vineyards. Located in Tow, this 15,000-square-foot winery is filled with special touches such as antique stable doors that once stood in the Louis Pasteur Laboratory near Paris. But it’s the wine itself that brings travelers through these doors. Served at numerous state functions, Fall Creek wines hold the distinction of being the only Texas vintages to be poured at three different presidents’ inaugural events: Presidents Reagan, George Herbert Bush, and George W. Bush.

Turning south, the trail approaches Fredericksburg, considered by many to be the heart of the Hill Country. Founded by German settlers who nurtured the Vitis vinifera grapes that thrived in the Mediterranean climate of their new home, it was a century before production began on a serious scale. Nonetheless, the roots of the Texas wine industry had been planted.

Today those roots are evident at the downtown Fredericksburg Winery, where signature labels like the Texas Chardonnay “Adelsverein” (named for a society of noblemen formed by German princes to help new arrivals to the Republic of Texas) feature artwork and a little history.

Like many local wineries, this is a family-run operation, headed by no-nonsense Cord Switzer (he’s easy to find: just look for the man in the gimme cap), along with his wife Sandy, brothers Jene and Burt, and mother “Oma,” charged with labeling each bottle by hand. The Switzers are happy to give travelers a taste of the fruits of their labor, helping to assist with wine selection before sending visitors off to explore Fredericksburg’s over 150 boutiques, many found along Main Street.

Further east stands Stonewall, home of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s “Texas White House,” now part of a state and national historic park. Nearby you’ll find Grape Creek Vineyards, where acres of climbing vines yield the prize-winning Cabernet Trois. You can opt for a tour and a taste at Grape Creek Vineyards or head to Stonewall’s elegant Rose Hill Manor for dinner at Austin’s Restaurant. A gourmet menu is accompanied by an extensive wine list showcasing Hill Country vintages.

Nearby, Becker Vineyards, with 46 acres of French Vinifera vines, boasts Texas’s largest underground wine cellar. It’s filled with specialties such as the 2002 Viognier, an elegant wine with a hint of violets and peach, which was served at a dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister at President Bush’s Prairie Chapel Ranch, and the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, poured at a White House dinner. All the wines are produced in a replica of a 19th century German stone barn; next door, an antique bar offers a taste of the wines that have earned international acclaim.

Closer to San Antonio, the wine trail snakes its way through small communities like Comfort, home of Comfort Cellars. Here the most famous fruit of the Hill Country—the peach—takes center stage with a special peach wine alongside more traditional offerings. Just east of Comfort, the community of Sisterdale is the location of Sister Creek Vineyards. With a population of only 25, Sisterdale is centered around this winery, housed in an 1885 former cotton gin. And while this building may be Texan in style, look for the finest of French style wines in their inventory including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, all aged in French oak barrels.

Wineries of the Panhandle Plains

But the wine country doesn’t end with central Texas—some of the state’s top wineries are located in the Lubbock area on the Panhandle Plains. This region, which Spanish explorer Francisco Coronado named the Llano Estacado or “staked plains”, offers good growing conditions and soil. With an elevation of 3,400 feet, a semiarid climate, and an annual rainfall of about 18 inches, the area has proven to be ideal for this crop, producing grapes that are shipped to wineries throughout Texas. Lubbock’s home product has won numerous international awards and been served at state dinners to President Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Queen Elizabeth.

One of the most notable Panhandle wineries is Llano Estacado. Named for that famous plain, this winery was founded in 1976 and today is the state's largest producer of premium wines, which are sold throughout the United States and in many European countries. This award-winning winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling, Llano Blush, and other varieties. After a tour of the winery operations, visitors enjoy a tasting of these fine wines.

Although the individual wineries differ in terms of climate, soil types, and geography, they share a passionate commitment to producing wines of excellent quality. As the sun sets after a day of sampling the pride of Texas’s vintners, visitors can raise their glasses in an enthusiastic toast to the fruits of their Lone Star labors.

Cheers, y’all.