S P I R I T S

&
W I N E

Swirl & Sip:

Tasting Fredericksburg
Text and photos by Becca Wright

A small family getaway was on the drawing board.

Tickets had already been booked for a February trip
to Mexico for a big family wedding, so we had to
keep current extravagancies to a minimum.
My parents, sister and I knew we wanted to eat
good food and drink plenty of wine, but we also
wanted to escape the metropolis. After many hours
wasted Googling destinations and accommodations,
we finally booked a trip to Fredericksburg about
an hour west of Austin with a little hesitation, and

BECKER WINE BARRELS

I vowed I would never again be in charge of planning a family vacation.

We loaded up the car, headed down Interstate 10
to Texas State Highway 71 and finally hit US 290,
which would, at last, lead us to our vino-asis. When
we hit the portion of US 290 referred to as Wine
Road 290, we oohed and aahed at each winery and
vineyard we passed, finally releasing that initial
hesitation and tension. We had arrived, and we liked
what we saw.

HILMY WINES

GRAPE CREEKS MONTEPULCIANOS

WILLIAM CHRIS VINEYARDS

BECKER VINEYARDS TASTING

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OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2014

WINE
Lets be honest: The real reason youre
heading to Fredericksburg is to drink
wine. Lots of wine. But since this is Texas and not Sonoma or Napa, put aside
your hopes for a minerally Sauv Blanc
or a smooth Pinot Noir. Those grapes
dont grow well down here. Instead,
open your mind and be ready to sip
wines youre unsure of and varietals you
might not have ever heard of.
Friday afternoon while the other ladies in my family pampered themselves
at the spa, my dad and I pampered
our palates at Hilmy Vineyards, the
first winery visit of the trip. Hilmy is a
newcomer to the Texas Hill Country,
producing and bottling wines in small
lots from 100 percent Texas-grown fruit.
At the counter, we tasted the five wines
on offer three whites and two reds
where we learned that the Viognier
white-grape varietal grows well in the
Texas heat, which we would see again at
the four vineyards the next day.
After the tasting we grabbed two
glasses of Hilmys Naked Viognier,
headed to the patio and enjoyed the late
afternoon breeze, where we also caught
glimpses of the vineyards flock of working animals that assist in pest management (Intrigued? Visit hilmywine.com/
animals).
Saturday morning rolled around,
and the crew (now with the addition
of two friends) prepped for the day
with a hearty breakfast. If you choose a
self-guided tour as we did, book a driver
and vehicle for the day. You might be
surprised what a few tastings of wine
can wrought, and, perhaps, youll want
to sip some bubbles (a rarity in Texas
wineries) on the road between stops.
Our first stop of the day was Becker
Vineyards, one of the largest wineries in
the Texas Hill Country with 46 acres of
estate fruit and two additional vineyards
near San Angelo and Mason, Texas. We
sampled six wines of our choice, the
standouts being the Raven (75 percent
Malbec and 20 percent Petit Verdot)
and the Provenal, a dry ros both
recent award-winners at the 2014 San
Francisco International Wine Competi-

tion. Becker is also known for its threeacre lavender fields, and, while not in
bloom when we visited, we browsed the
plethora of lavender products available
for purchase.
Next up was Grape Creek Vineyards,
the winery described as Tuscany in
Texas. My family isnt one for tours
or anything with a guide, but if you
visit this vineyard, you really should
opt for the cellar tour: You hop on the
shuttle with about a dozen other people
and head to the tank room where the
wine is stored. After a quick I swear,
it really is quick explanation of the
winemaking process, you are directed
to the barrel room where you sample
wines straight from the barrel. The tour
ends in a tasting room where you select
six bottled wines to taste. The favorite
among our group was the Bellissimo,
a Tuscan-style red wine with hints of
cherries, spice, toasted oak and vanilla.
(A few bottles came back to Houston
with us.)
Note: Becker and Grape Creek are
two of the more commercial vineyards
in Fredericksburg, so hit these places
early to avoid the crowds if visiting on
the weekend.
The third stop was 4.0 Cellars, a
collaboration of three Texas wineries:
Brennan Vineyards (Comanche), Lost
Oak Winery (Burleson) and McPherson
Cellars (Lubbock). There were three
different tasting sheets to choose from
the light and sweet, the all red tasting
or the cellar tasting with three reds and
two whites, which is what we opted for.
My groups palates are all very similar
we all prefer reds that are smooth and
medium-bodied with light tannins and
white wines that are crisp with notes of
citrus. The wines we tasted here didnt
excite us, but thats just one palate
speaking.
We ended the day at William Chris
Vineyards, as suggested by Mike Kasberg from Texas Hill Country Wine
Tours, with whom we booked our
car and driver. And thank you, Mike,
for this recommendation. We tasted
six wines in the tasting room, gazing
out the floor-to-ceiling windows to
a gorgeous view of the vineyards and
patio (and a 1948 Plymouth, which still

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OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2014

runs).
Afterward, my group grabbed a table
on the patio and sipped a glass of the
2012 Enchant, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvdre and Malbec the wine my dad claimed to have
been hoping to come across the entire
trip. And if the timing is right, maybe
Chris Brundrett, wine grower and forager of William Chris, will stop by your
table for a little chitchat, as he did with
us. With a case of the Enchant and a
delightful wine buzz, we headed back
down Wine Road 290 toward Fredericksburg, cheerfully cheersing with a
glass of bubbles in hand.
If youre planning a wine tour,
remember that October is Texas Wine
Month. The Hill Country wineries
celebrate with a Wine Trail Month,
where you are able to visit as many as
38 Texas Hill Country Wineries during
a self-guided wine tour. Tickets are $25
per person and include one to three
complimentary tastes at each winery
and purchasing discounts. Five dollars
from each ticket also benefits Susan G.
Komen for The Cure in honor of Breast
Cancer Awareness Month.

DINING
As I said, good food was on the weekends itinerary. We arrived Thursday
evening and had enough time for one
glass of wine before heading to dinner at
the Cabernet Grill, a fine-dining restaurant specializing in Hill Country cuisine
and boasting an impressive and exclusive Texas wine list. We ordered a few
appetizers, the standout being their take
on a caprese salad with farmers market
tomatoes, locally made goat cheese and
pesto. The variety and number of entre
options were a bit overwhelming, but
my Angus beef tenderloin kabobs were
cooked to the perfect medium rare and
served with rosemary-scented porcini
mushroom sauce. As Fredericksburg is
known for its peaches, it was only fitting
that we ended our first meal with a fresh
peach and lavender tart with vanilla
bean ice cream.
Friday early afternoon, we walked up
and down the historic Main Street that

congratulates
the nominees of the

CHEFS' PRODUCE

WILLIAM CHRIS VINEYARDS

4007 TELEPHONE ROAD

HOUSTON, TX 77087

713-643-9420

70

CHEFSPRODUCE.COM

OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2014

is lined with some 150 shops, art galleries and boutiques. We peeked inside
the Fredericksburg Brewing Company, a
restaurant and brewpub, before stopping at Bejas Grill for a brunch on their
covered patio. Luckily for us, Fredericksburg had received a cool front the
night before, and we were blessed with
80-degree weather the entire weekend.
It was an all-around pleasant meal with
Texas-sized portions and un-Texas-like
cool breezes and low humidity.
Dinner Friday night was at Navajo
Grill on their more casual, rustic-style
patio. The menu is much smaller than
Cabernet Grills, but the range in
cuisine influences from Southern to
Mexico to New Orleans to Caribbean
flavors was impressive. It didnt take us
long to realize any dish with the towns
local goat cheese would be a standout,
so we began with goat cheese medallions
drizzled with red chili marinade and pepita flatbread. For my entre, I ordered
the Navajo parpadelle with roasted
squash, caramelized shallot, cilantro
pesto and firecracker shrimp, which was
an unusual and exciting mix of flavors
and textures.
The last meal we had in Fredericksburg besides our Sunday breakfast
of ice cream and peaches was at the
Alamo Springs Cafe. We kept hearing
about their hamburger, which was rated
the third best burger in the state by
Texas Monthly, but we were also warned
that the service is, um, subpar, and that
they are quite proud of that unflattering
fact. Its about a 20-minute drive from
Fredericksburg down winding roads,
and while the burger on the jalapeo
cheese bread was juicy and damn good,
I wouldnt make the drive unless you
have a few hours to hang on the patio
and drink a bucket of beer with friendly
faces, which will help ease the annoyance that has surfaced from the intentionally rude service and long wait.

PEACHES
I dont like peaches. Thats what I said
before visiting Fredericksburg. But I
guess I had never really had a good fresh
peach, because the slice of sun-warmed

ENGEL ORCHARD

peach the woman at the Engel Orchard

roadside stand handed me was phenomenal. She was kind enough to hand-pick
a small basket of ripe peaches for us
because we desperately needed some for
a breakfast of peaches and Blue Bell.
While peaches arent in season now, if
you plan a trip to Fredericksburg during
the next stone fruit season, bring a basket and your reaching arm and plan to
stock up on all of the peaches, preserves
and jellies you can get your hands on.
If visiting sooner, dont worry, as most
orchards grow other vegetable and fruit
varieties, too.

FARM FUN
There is something about this town
that makes you want to stop what you
are doing and, quite literally, smell
the roses. Driving down Wine Road
290 after our first winery visit Friday
afternoon, my dad and I stopped at
the Wildseed Wild Flower Farm before
heading back into town. Surrounded
by more than 200 acres of wild flower
fields and enjoying a slight wine buzz, I
felt like a deliriously happy Dorothy in
a field of poppies. We walked through
the nursery and the butterfly garden
toward the back of the property that
is lined with fields of different flowers.
During our visit it was rows of sunflowers, all sorts of colorful zinnias, yellow
and purple cosmos and blue mistflow-

ers. (You can check their website for

bloom updates.)
Before leaving we stopped by the
farms Brewbonnet Biergarten a small
cafe that offers guests a spot to escape
the heat, drink a beer, slurp up peach
soft-serve, browse the aisles of jams,
jellies and other goodies or, as we did,
participate in a wine tasting. Note:
Clicking your heels together will not
transport you back to your lodging.
Another farm that you should visit is
the Fredericksburg Herb Farm, only a
few blocks away from the towns main
road. The farm is home to a few cottages
available for reservation, a fine-dining
restaurant, a spa and an herb garden.
My mom and sister booked spa appointments ladies, most spas in the
Fredericksburg area seem to have only
one nail technician working, so start
your spa day early and I wandered the
garden snapping photos here and there.
No wine was involved at this stop, but I
enjoyed it anyway.
There really is something exquisitely
charming about this area. Historic
buildings and offbeat architectural details, the friendly faces handing out their
locally grown goodies, generous pours
of wine and the sight of lush vineyards
make Fredericksburg a Texas town
worth checking out.
Becca Wright is My Tables associate
editor.

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OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2014

ENGEL ORCHARD