Updated December 2021
Wine tasting in Texas? Yee-haw partner!
We landed in Austin International, eager to see what this Texas wine country is all about. After picking up our massive rental truck (Texas), we were starving. Luckily for us, the famous Salt Lick BBQ was on the way to Fredericksburg.
Our bellies happy, we continued onto Fredericksburg to duck in for the evening. As far as lodging goes, there weren’t many options available for staying on premise at the wineries. Because of this, we decided to stay at the Fairfield inn by Marriot as it’s only a 10-minute walk to the downtown area.
History of Fredericksburg Wine Country
Did you know Texas is home to the first planted vineyard in North America? (1662 by Spanish Missionaries). The state’s oldest winery, Val Verde est 1883 is still in operation today.
Wine in the Lonestar state was started by Texas Tech chemistry professor named Clinton ‘Doc’ McPherson. After traveling to vineyards across the country in the 1960s, he planted an experimental vineyard in the Texas High Plains; the best performing varietals being Grenache, Muscat, Chenin Blanc and Tempranillo.
It wasn’t until 2005 that the Texas wine industry boomed, largely thanks to a legislative bill allowing Texas wineries to ship directly to consumers. Since then, the number of state wineries ballooned from 40 to nearly 400–many of which are small, experimental producers.
Today, Texas ranks #4 in US states for total wine production behind California, Washington and Oregon.
The Wine Route day 1
The wine tasting route in Fredericksburg Texas is known as “Texas Hill Country” extends more than 30 miles east of Fredericksburg, encompassing the towns of StoneWall, Hye and Johnson City.
There are nearly 20 wineries located along this path, so we picked those which were recommended by friends and industry colleagues.
1. Lewis Wines
Started in 2014, Lewis Wines has an estate vineyard but receives the majority of their fruit from the High Plains AVA. With inspiration from Tablas Creek in Paso Robes, Lewis hosts a suite of interesting varietals including Tannat, Alicanté Bouschet and Touriga Nacional–a grape commonly found in the Duoro Valley.
We were greeted by a chipper employee who was working at the cellar door during the harvest season.
All of the wine are young (most 2016 vintage and later) but we enjoyed the Viognier and the Provence-style Rose (74% Cinsault and 26% Mourvédre). These are easy drinking and could be considered “porch pounders” for the hot Texas summer days.
While the red varietals leave something to be desired, we appreciate that the winemaker keeps a library open for tasting.
2. William Chris Vineyards
Opinions on William Chris are varied — some say it’s “THE” winery to visit in Fredericksburg while others argue it’s a tourist trap. While we normally steer clear of such large scale facilities with a poor reputation, there was enough dissenting opinion to make us curious enough to visit.
William Chris was started by Bill Blackmon and Chris Brundrett in 2008 after each had independently worked in the industry for many years. Both share a vision for a “hands off” approach in the winery with a lot of attention given to the growing process. The majority of grapes are from the Texas High Plains AVA and trucked in after picking.
Jodi, a kind and knowledgable veteran of William Chris, led our tasting room flight which was comprised of mostly red blends. Many of the wines possess a nice balance of black fruits, bright acidity and velvety finish. Our favorites are the Enchanté (Bourdeaux style blend) and the Hunter (single varietal Sangiovese).
Overall, we recommend visiting William Chris, especially if your tasting profile leans towards bigger, jammy red blends.
Lunch – Hye Market
Hye Market is a favorite amongst locals for hearty sandwiches, unique decor and roadside location. The restaurant reminds us of industry-friendly hot spots like Red Hills Market in Willamette and Oakville Grocery on the Silverado Trail in Napa.
In addition to the sandwiches and various local wines, Hye Market also carries our favorite seltzer water Topo Chico, which is great to wash down the meal and refresh the palette.
3. Ab Astris Winery
This winery is located on a beautiful property in Stonewall with a twelve acre vineyard planted in 2018. Because the estate vineyards are so young, the fruit comes from the HIgh Plains AVA.
While we were not crazy about any of the wines, the tasting patio is lovely and we enjoyed killing a few hours, basking in the afternoon sun.
4. Southold Farm + Cellar
Our favorite visit of the day. Southold Farm + Cellar originated in the North Fork of Long Island by Regan and Cary Meador. After selling their property in NY, the couple re-located to Texas Hill Country, where they purchased a 24-acre plot with a dilapidated farmhouse.
We love the playful, expressive wines which featured a Pet-nat Chardonnay and a Carbonic Macerated Cab Franc. Our host in the tasting room was Regan’s father, a happy and energetic Texas Native who found passion in wine late in life. We are keen to return to Southold Farm + Cellar see how the high elevation, rocky soil vineyard is shaking out.
After enjoying a sunset on the ridge, we purchased a few bottles and headed back to our hotel to get ready for the evening.
The Town
The city of Fredericksburg is really just one main road filled with antique shops, bars and restaurants wrapped in the aura of an old German village.
Just about everyone we spoke with recommends Otto’s German Bistro as the best dinner spot for wine lovers. Lucky for us, Otto’s is one of the only restaurants open past 8pm.
But first, a pre-dinner drink.
La Bergerie
What seems like just a small wine shop was actually a highlight for us. Mary welcomes us to enjoy a tasting and leads us through a wonderful assortment small batch imported bottles. This is a nice change of pace for a few old-world aficionados (no offense to Texas)!
While tasting, you can peruse the shop’s selection of small batch producers and charcuterie goodies.
Otto’s German Bistro
The dining room is packed with patrons in a modern open-kitchen design and we are ready to eat! The wine list is fascinating, comprised of some lesser-known regions including Rheinhessen Germany, Burgenland Austria and Langhe Italy, so we take some chances on a few and are rewarded.
The wine pairs nicely with our goat cheese and fig salad, toasted flatbread and short rib gnocci. This is not what we expected from a German restaurant but we loved it!
The Wine Route day 2
Originally we planned to enjoy the day in Austin before returning the rental car. However, we were able to snag a last minute tasting reservation at CALAIS winery and based on reputation alone, we felt it was worth hanging around for another day — we were glad we did!
As our tasting appointment wasn’t until noon, we had breakfast at the hotel and then sauntered around the downtown area so we could see what it looked like in the light.
1. CALAIS Winery
Taking a move from our experience in Burgundy, we assembled a picnic lunch at La Bergerie and set off for our second day of tasting. CALAIS Winery was started by French native, Benjamin Calais in 2008. Benjamin came to the US to pursue a career in IT, but found success in his passion side project.
Tasting with the winemaker is always a nice treat as they are able to answer all of the nerdy in-depth questions we have. Unfortunately, the typical cellar door employee has a lack of knowledge (or interest) in the subject.
We enjoyed the CALAIS lineup immensely and feel that this is the best winery in Fredericksburg. Benjamin’s winemaking style overlaps with a lot of our favorite producers: maximum intervention in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the cellar (including gravity flow design).
CALAIS works with vineyard partners in the High Plains AVA, utilizing mainly Bordeaux varietals. The Bordeaux blends and single varietal cabs were plump and round with a long smooth finish. In addition to the tasty traditional reds, Benjamin experiments with a Chenin Blanc with botrytis grapes, although this was unavailable for tasting at the time.
Calais sells everything direct to consumer with no need for distribution channels. And while the price of his bottles are more expensive than the neighboring outfits (avg $50-60 per bottle), the price was justified for the quality. On our way out, Benjamin mentions his second operation, French Connection, is just down the road.
2. French Connection
With our flexible schedule, we decide it’s worth a side trip to double down on Calais. While the CALAIS winery focuses more on Bordeaux varietals, French Connection goes for the Rhone.
Rhone varietals are some of our favorite, but we found the wines to be a bit meh. But the decor and patio are nice and we enjoyed killing some time overlooking the Hill Country.
3. Jester King
After so many wine tastings, it’s time to switch it up! We heard of brewery / restaurant famous for their funky Belgian and sour beers on the route back to Austin airport, so we decided it would be a good final stop.
Jester King’s property is sprawling, complete with a brewery, three different outdoor bars, a restaurant, lawn games and a goat farm.
While we are not very knowledgable in beer, each of the bartenders happily educated us on the differences of their many ales on tap. One of the most unique are called “spons”, which are 100% spontaneously fermented beers.
Each bar has its own lineup of craft beers and all are available for tastings as well as full glasses. After a few tasters, we enjoy a sunset walk around the farm property, stopping to see the goats line up for their supper.
The restaurant serves an array of bites, but the highlight is the wood fire pizza oven which is a perfect compliment to the barrel-aged beers. With our bellies stuffed, we climb back in our Texas-sized SUV and headed for the airport–another successful journey!
Scribe’s Selection
So what’s the best winery in Fredericksburg? Here are our top three recommendations:
