If there’s wine…, they will come

A few weeks ago, The Hubbz, The Pup and I took a few days off to visit the Texas Hill Country. If you followed my tweets that week, you know that we started off in San Antonio. A required stop whenever there, is Chris Madrid’s. Who is Chris Madrid? I have NO clue, but they make the best burger in the world in his honor (or hers, if Chris is short for Christina).

The Tostada Burger is simply the most ingeniously delicious burger you’ll ever eat. It starts with the buns, which I think must be homemade and taste like a brioche. The buns are then stuffed with a homemade all beef patty (you can tell its homemade because the shape is all irregular and imperfect). Not much seasoning on the beef, just fresh, juicy stuff. Then comes a smear of homemade refried beans, a handful of broken tortilla chip pieces. Then it happens. Cheddar cheese. A thick, almost vulgar blob of melted cheddar sits on top. And to crown it all,  about a tablespoons of chopped sweet TX onions. Ay bendito! Its crazy; its good, its crazy good!

After stuffing our faces, we were Fredricksburg, TX bound. I made reservations a little motel just on the edge of town, this was my first time staying at a roadside motel. The Country Inn & Cottages was a simple, quaint little motel with tiny, but über clean and comfortable rooms and an open heart for dogs. ‘Nuff said.

That was the extent of my trip prep, another first for me. I usually know every attraction, restaurant, hot spot and gas station available at my intended destination. Not this time. I really enjoyed not having the pressure of a fully planned itinerary…, this time. One thing I did know, was there was wine. Lots and lots of local wine. Tastings began Saturday.

I’m going to list these as a countdown, leaving our absolute favorite for last. Before we get started, I want to say we did not have a single glass of bad wine. In fact, we bought bottles upon bottles at each of  these wineries, but there were definitely some incredible wines out there and each winery had a different feeling.

Grape Creek Vineyards ~ This is a gorgeous place, they’ve set it up to look and feel like a winery would in Tuscany. There’s a grand entrance and a beautiful patio with a fountain. The attendants were a bit stuffy for our taste, but the wine was lovely.

We each sampled a couple of different wines and settled on: the Cuvee Blanc, Mosaic and the Grand Rouge.

Fredricksburg Winery ~ this winery sits right on the main drag. Like many of the wineries in the area, it is a family business. We walked up to the counter and chatted it up with the attendant who was a Houston transplant (we bumped into lots of those here). We ended up with 2 bottles: one of each. A Vintners Cuvee and the most amazingly flavorful spiced red. I’ve never had spiced or mulled wine, you know, the stuff that is served warm? But OMG! I couldn’t stop smelling it or drinking it. Now I’m waiting for the temps to drop again so I can polish off  our bottle.

Torre di Pietra ~ This winery sits right next to Grape Creek, but it was much more low-key. After our tastings, we just sat outside enjoying the sun, the cool wind and wine. It was just heavenly.

They have this Tango Port that is just unbelievable, and I’m not even a fan of the stuff. However, for us, there were 2 clear winners here: Amore di Toscano, a lovely almost chocolatey blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Syrah. When he poured this one, he told me he called it ‘Trouble’, man, was he right. The second bottle we brought home was their Late Harvest Zin…, oh my. This guy is oh so yummy and kinda raunchy in the best possible way. Here’s a description of all of their wines.

The last winery is our favorite. Chisholm Trail Winery is located just outside Fredricksburg. It may be out in the middle of nowhere, but their wines are full of life, personality and sass. Rebecca was our tasting expert and she explained and answered every question we had and even the ones we didn’t ask.

She told us about Paula’s passion for wine and her very personal approach when mixing the grapes. She told us all about Lenoir grapes, a TX-specific crop, and how it tints the wines and makes them oh so dark and rich looking. She was honest about her favorite wines, about how some needed a bit more time to mature and come into their own. Rebecca left us unwilling to leave and wanting to throw caution to the air, pack our bags and never leave that little town. Thanks, Rebecca!

The Hubbz and I loved every wine we tasted at Chisholm, but were sucker-punched by 3 in particular.

Diablo, what a devil this one is. A blend of Lenoir and Syrah grapes, it is spicy, rich, sweet, dark. Very, very dark.

Lone Wolf. This one got them a gold medal. It is made from 100% TX grown Lenoir grapes and it just explodes in your mouth. Un.be.lievable. Our third choice was a Bella Star a tasty white.

Beer is also big in this area, there are a few breweries in Fredricksburg and the whole Hill Country region. If you haven’t already, add it to your list of places to see. You will not regret it.

Oh, did I mention this…?

Buzzily yours,
Anamaris