Texas Hill Country Wine Trail kicks Off for Texas Wine Month
Texas’ oldest wine trail and the Country’s second most active wine region just happens to be the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail. This wine trail was conceived by Gary Gilstrap of Texas Hill Vineyards near Johnson City came up with the concept of the local Hill Country wineries bonding together around 1995, almost 30 years ago. This wine trail has grown over the years into a dynamic part of Texas’ 21 Billion Dollar Wine Industry. Regretfully, Gary will not be around this year since he passed away with family around him on last year. Texas has lost another Wine Pioneer. Gary will be remembered this year for his influences in the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail.
Since October is Texas Wine Month, The Texas Hill Country Wine Trail is celebrating Texas Wines all month long with a special 31-day wine pass to visit the 45+ wineries participating on the trail’s celebration of Texas Wine Month. This October marks the third of four self-guided passport events Texas Hill Country Wine Trail hosts throughout the year, providing wine lovers the opportunities to experience a world of Texas wine at a variety of participating Texas Hill Country wineries. When you purchase a digital passport, ticket holders can taste at up to four wineries per day over the course of the month of October and receive exclusive discounts (15% off three bottles of Texas wines) on bottle purchases. The limit of four wineries per day is imposed to keep the wine-tasting experiences to an intimate sensual experience vs. the wine-drinking orgies that I have experienced on several California Wine Trails. Wine is meant to be shared and enjoyed! Reservations at the participating are recommended, especially for weekend visits. You will experience smaller numbers of visitors during the week. It does pay to play your trip ahead with lodgings during the week in the Texas Hill Country less expensive than prime during the week. Several of the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail Members also have Bed and Breakfast facilities on the winery grounds where you can wake up and enjoy the sights and sounds of a winery in its most intimate manner. Several wineries also have thieving tasting sessions where wine is pulled directly out of the wine barrel with a device called a wine thief!
Digital Passport Tickets for the 25th Anniversary Wine Trail are $120 per adult couple or $85 per adult. By the way, the value of just the wine tastings exceeds $750 in value. Five dollars from each sold ticket goes directly to the Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Fund. So far, more than $55,500 in scholarships has been awarded to 47 Texas students working towards a degree in Viticulture, Enology or Hospitality. In addition, Texas Hill Country Wine Trail’s new website is now live at https://texashillcountrywineries.org. You are able to download a map and list of all of the wineries participating in this year’s passport event.
The Woodlands Market Street will be transformed into a wine and culinary site for several hours on Thursday, October 17th. Tickets are still on sale online via www.wineandfoodweek.com for this culinary event sponsored by H. E. B. Grocery Stores, Texas’ largest wine merchant and preferred grocery store by many Texans. Compare Texas wines with wines throughout the world at this event sure to attract a large crowd of wine lovers and foodies. This is the Fall Wine Event to go to and be seen.