When one thinks of wines in the USA, one normally thinks of California, Washington, Oregon, and New York. Or Virginia, or even New Mexico for sparkling wine (but that's another post). The last place some people might think of for wine is the Lone Star State. We had the good fortunate to visit very good friends who live in the hill country of Texas. Since they know that we enjoy wine and good food, they took the two of us "winos" out for a tour of several vineyards in the Texas hill country.

We drove out to Fredericksburg, which is really a lovely town. Fortunately it was a beautiful day, not too hot (since Texas can be known for exceptionally hot days). Our first stop was a winery with an intriguing name - Fat Ass Winery. The name comes from a rather humorous story, which does indeed involve a fat donkey! The winemakers have produced a small set of wines, a couple of which are more traditional, dry whites or reds, and then also several sweet wines. I enjoyed their dry white wine, which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Their house wine is the Country Peach that they created. I look forward to returning their in the future and seeing how they have evolved - they were a lot of fun to talk with.

We then walked to the Fredericksburg Winery (http://www.fbgwinery.com), which is much more established and quite a bit larger. Fredericksburg Winery has a wide selection of their creations, from dry whites to dessert ports, and several have won awards. They had a good tempranillo and a couple different red blends that I enjoyed. Also notable was their port. It was a nice overview of the varietals that Texas can produce.

After lunch, we drove out to Becker Vineyards. Becker has a great location outside of Fredericksburg, and their tasting room is lovely. I particularly enjoyed their Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, the Tempranillo Reserve, and the Malbec Reserve. With the hot temperatures in Texas, varietals such as tempranillo and malbec grow quite well. Becker creates very nice wines - we had a very good time talking with the folks and trying the wines.

Our last stop was Pedernales Cellars. Pedernales Cellars is located closer to the town of Pedernales (pronounced Pur-din-al-es by the locals), although not far from Fredericksburg. Perdenales also had a very nice selection of wines. I especially enjoyed their Viognier Reserve and their variations involving tempranillo.

In all, it was a great way to get introduced to the wines of Texas. If you happen to visit San Antonio or Austin (or anywhere in that general location), do try out some of the vineyards of the Texas Hill Country. Apparently there are equally good wineries in west Texas as well - that's a destination we'll have to try at some point. In the meantime, drink up, y'all, and enjoy!