We were in Kerrville earlier in the week and took a drive on over to Fredericksburg. I really like that area of Texas and of course it goes without saying that most of that area is Real Texas and full of Real Texans. I guess it’s the German heritage that appeals to me. I can just see all the old timers there coming to town and staying in their Sunday houses, attending church, visiting, going to the store, and tending to errands they needed to do. Then it was back to work. Those old Germans knew how to do that and they passed that ‘work hard’ trait on to their gene pool. Work seems more like play to me still.
While there, we started looking for a birthday gift for a niece. We decided on a bottle of Texas wine and started the search. I’m not exactly the best person to be picking out a bottle of wine. Neither is anyone I know. I’m also probably not the most sophisticated person you ever met.
So, mister unsophisticated went in one place and asked if they had any Texas wine for a birthday present for my niece. Maybe a bottle of Sangria? They looked at me kinda funny and said no, they don’t have that kind of wine there. They had wine cheese, sandwiches, more cheese, and wine and some bread. Now I’m not so unsophisticated that I don’t know about “a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou” kind of stuff, but they didn’t even have any Cheetos. Or beer.
I left that place and went to another. It was closed.
I jaywalked across the street, stopping traffic both ways, and went into this little place called D’Vine Wine. I asked if they had any Texas wine. They did. I sampled some wine they called Fredericksburg Gold. It was a peach flavored wine. I expected it to taste like cough syrup. It didn’t.
Ramona sampled some strawberry wine. It was pretty good too.
The feller at the other place wouldn’t be caught dead drinking that stuff. His wine came from Italy, Spain, and France.
The wine we were sampling was made in the back room of D’Vine Wine, your personal winery.
So we decided on the Fredericksburg Gold and saw that we could get a custom label on it. WOW!.
He had several samples, but we went on the internet and found a picture of our niece and nephew and had that picture customized into a label. The picture was a take-off of the painting American Gothic where the old farmer and his wife 
are holding a pitchfork. We used that picture and customized it and it looked great. Here’s a copy of the picture we customized.
The folks in the photo are Michael and Amy Werst of Austin. It was Amy’s birthday (the big 4-0) and the whole reason for the search for the Texas Wine. Turns out it was a good search and a good find.
I’m probably still not any better at being a Real Texas Wino; Wine is just not my thing. But it is the ‘thing’ for lots of other folks and the manager of D’Vine Wine in Fredericksburg is a very nice young man who can fix you up with a special bottle and a special label to personalize your gift of wine. We called it Copper Dog Farms Wine,
in honor of the young Werst’s passion for copper colored dogs and organic gardening. Here is a blog post about them by an Austin blogger, Cosmic Cowgirl. Michael is a professional Cellist and orchestra teacher and Amy keeps a division of the State of Texas moving. They are really suffering in the heat where they live which is near Austin and Buda and they had to curtail their garden because of water restrictions. It’s ironic. Here I live in one of the driest regions of Texas and I have all the water in the world right in my backyard. They live were it supposedly rains, and the 100+ degree days there and no rain have killed everything.
If wine, and specifically Texas Wine is your thing, you can still get in on the Texas Wine Tour. Just click on the link to take you to your region of the Great State and get out and try some. If you don’t, you’ll end up an unsophisticated bumpkin like me.
My idea of a great wine is cold Sangria and sitting out on my dock on the Spring Creek listening to Jerry Jeff sing his classic Sangria Wine song. I would fill up the ‘big gulp’ convenience store mug with ice and pour it full of about a half gallon of Sangria. The guy at the first store would fall over if he saw me do that. I probably wouldn’t even sniff the mug before I took a big swig. And, I also probably wouldn’t be eating cheese and crackers. Or little sandwiches…..ok, maybe some vienna sausages and jalapeno cheddar.
Give the Texas Wine Trail a tour. It’s out there in Real Texas.
I’m unsophisticated David
With a big convenience store mug
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Good Story David – funny you wrote about your Wine hunt. We are headed out this morning on sort of the same quest. We know of a little wine store over in the San Juan Islands in Friday Harbor. So we will drive down to the Ferry dock and go on the Ferry ride out there and do some sight seeing and whale watching while we go over to get some special Washington Wine. Glad you found a good place for your bottle. Jerry
You’re our kinda guy, David…. my husband loves his beer and I love Sangria. I’m shocked to find out that it isn’t considered by some folks, wine snobs, I call them, as “real” wine. I love it over ice with slices of oranges, lemons, and limes AND I don’t mind drinking it in a convenience store mug! Keep writing… it’s great reading!
Judy & Joe
This is where you get into problems with wine snobs who don’t appreciate a cold bottle of Thunderbird and Drive-in movies.
Good ol’ Comfort has a couple of outstanding Texas Vineyards. Comfort Cellars Winery and Singing Water Vineyards. My friend over at Comfort Cellars Winery has a tasting room and gift shop in town on Hwy 27 just across the highway from the post office. A couple of years ago she started making a Jalapeno Wine. It has become one of her top sellers. Some people like to drink it by itself, other’s blend it with other wine or clear soda, etc. Now I am sort of like Dave and some of the others, if you cain’t mix it with Jack Daniels or ice then I’d just as soon not have any of it. But, I buy a case every so often cuz it makes great gifts and it is excellent, I’m talkin’ downright wonderful, to cook with. I’ve used it to poach fresh fish with butter and fresh herbs; as a marinate for all types of grilled and smoked meat: venison backstrap, wild hog, beef ribs and brisket.
If you get through Comfort, stop and get you a bottle. You’ll be glad that you did.
Can’t wait to try some of the good stuff from Comfort Cellars and Singing Water Vineyards. Thanks for the heads up,….I’ll probably be close to there in a few days and will look them up for sure – David
i know how you feel, dad. i’ve been here in central Texas for almost ten years now, and some of these people still make me feel like a bumpkin…often. i guess you can take the boy out of big lake, but you can’t take big lake out of the boy.
David: After reading this blog decided you need to come back on Oct 24 to try wines from 27 Texas wineries at MarktPlatz for the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest. Silent and Live Auction, speciality vendors, wine samplings, cooking school, and two advance limited ticket events Friday evening “A Celebration of Texas Food and Wines” and Saturday morning “Patron Party”. Give us a call, we’d love your presence, comments, and suggestions.
Hey Ellen:
Good to hear from you. Yes, we’ve been to several of your events around Texas and enjoyed them all. Last one was the Gourmet Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival out at Wildseed. Before that it was the Texas Mesquite Festival in San Angelo. We have a favorite Mesquite Artist we follow in Mr. Charlie Roberts of Mereta. The Oct. 24 event in Fredericksburg sounds like it is right down our alley as well as lots of other Texans. We used Fredericksburg when I was president of the West Texas Press Association as a convention site and loved it. It also has the best weekly newspaper in Texas in Terry Collier’s Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. We might just look ya’ll up…..
I think limousines are a great way to make a wine tour more exciting. They take away the hassle of drinking and driving, providing you with an opportunity to have a lot of fun! Just be careful which company you choose to work with, most limo companies are out for money, where so are there to show you a great time!