Category Archives: Beverages

Fredericksburg, Texas, VisitFredTX, Wine Trail, Hill Country, Fredericksburg To Do, Becker Vineyards

48 Hours in Fredericksburg, Texas

Last week, we headed to Fredericksburg, Texas for a little wine and relaxation. Although we were only in town for slightly less than 48 hours, we made the most of it and you can too! There will be a lot more information on our getaway in the weeks to come but in case you decide to head down for a quick trip (as you should), I wanted to share how we made the best of our 48 hours!

Our trip was a Wednesday evening thru Friday afternoon. Fredericksburg is a town where there is so much to do that it didn’t even matter that the weather was less than stellar. If anything, it provided more of a reason to pour ourselves another glass!

Step #1: Find yourself a great place to stay.

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We started our journey from Fort Worth after work on a Wednesday evening. Three and a half hours later, we arrived. This gave us time to unwind after the long drive and left us with a full day to really take in the sights!

We stayed at the Fredericksburg Inn & Suites, right off Main Street in the historic downtown. These accommodations were awesome!!! Not only is this a historic landmark, they provide a full breakfast in the morning, freshly baked cookies in the lobby in the afternoon AND our room was gorgeous. The icing on the cake – our room had a Luckenbach theme. It’s like they knew the way right to my heart!

Night #1: Check in, settle in, pop open a bottle of wine and kick your feet back and exhale – you’re on vacation!

Full Day #1
It was raining. Pardon me, pouring outside so a trip to the Enchanted Rock was out of the question. (If it’s not raining, definitely try to do this first thing in the morning!)

8am – Rise and Shine followed by delicious pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon and yogurt in the inn.

10am – We headed over to the Fredericksburg Visitors and Convention Center (CVB). This is a chance to find what it is we wanted to see. There is so much to do so we picked a few of our favorites.

11am – We were headed to the vineyard, Becker Vineyards that is. With little time to spare, it’s time to make it count! Becker Vineyards is about 10-15 minutes outside of town. Regardless of which vineyard you choose, use the morning to head out to spend time at an actual vineyard. We were the first to arrive! Oh the glory of having an entire tasting room to yourself!

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12:30pm – Time to find another winery. 4.0 Cellars was our choice. This was a slightly different adventure as there were three wineries in one location! That’s right – why have wine from only one winery when you can have three?! Easy choice!

2pm – Head back to town, it’s time to grab a bite to eat. We headed back to the Inn, parked and walked down over to Main Street. We are a little indecisive when we’re hungry but lucky for us the Fredericksburg Brewery is right on Main Street so we wandered right in. Grab a flight and pretty much anything off the menu. I’ve never had anything that wasn’t delicious!

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3:30pmShop This area is historic and there’s something around every corner. Peruse the stores. Everything from art, antiques, locally made goods. If shopping is not for you, there’s always starting the next event early…

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4pm – Downtown is also home of the Urban Wine Trail! The wine country has brought the wine to town! With at least seven tasting rooms within walking distance to each other, there’s no reason to drive outside of town, they’ve brought the good stuff to you! As we walked down Main Street, we made a stop to the Fiesta Winery tasting room.  How convenient it is to just pop on in and grab a glass.

Tip: Grab a glass to go! It’s legal to walk within the historic district of Fredericksburg with your glass.

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5:30pm – Peruse Main Street or explore the town! There’s so much to see and do that we really feel like we haven’t touched the tip of the iceberg. We found this gem in town while exploring.

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7pm – Dinner. Although we were in a German town, we went Italian and my belly sure was happy that we did. Pasta Bella, right off Main Street feels like a secret heaven, homemade Italian food. (Below: Seafood ravioli.) There’s plenty of options, search around and I’m sure you’ll find something you will love!

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Day 2

8am – Time to rise and shine, grab breakfast and check out of the hotel. A full day of activities ahead!

If there’s time before 11am, I highly suggest exploring the area. Take a detour off Main Street and explore! There’s so many historical buildings, the homes and B&B’s have an immense amount of character and the community of this town shines through and through.

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11am – Wine tasting – at it again bright and early. This had to be my favorite tasting of the entire trip – Lost Draw Cellars. Where to begin – there wasn’t a single wine that we didn’t enjoy, the hospitality and conversation was amazing (trust me – talk to Troy) and they’re authentic and focused on building a community.

Need an extra incentive, they have a tasting wall. Buy a glass and pay it forward or perhaps you already have one waiting for you. Hint: To the next Vermonter that walks in, your first glass is one me!

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12:30pmLuckenbach One of my favorite places in Texas, this is it. It’s not just a song, this place really exists. The post office, the bar, the stage, wild chickens, cowboy hats, BBQ and a dancehall. The best part is the authenticity and meeting people from all over! Stories are amazing! Reminisce in this little spot and enjoy the live music from those who step in (or join in yourself)!

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2:30pm – Eat lunch at the Hye Market. Just outside of town off Highway 290, lies the little town of Hye. The significance of the Hye Market location is that it is the post office that President Lyndon B. Johnson used for his entire life. (Read more about the history here from my last trip.) Today, it is still the functioning post office but it is also a market where you will have the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten in your life.

My recommendation: The Levi Local – Honey roasted turkey, swiss cheese, local herb aioli on wheat bread. I’m still trying to figure out how they made that sandwich so good. It disappeared right before my eyes!

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4pm – Garrison Brothers Distillery Bourbon you say? The scenery reminds me of Virginia. The country, rustic atmosphere, not a neighbor in sight and relaxing in nature…. add a glass of bourbon, have a seat in the rocking chairs and we’re all set! This tour was so interesting! We love hearing how businesses begin and this is no exception. The Garrison Brothers are passionate about their product. The tour walks guests through each step of the process including samples along the way.

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6pm – Time to head to the next destination or stay longer – that’s the best choice!

Tips:
– Swing by the CVB for information. Some pamphlets may have coupons for discounts or free products!
– Take advantage of visiting during the week!
– Most tasting rooms open around 11am.
– Give yourself about an hour at each tasting. Take your time, enjoy the wine, have great conversation with others. Some locations will even have cheese, meats and crackers available for purchase with your tasting.
– The majority of places close around 6pm (wineries and shops in town). If there’s somewhere you really would like to check out, research ahead of time.
– Looking for a B&B – see where I stayed on a previous visit.

Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery

TX Whiskey Tour, Fort Worth’s Distillery

This past weekend, we had a couple friends from Dallas come over to the great Fort Worth. Of course we were going to bring them to some of our favorite spots around town but we also wanted to do something that would be new to all of us.

Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery

Firestone & Robertson Distilling Company is located in Fort Worth. Perhaps its more familiar as TX Whiskey.  Last year at the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, we were heavily introduced to TX Whiskey at the Desserts After Dark event where each dessert and cocktail incorporated TX Whiskey. Let’s just say, I’ve been eyeing this tour for about a year and this was the perfect opportunity with the perfect group. What a hot spot for tours! Only offered on Saturday’s, we had to book our spots weeks in advance. (Note, there are no tours in some summer months so if you’re interested, plan ahead.)

Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery

 

Upon arrival, one would never guess that 901 Vickery is a distillery. In the old Fort Worth district, the location housed a moving company from the 1920’s to the late 1970’s. The building has sat untouched until 2009. That’s right, untouched for thirty plus years! Inside, the facility has been completely redone, featuring amazing brick exposure and woodwork, re-purposing materials in every way possible and holding an amazing secret, hand made Texas bourbon whiskey.

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If you’re in for an in-depth experience learning about bourbon and whiskey, this is your place. Don’t expect this to be a quick tour, it will last for an hour and a half and provide amazing information on the history, process and production including time to ask questions. Our tour started out learning how F&R Distillery began and the building choice, history and design. Next, we moved into the actual distillery. Surrounded by hundreds, hold on – thousands of barrels we began the discussion on bourbon. What makes a bourbon? A minimum of two years aging in an oak barrel, needs to be made in the United States and made with at least 51% corn (the rest of the recipe is up to you).

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Next, we moved on to learning what ingredients TX Whiskey uses to make their bourbon, the fermentation process, the significance of barrels, the importance of the two large copper pot stills and a column still right down to the bottling. The entire process involves no technology. There’s no sensors, gauges, only a device to regulate temperature and a head distiller from Kentucky whose family has been in the business for over a hundred years. Resources are everything and it can’t get much better than that. TX Whiskey proves this with their chosen Texas ingredients and production process.

Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery

What makes TX Whiskey stand out? The taste, definitely, but let’s talk about these corks! The corks grab a lot of attention. It’s the variety. It’s showing that each bottle and cork is unique. First, teaming up with M.L. Leddy’s in Fort Worth, each cork is topped with a unique leather or skin (i.e. snake). Within the tour, we stopped by the area where they make the corks. For free, anyone can come in and drop off a piece of material to make the cork top. This is the wall where they have some of their favorite and most memorable (and unique) material in which cork toppers have been made. What a personal gift to have!

Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery Firestone & Robertson Distilling, Whiskey, Fort Worth, Texas Distillery

Throughout the entire tour, you really get a feel of how important Fort Worth and Texas is to this business. Firestone and Robertson Distilling built this company based on Fort Worth and for Fort Worth. Texas through and through. From what we were told, there’s a lot of exciting things to come, a bigger and new location, fresh opportunities and lots more whiskey on the way!

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What’s your favorite Whiskey drink?

Wine, Chocolate, Josh Cellars, Ghirardelli, Ghirardelli Cookies

A Sweet Pairing – Josh Cellars Wine, Ghirardelli Chocolate & Two $75 AMEX Giveaways

Disclaimer: This shop has been sponsored by Josh Cellars Wine and Ghirardelli Chocolates. As always, all opinions are mine alone. #ghirardelli #joshcellarwine #asweetpairing #shop

Being on the go is hard! Between work, school, events, traveling and everything in between, it sometimes seems strenuous to sit down and enjoy the moment. Well, there’s news – it doesn’t have to be!

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With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s important to remember that it’s the thoughtful things that can make the biggest difference. Sometimes we don’t always have the most time but it’s the special time that matters the most. One of the best date nights are the simple ones. For this upcoming Valentine’s Day, if you’re going on a trip or staying home, these simple tricks will make for a perfect evening.

Step number one: Grab a bottle (or two) of Josh Cellars Wine. Found in almost every store I’ve been to recently, Josh Cellars has a wine for everyone. Looking for a rich bouquet of flavors featuring hints of blackberry, cinnamon and toasted almonds, try the Cabernet Sauvignon. Maybe you’re a fan of white wine, there’s a Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as well. Josh Cellars Wine has options for every wine lover.

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Step number two: Chocolate. Ghirardelli Chocolates is one of my ultimate favorites. It’s always on hand around the Christmas holiday’s and its only right that we incorporate the things we love the most on Valentine’s Day!

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Looking for a new twist? Make your favorite chocolate chip cookies but WAIT! Let go of the chocolate chips and grab your favorite Ghirardelli chocolates. Chop them up, mix them in and bake away. For a variety, cut the batter into different bowls and use different chocolates for each. I used the caramel and it’s delicious. Taking a bite into a cookie with the surprise caramel bite makes it extra special. ASweetPairing_9332 ASweetPairing_9333

The pairing between Josh Cellars Wines and Ghirardelli chocolates will make this Valentine’s day extra sweet! Grab your favorite bottle and Ghirardelli Valentine chocolates (and even some fresh baked cookies) and surprise your loved one this Valentine’s Day!

Looking to make it extra special?! Josh Cellars and Ghirardelli Chocolates have provided an opportunity to giveaway two $75 American Express gift cards.
What will your #ASweetPairing combination be?
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