There are several wineries in Fredericksburg. If you had time to hit up just 2 of them, which ones would you do?

Also, any restaurants that'd you'd highly recommend?

Thanks!

I think Grape Creek Vineyards is my favorite and it's only a few miles from Fredericksurg. Becker Vineyards is OK too, but it's pretty big and sometimes crowded. There is a good German restaurant on the main street in town that's good. Can't remember the name.... Bavaria something.....? It's a fun town!

I liked Becker vineyards, they actually put out a good product. They grow alot of lavender also. Good porch for wine drinkin'.

The 2008 Becker Reserve Merlot is a fantastic Texas wine. Make sure you get the Reserve because they have at least 2 other merlots.

I would recommend visiting Pedernales. It's down the road from Becker. It's a beautiful property with amazing views. The wine is ok. I would go there more for the property.

Yes, Pedernales was a great place to sit and enjoy a fantastic view on their deck. Wine was pretty good, but the location can't be beat.

I also enjoyed Grape Creek Vineyards. Nice setting, pretty good wine.

If I could only go to two, those would be the two.

Becker has the best wine.

And is a pretty great scene. Ask for Henri.

Barking Rock!

Be careful... Went down there to a wine tasting festival a few years ago. Ended up with a kid 9 months later....

Thanks all! I'll definitely goto Becker and one of the other wineries. Any recommendations for restaurants that you think can't miss?

Becker's Iconoclast Cab is superb.

Navajo Grill and Rosehill

I wasn't a fan of Becker. It was crowded and there was no real charm to the place. I'm also not a fan of their wines.

But Grape Creek was cool. Good ambiance, good wine, and they said they have live music on the weekends.

Becker is easily the most commercialized of the Hill Country wineries. They make about 20 different vintages. Most of their wine is ok. The Reserve Merlot I mentioned above is their best IMHO.

Grape Creek has gotten crowded too as they have become popular. Plus, they are close to Fredicksburg like Becker.

Grape Creek and skip the 2nd and go to Luckenbach.

Went this past Memorial Weekend. I'll just comment on the atmosphere, but I won't comment on the taste of the wine since everyone's preference is so varied.

Pedernales - Nice little porch to hang out on and sip wine, nothing spectacular.
Becker - Not as nice as grape creek but still worth a visit.
Grape Creek - Very nice facilities. Outdoor area great to picnic and listen to music. My favorite of the three. Took the tour (not worth the price and very blah).

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Be careful... Went down there to a wine tasting festival a few years ago. Ended up with a kid 9 months later....

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I'll keep this in mind when my wife and I go for her birthday/Valentine's Day weekend.

I've never been to the wineries down there so that will be fun, but my aunt and uncle and cousins lived in Comfort, just down the road, while I was growing up so I've been to Fredericksburg and the surrounding area a lot. It's pretty fantastic. Thanks for the winery reviews, everyone!

I've never done the wine tour before. How many wineries can I visit before it becomes too dangerous to drive?

bump

My parents live in F-berg so I've done pretty much every place around there.

William Chris (in Hye) is hands down my favorite. Great wines. Run by great folks. Beautiful property.

There's an new place on the north side of 290 to the east of messina hoff - it is small and looks to be mostly limestone. Can't think of the name. We haven't been there yet, but one of the guys at William Chris said they were doing good things there.

Lots of places have great views and fair wine.

Tierra d pietra (sp? Right next to Grape Creek)
Grape Creek
Perdenales

Wood rose has a really peaceful back porch surrounded by oaks, but I didn't like their wines.

The Texas Wine tour is a pretty good way to get an intro to the area and see 6 or so vineyards all in one go.

If you want a good laugh stop in The Fredericksberg Winery on main and see how long it takes you to figure out why everyone calls them the wine nazis.

In Comfort you must go to Bending Branch and even Singing Waters. They are very close to one another off the beaten path. About 30 minutes south of Fred.

Bending Branch has a nice porch and view and we really enjoyed their wine. Still have several bottles cooking. William Chris is good as well especially their Hunter.

My wife loves Solaro. I refuse to drink it. Their mourvedre is about the worst wine I've ever had and I'm a huge Texas wine homer. It is extraordinarily unique so it probably elicts either hate or love from folks that have tried it.

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There's an new place on the north side of 290 to the east of messina hoff - it is small and looks to be mostly limestone. Can't think of the name. We haven't been there yet, but one of the guys at William Chris said they were doing good things there.

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We saw this place in February. At the time, it wasn't open to the public yet. There is also another new tasting room on the south side of 290 (starts with an "M"?) that is sharing some space with Inwood Estates (Dallas) if I'm remembering correctly.

I am in the beginning stages of planning a wine country weekend girls only trip.

Any advice on a good central location and possible public transportation so we don't need a designated driver?

We stayed at Hoffman Haus, it's great because they have several different rooms/cabins and it's walking distance to downtown. Our favorite wineries are Pedernales, Grape Creek and Beckers; we'd also recommend the Garrison Bros Bourbon distillery in Hye as a change of pace.

Grape Creek and Pedernales are my favorites.

We did the HOliday Wine tour in December and hit about 15. Can't really think of any that I wouldn't go back to.

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Any advice on a good central location and possible public transportation so we don't need a designated driver?

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I don't have any names right off, but there are quite a few services that do winery tours. If your group is large enough they will do a custom (only your group) tours.

[This message has been edited by Vernada (edited 2/12/2013 2:09p).]

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There's an new place on the north side of 290 to the east of messina hoff - it is small and looks to be mostly limestone. Can't think of the name. We haven't been there yet, but one of the guys at William Chris said they were doing good things there.

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Hilmy is the name I couldn't think of previously.

I still haven't had a chance to go, but by all accounts they are doing good stuff.

http://www.hilmywine.com/

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There is also another new tasting room on the south side of 290 (starts with an "M"?) that is sharing some space with Inwood Estates (Dallas) if I'm remembering correctly.

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That's Mendelbaum Cellars. All of their stuff is imported from Israel. If you like Tempranillo then you will love what they have to offer.

FYI Inwood was building their own place a few hundred yards away to the east and will be moving out if they haven't already.

Vernada, the wife and I couldn't remember the name of Wood Rose for the life of us. We hit that one on as our last stop on the way back to Austin a couple of years ago, and it was our favorite for the atmosphere. We were the only ones there, good music, nice porch, and a golden retriever laying on the deck.