Winery, Wine, Luckenbach, Music, Beer, Wineries, More Wine, More Music

Grape Creek Winery

Roger here....  Ahhh.  Life near Fredericksburg!  So many pleasurable things to do.  Please keep in mind that these events did not all occur on the same afternoon :-).  

Our campground is located on the road to Luckenbach, so a visit there could not be simpler.  However, on the way we decided to stop by the Rancho Ponte Winery and Tasting Room that we can see from our campsite.  The picture above was taken from the winery parking lot.  That is our motor home, just to the left of the small building in the center of the picture and behind the brown horse grazing in the pasture.  

A shot of the tasting room below shows the view from our windshield.  We also have a view of the vineyard, a horse, three miniature donkeys, and a guinea hen.  Lots of wildlife to keep our dogs on full alert.  Oh, and there are also squirrels....  Lots and lots of squirrels.

After tasting a few of the wines, we, of course, made a few purchases. The four colored wine glasses are actually made from empty wine bottles.  (Our friends Jay and Nancy will be happy to know that we finally own some "down" wine glasses. -- D.)

On to Luckenbach!   This is our fourth visit to this eclectic place since our first Texas visit a few years ago.  The fun, music, and people-watching here draws us back every year.  You know you are almost there when you drive into the parking lot.

The highlight is always sitting outside, enjoying a beer, and tapping your feet to the beat of the local talent on the makeshift stage.  




We typically only stay a short while; however, the weather was perfect, the people were interesting, and the band, Midnight River Choir, was exceptionally good.  We stayed until the band finished its set.  Here is a short snippet:

Midnight River Choir at Luckenbach, TX Sept 22, 2012

(Roger and I had a debate; I said they were rock and he said they were country.  What do you think?  -- D.)

Get a load of the restrooms.  Always an adventure.

Lots of local color --- and that does not even include the tattoos.

I noticed a lady trying on a special hat at the hat shop, so we wandered over to take a look.  Dianne bought a Shiner Blonde bottle cap hat band for her cowboy hat, but that was not what I saw the lady modeling.  Look below to see how handsome Bandido is in his very first cowboy hat.

On another day, we drove a few miles down the road to the Becker Winery.  We had been here a few years ago, and enjoyed it, so it was time to go back.  We each enjoyed a sampling of six wines.  We bought three bottles of a white that we both enjoyed to share with our friends who prefer white wine, as well as a couple of reds.

The second, and last, stop that day was the Grape Creek Winery --- a dangerous place for us, because it is our favorite.  We shared a sampling of six wines since we have already tasted them before, and we bought a case.  Since we are on our way back to Mission, we will not have to transport it very far --- great rationalization on our part.

While the staff boxed our wine, we each enjoyed a glass outside on the patio.  It was a perfect day and so, so pleasant.

The musical performer on the patio was Jeff Wood.  We liked his music so much that we bought one of his CDs., entitled "Finally..."  Dianne thinks it will be excellent background music for when friends visit us at our place at Retama.



Here is a quick video of a snippet of his performance.  I can't explain why it's blurry, but the sound is good.  To make up for my bad video, I'm including a link to his web site, too.  A very talented young man!

Jeff Wood at Grape Creek Winery 

I found a You Tube short video which includes songs that he sang at Grape Creek.  This video is better than my blurry, amateur one:

Quick Song Sampling - Jeff Wood 

Jeff Wood's Web Site


Did I mention that it was pleasant?  We lingered on the patio for quite a while.  I had a second glass of wine.  We did make it back to the motor home before dusk.  Check out the giant pink clouds.

The pet picture of the day shows Bandido in his new hat, tolerating a round of picture-taking.  Oh, soooo bored.