“Age and glasses of wine should never be counted.”
~Italian Proverb
When we have visitors come to Houston, we are always looking for other places to take them. Since Austin is one of our favorite places, we try to find excursions that give us an excuse to end up there! When my sister came for a visit, we decided the Driftwood Wine Trail would be the perfect activity!
Driftwood, TX is about 40 miles outside of Austin. We were inspired by Discover Texas Wine for our wine tour activities. We made it to 5 of the 8 recommended wineries on the trail. The wine trails are one of many fun Austin date ideas!
1. Texas Hill Country Olive Company
This place has the best of both worlds! You start with a tour of their olive trees. It’s quite unique that they are able to grow olives in the region. Then you turn to wine making!
The family winery has their own harvest of grapes as well for their wines. You finish the tour in the storefront with unlimited olive oil and wine tastings! The property is a beautiful setting and they have picnic tables to sit and enjoy the wine as well.
2. Wimberley Valley Winery
This was our favorite building of the tour and offered the greatest variety of wines for tastings! My sister and I had no shortage of wines to enjoy. Their specialty is fruit flavored wines.
The outdoor patio was really cool and we’d like to go back someday for one of their wine parties. It’s complete with corn hole!
3. Driftwood Estate Winery
This was my favorite stop of the afternoon and I can’t wait to go back! The winery is situated on top of a hill with a beautiful view below.
The tasting room has a nice bar area to enjoy the wine, however the best part is that you can purchase a bottle to enjoy outside while taking in this view. I can’t wait to go back in the fall with the hopes of seeing a few colors throughout those trees! They also have cheese plates for purchase to accompany the wine.
4. Duchman Family Winery
If you pack your lunch, they have a beautiful outdoor area with picnic tables to enjoy your wine and food. We chose to eat to the restaurant next door, Trattoria Lisina.
We were starving by the time we arrived therefore we forgot to take pictures of our meal, however the pizzas were delicious! It’s an Italian restaurant with quite a bit of variety. We would highly recommend planning your lunch stop around this winery!
5. Salt Lick Cellars
So if you follow the Austin food scene, you will know that the Salt Lick has one of the most popular BBQ’s in the state of Texas! Since the wait is typically 90+ minutes on the weekend, they also have a winery on-site to help kill the time while you wait….GENIUS! While they do not produce their own wines, they had quite a variety to chose from.
The tasting area is small, but like all the others the outdoor patio has ample space to enjoy your purchased bottle. I would not recommend coming here just for a tasting. The tasting room is quite small and we felt crowded and rushed to enjoy our 5 glasses. Come here to enjoy a bottle prior to your meal at the Salt Lick.
Overall it was a fun way to spend an afternoon with a quick road trip from our house. We can’t wait for fall to return again!
~Amanda