Austin, TX

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for a drive in the Hill country and with visiting friends, an excellent opportunity to visit a local vineyard. We chose the Driftwood Vineyard for this excursion. The drive was about 30-40 minutes from downtown Austin and we found the vineyard with relative ease.

The wine tasting was held in a small portable that was fairly packed as we entered. The wait, however, was no more than 10 minutes. We thought they could use a bigger tasting room but we overheard that they were a bit short staffed and normally did the tastings out on their deck, which is a much larger area. They also have a larger building for weddings and other events.

Driftwood Vineyards is owned and operated by Gary and Kathy Elliott on land owned by Kathy’s family since 1951. The vineyard was planted a mere 9 years ago with their first grape crush just 5 years ago. Their first wine was bottled in 2003 and they opened to the public a month later. Not bad at all for a winery that already has several wine awards to its name!

The tasting menu allows you 6 selections of their wines for a mere $5. You can do your tasting individually or share with your friend/partner. Adam and I chose to share this time. Our selection:

1. 2006 Viognier (lovely bouquet)
2. 2004 Alamo Red
3. 2004 Lone Star Cab
4. Driftwood ‘06 Dry Rose
5. Driftwood ‘06 Sweet Blush
6. Wimberiey Valley Sangria (sweet but not cloying)

Our favourites were the Viognier and the Sangria.

We bought a bottle of each, along with some crackers and “cheese pops”. The cheese pops were goat cheese pyramids with lolipop sticks in them. We chose a curry coated one and an herb coated one. Both were good and we managed to drink the Sangria while sitting on the deck enjoying good conversation.

It was a fun day out and I’m definitely going to spend more time checking out the local vineyards.

Oh, and while you’re up there, you should definitely stop in at The Salt Lick, which many people consider to be the best BBQ in Austin. This is their original location and has been open since 1969. Get your fingers ready for licking!