A web video series by the Texas Department of Agriculture featuring the eight Texas wine trails debuted today. Today’s release, the first in the series, features the Bluebonnet Wine Trail, which includes the counties that surround the historic Brazos River, the longest river in Texas.
The family-owned and operated wineries run from Brenham to Montgomery and offer a unique event for each season, including a Wine & Wildflowers Trail celebrating the trail's namesake bloom. Click here to view the first video on the GO TEXAN YouTube channel, which features Paul Bonarrigo, owner and winemaker of the Messina Hof Winery, and one of the reasons this is the most awarded wine trail in Texas.
The Bluebonnet Trail is known for its fine food, wine, and B&Bs. The Presidential Library of our 41st President, George H. W. Bush, is also on the trail.
Texas is the fifth-largest wine-producing state in the nation with more than 180 wineries, contributing more than $1.35 billion annually to the state economy. Nearly 1 million travelers visit Texas wineries each year.
"Friendly personalities, beautiful scenery and award-winning wines characterize Texas wine trails," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said. "We're excited people all over the world can access the new GO TEXAN WineCasts to uncork the fun, unique and welcoming experiences of Texas wine country."
Wine makers and trail representatives share travel tips about their trail and information about the trail’s annual events and celebrations in these videos. Episodes, will be released weekly.
The remaining trails are:
Crosstimbers Wine Trail - stretching north from the Ft. Worth area, these seven wineries are in one of the oldest wine regions in the state.
Dallas Wine Trail - a cluster of four urban wineries, this trail brings the rural winery experience to the heart of Dallas.
Fredericksburg Wine Road 290 - a group of nine wineries located near the charming, historic town of Fredericksburg between Austin and San Antonio.
Grapevine Wine Trail - near Grapevine in North Texas, the trail features nine wineries and hosts themed events throughout the year, such as the Murder Mystery Trail and the Valentine Wine Trail.
Munson Wine Trail - these 12 wineries stretch across the northeast corner of Texas, beginning just north of Dallas, and offer a range of events each year, such as barrel tastings and the McKinney Wine & Jazz Festival.
Texas Hill Country Wine Trail - located in the heart of Central Texas, this trail is made up of 24 wineries and is the second most popular wine destination in the country, second only to Napa/Sonoma.
Way Out Wineries - nestled between the High Plains and the Texas Hill Country, these eight small-town wineries host five "road trips" each year, each with a seasonal theme
The videos will be posted on a YouTube channel for GO TEXAN wine, , and featured on TDA's Texas wine site, .
If you visit the Texas wine trails, pick up the Texas Department of Agriculture's Texas Winery Passport which offers rewards, including Texas wine accessories, gourmet winery dinners and group wine tastings for visiting four or more wineries.
For more on the Texas wine events, including the International Wine Competition at the Houston Rodeo, see Notable Travel's Texas Uncorked.
Comments
This article about the Texas Wine Trails has a lot of great information in it. For anyone who thinks that Texas is all about the beef (long horn cattle) try one of these trails.
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