Here are the different places on the map we visited. Turned out to be 140 miles round trip.
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1. Sunset was just off I-35 and its tasting room, bottling room and fermentation tanks were all in a 1950s-built house. A quaint tasting room, but the wines had won several awards plus they had 2 acres of "Black Spanish" vines planted on site. We arrived just as they opened, so we got a private tour of all the operations.
2. Lone Oak was a winery we had visited before, but wanted to go back. It is one of the largest producing wineries at about 2000 cases per year. Ashley's favorite was Lone Oak for its really cool tasting room and they took us 'into the back' as they were bottling.
side trip: We had traveled 377 a few times and always noted this place in Cresson, TX that was a "Rustic Texas" furniture store. So, since we had the time, we decided to stop. It was cool. Wood furniture, lone stars on everything, horns, hides, brands, barbed wire, dishes, lamps, bars, mirrors, etc. We decided we'll decorate a room one day in this "Rustic Texas" theme.
3. Barking Rocks was a little difficult to find, but we did meet Cellar when we got there - the black dog in picture on the website. The tasting room was a converted livestock barn, plus they had built out a patio area.
side note: Getting to Barking Rocks took us through the Granbury Town Square - really cool! We will definitely go back just to walk around the square. We didn't stop but noticed the boutique shops, places to eat and B&Bs. We'll have more pictures the next time we visit.
4. Bluff Dale was down a long, winding side road off 377. We turned around twice just to find it, but they had probably the most impressive tasting room, sitting area and patio that was set on the side of a hill which overlooked some more Black Spanish vines but also had a great view of the surrounding land and horizon. It was a really good place to get away and get lost.
5. Not far from Bluff Dale Vineyards was Lets Eat. Lets Eat was an interesting experience to say the least. We had been told about it, but you really don't understand until you visit yourself. The food was amazing, but we were told to get there early (5:30) because they have two sittings - one at 6:00 and one at 8:00 and people start lining up early, which means you get to hang out in line with others. We lucked out and met a couple that were our age and interesting to talk to, which was a really good outcome considering the dining room sat 30 people and most diners all sat at the same table!
Standing on the side of road waiting to get in:
This was the LOVELY environment in which we got to wait for the doors to open:
One other thing, the State of Texas Agriculture Department has a website the celebrates the Texas Wineries. You get this "Passport" you take with you to each winery. Each place then stamps your passport, you sumbit your completed passports with four stamps and the State mails you a 'reward'. We submitted our stamps online and are eagerly awaiting our reward - don't know what it is, but we are eagerly awaiting.
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