Texas Wine Lover was invited for this coverage. All opinions, experiences, and photographs are entirely our own.
The Texas Hill Country has most of the wineries in Texas and that has spawned numerous businesses to support the Texas wine industry. One of those businesses is wine tour companies to help transport visitors to those wineries and there are many from which to select. I recently was invited to go on a day tour with Hill Country Wine Tours.
Hill Country Wine Tours is owned and operated by Dave and Ruth Love who also own Hill Country Guest Houses at Hacienda Amor. The day’s planning for the tour started with Dave Love asking me where I wanted to go for a day in the Hill Country. I had the choice of wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Since I try to visit every new winery that opens and had been to most in the Hill Country, I came up with a list of places I had not visited recently. Dave then took the responsibility to plan the day and came back later to me with his suggested itinerary. There were no changes needed by me and I waited in anticipation for the day to arrive.
Dave Love
I was staying in one of their guest houses (you can read about my experience here) and Dave arrived in one of his colorfully wrapped vans to pick me up. He opened the front door for me, I hopped in, and we were off. I made the comment that he didn’t need to open the door for me, but he replied he gets the doors for all his clients.
Dave said he usually doesn’t prefer to have people sit in the front seat because of open container laws and I could have my choice where I wanted to sit. I learned I was going to be the only person that day, so I stayed in the front seat. A total of 14 guests can be seated in one of their nicely equipped and very comfortable vans. I was then told that clients select the music soundtrack to listen to for the day. I’m still partial to what I consider the best music ever, 70s and 80s, so Dave selected a channel on the radio from SiriusXM. I declined the offer of a water bottle or Topo Chico, but they came in handy later in the day.
We had only previously met briefly at an industry night at a winery, so it was nice having the time to learn about Dave and his tour business. He had been a longtime record executive and his wife Ruth was a retail banker. They had fallen in love with wine and when visiting the Hill Country, saw the need for a tour company that could cater to wine lovers using their previous business experience to provide customized day tours. They started with one van and today have five company vehicles with nine highly trained hosts/drivers along with Ruth and him driving too.
As I mentioned with my planning of the day, he let me decide where I wanted to go and then he made it happen. That means no two tours are the same. It was also nice to know that I could enjoy my tastings without having to worry about drinking and driving. Their clients range from couples to larger corporate clients and in many cases, they create a turnkey experience with lodging, events, and meals along with their daily outings.
One thing that makes Hill Country Wine Tours unique is instead of just being limited to one area such as US 290, they will pick up clients anywhere in central Texas from as far north as Georgetown, as far south as San Antonio, and as far east as Austin. Dave believes he travels further than other wine tour companies to bring clients to the Hill Country businesses which in turn helps the Texas wine industry.
For the first stop on my tour, Dave had selected a place to stop by briefly for breakfast in Dripping Springs called Thyme & Dough. I had driven by the bakery, café, & bistro many times but never had the opportunity to stop. The food was wonderful, and it was nice to get something in my stomach before starting my day of libations.
Doug Reed
Our first winery was Hawk’s Shadow Winery. Co-owner Doug Reed was manning the tasting room that overlooks a beautiful vineyard and a fantastic view of the countryside. I have visited the winery many times since it first opened in 2013, but recent years had me traveling around to the plethora of new wineries opening in Texas. You can find Hawk’s Shadow in the Texas Wine Lover mobile app and I had brought along a Texas Wine Lover table tent for their tasting bar which allows customers to download the app using a QR code and see their listing along with other local wineries and businesses.
Doug handled my elevated tasting, and I tasted wines such as the 2021 Juliet which is a Riesling, and the new 2023 Vin D’or which is a Sauvignon Blanc done in new Hungarian oak. With the reds, I tasted the 2019 HSV Tempranillo which is their estate Tempranillo. Also of interest was the 2018 TX Left Bank Blend 1 which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. This $120 Bordeaux blend is just one of the four Left and Right Bank blends they made from 2018 fruit.
Garrison Brothers Distillery
We were on a schedule, so we thanked Doug and headed to our next stop. We moved on to spirits and in particular, bourbon. The bourbon distillery we were heading to was Garrison Brothers Distillery. The last time I visited them was in 2013 when I went with a group of friends and enjoyed the tour and tasting.
Arriving at Garrison Brothers, I noticed how much things had changed in the last 11 years. From the small building that was used for the start of tours then, it had now grown into a three-building complex complete with a restaurant. That is where we went first to grab a sandwich before my tour. There is a large selection of sandwiches, and oh yes, cocktails made with Garrison Brothers’ bourbon. My sandwich and Old Fashioned were very good. The tour was a little reminiscent of what I had years ago and was very insightful into the process of making bourbon in Texas.
French Connection Wines
My last planned visit for the tour was just down the road at French Connection Wines. Probably my current favorite wines right now are those made with grapes typically from the Rhône region in France. French Connection Wines uses those types of grapes and with winemaker Ben Calais at the helm who hails from France, the wines are excellent.
Since it was fairly warm outside, I opted to sit inside the tasting room to do a tasting instead of the gorgeous view from their back patio. The tasting guide and I remembered each other from my last visit there so we enjoyed remembering the difference between my last tasting and this current tasting. As you probably know, all wines from French Connection Wines are 100% Texas. The 2022 Picpoul Blanc, 2019 Chateauneuf de Hye (blend of 39% Mourvèdre, 32% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 1% Carignan), and 2019 Syrah were my favorites.
Siboney Cellars Cubano sandwich
That was the last stop on my requested day tour with Hill Country Wine Tours. But it wasn’t the end of my day visiting wineries. Dave and Ruth Love needed to eat dinner just as I did, and since the day was Thursday, that is the day Siboney Cellars holds its Twilight Tasting featuring Cubano sandwiches. I love a good Cuban sandwich and have been waiting to finally try the Siboney Cellars version. Since Hill Country Wine Tours can also work with you on dinner plans, Dave and Ruth Love had already made plans for the three of us to eat dinner at Siboney Cellars. Ruth was at the winery when we arrived and together, we all enjoyed talking about the day, Texas wine, and oh, how wonderful those Cubano sandwiches were.
It had been a long day visiting wineries and a distillery, but it had been one of the most enjoyable times I had in recent memory. I remember back to what Dave Love said during one of our earlier conversations that day in that they strive to entertain the client, make sure they have the best day ever, and continue to maintain a great relationship with the wineries and distilleries they visit. There is no doubt that was accomplished. If you are looking for a tour company to go anywhere in the Hill Country, I can easily recommend Hill Country Wine Tours to make your day the most enjoyable too.