Rock & Vine

ROCK&Vine Wineand andlifestyle lifestyle magazine of Texas the Texas Hill Country Wine magazine of the Hill Country

ALL IN THE

FAMILY The oldest winery on the Highway 290 corridor is also one of its top draws

Local food and Texas wines on the menu at Cabernet Grill Whistle Pik’s artists draw from global inspiration Fischer & Wieser promote Fredericksburg Flavors.

FEBRUARY 2014 FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

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ROCK&Vine Wine and lifestyle magazine of the Texas Hill Country

THE CALENDAR UPCOMING WINE EVENTS and Hill Country Happenings MARCH 3/1/14 Noon-6 p.m. — Texas Independence Day Celebration chili cook-off with live music

by Lonnie Lett at Pedernales Cellars, 2916 Upper Albert Rd, Stonewall. Call the tasting room at 830-644-2037 for more information.

3/15/14 11:30-1 p.m. — Soup Saturday at Dry Comal Creek Vineyard and Winery, 1741 Herbelin Rd., New Braunfels. Call 830885-4076 for more information.

3/22/14 6-10 p.m. — Larry Joe Taylor Concert and Dinner at William Chris Winery in Hye. Call the Tasting Room at 830-998-7654 for more information.

3/29/14 10 a.m.-6 p.m. — 3rd Annual Blues, Bluebonnets, and BBQ and a Wild Hog Cook-Off will be featured at Becker Vineyards, 464 Becker Farms Rd.,

Stonewall. Bring your own seating. Call 830-644-2681 for more information.

APRIL 4/25-26/14 5th Annual Hill Country Wine and Music Festival at Wildseed Farms, 100 Legacy Dr, Fredericksburg. Call 830-998-2144 for more information about Wildseed Farms Market Center.

5/3-4/14 10 a.m.-6 p.m. — Annual Lavender Festival, live music on the veranda and food vendors featured at Becker Vineyards, 464 Becker Farms Rd., Stonewall. Call 830-644-2681 for more information.

MAY 4/30/14 - 5/4/14 Fifth Annual Hill Country Film Festival, more than 50 independent films plus filmmaker Q&As, discussions and parties.

Visit www.hillcountryff.com for more information.

5/23-25/14 Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival at Marktplatz in Fredericksburg. Visit www. fbgcrawfish.com for more information.

ROCK &Vine Wine and lifestyle magazine

Wine and lifestyle magazine theHillTexas Hill Country of theof Texas Country Color palette

Rock & Vine Magazine features the best of the Texas Hill Country wine industry, as well as lifestyle, attractions, history, characters and thinkers.

A product of Fredericksburg Publishing Company, Inc.

Publisher/Editor Ken Esten Cooke

Rock & Vine Magazine 712 W. Main St. P.O. Box 1639 Fredericksburg, TX 78624

Contributing writers Christine Granados Barbara Elmore Matthew Este Kristen Townsend Megan Willome Ashley Thomas

Rock & Vine will publish again in June and October, 2014. To advertise, call our staff at the number below.

Proofreader Sherrie Geistweidt

Advertising information 830-997-2155

Advertising Manager Kim Jung

Subscription information $15 for one year 830-997-2155

Advertising Sales Ann Duecker Lorrie Hess

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” — Ernest Hemingway

Editor’s note

W

e are happy to introduce Rock & Vine Magazine to wine enthusiasts in the Hill Country and beyond. Our aim with this new publication is to capture the dynamic growth, quality and flavors of the burgeoning Texas Hill Country wine scene, and augment it with plenty of content about our singular area and its many treasures.

This issue provides an example of the type of content you will see. Our future issues will include more on art galleries, B&Bs, unique retail businesses, chefs, restaurants and local artists — all the things that make the Hill Country a creative, laid-back locale that stimulates all the senses.

Wine is a fascinating object of our affection. Sippers can enjoy it casually with friends, and those who want to know more about it have so many facets from which to pursue their knowledge.

I always like reading wine columns in the The Wall Street Journal and other publications, though I am still in the novice stage of my wine knowledge. I also have made a country boy’s mistake of ordering “another cup of that wine” at an establishment. “I will bring it to you in a glass,” was the humorous waiter’s reply.

I am stunned by the recent growth of the industry in this area, yet grateful for the dedication and investment which has taken place here.

No less than Wine Enthusiast Magazine, the top read among oenophiles, named the Hill Country a top 10 wine destination. And we think more growth is on the way with the addition of the Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts and study opportunities from Texas Tech UniversityFredericksburg.

We would love to know what you think about our foray.

Ken Esten Cooke Editor & Publisher ken@fredericksburgstandard.com

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ROCK&Vine Wine and lifestyle magazine of the Texas Hill Country

FAMILY

Fresh off a double gold in a prestigious contest,

GRAPE CREEK WINERY owners Brian and Jennifer Heath are finding the balance between quality and quantity.

Photos by Cynthia Lively.

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Grape Creek’s grounds mix a bit of Tuscany with the Texas Hill Country.

B

By Christine Granados

efore Brian Heath became owner of Grape Creek Vineyards or even decided he wanted to get into the wine making business, he had a glass of the best cabernet shiraz he had ever tasted at the Cottage Café in Fredericksburg (where West End Pizza now stands).

The red wine was forgotten after several unfruitful online searches for another bottle of the tasty cab.

He did find his favorite wine a year later in the most unlikely and serendipitous of places.

As fate would have it, Heath traded in the fastpaced life as a senior vice president of a Fortune 500 company based in Minneapolis and New York for a slower and more manageable one in Fredericksburg when he bought Grape Creek from Ned Sime’s heirs in 2006.

“I had kind of been looking into the wine industry for three or four years. I like wine but for some reason the business was really attractive to me,” Heath said. “One thing I like about it is the connection between agriculture and manufacturing and customer service and retail.”

Heath said he likes the vertical nature of owning a winery. Vertical defines the business process where a company takes something from a raw state until it ends up in the hands of a consumer without a middleman.

“In the wine business it’s pretty much all you,” he said. “We tend to be very specific about the wine that we make.”

Grape Creek’s winemaker Jason Englert has brought his precise and structured way of making wines to the Hill Country. Englert, who graduated from Texas Tech University with a biology degree, said he stumbled into the Grape Creek job by acci-

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Photos by Cynthia Lively dent.

“My wife and I had gone to my brother-in-law’s wedding in San Antonio and we stopped by Grape Creek on our way home,” Englert said. “Ned Simes had just passed away a week earlier. I had the opportunity to speak to Ned’s son about the future of the winery. Within a couple of weeks, I was commuting from Lubbock to help with the 2004 harvest.”

At the time, Englert was working under his mentor Greg Bruni at Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock. Bruni, a third-generation winemaker, had over 30 years of winemaking experience in California before coming to Texas. Englert began his career running Llano’s lab. Englert spent eight years with Llano, learning the trade and moving up to became cellar master and assistant winemaker.

Although Englert had no idea what he wanted to do after graduating from TTU, under Bruni’s guidence his passion for wine making grew.

“Grape Creek had a consultant for many years prior to my arrival. Once Brian felt comfortable with me, the consultant was taken off retainer,” he said.

Familiar with the challenges Texas weather and geography grape growers encounter, Englert’s focus has been on Bordeaux-style wines. However, the winery is incorporating more and more Italian wines into its inventory with good results. The winery has been recognized with medals and best of class distinctions from California to New York under Englert’s watchful care.

“For us, our goal is all about quality and making fresh wines consistently from year to year,” Englert said.

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Serendipity It was Englert’s vigilance toward wine makings that unknowingly drew Heath to the vintner and made them one of the most successful pairings along the Highway 290 corridor.

“I’m talking to Jason one day in his office and across his laptop he had a screen saver,” Heath said. “It said,

barn, warehouse and renovated the barrel and tank rooms, warehouse, cellar, bed and breakfast, and the Georgetown location.

“We’ve had construction projects pretty much nonstop for five to six years,” Heath said. “Starting with the renovation of the tasting room. It was the original owner’s home.”

The winery built upon its reputation

A new patio for Grape Creek’s wine club members is one of many physical improvements at the winery.

‘Quivis wines.’ Jason said, ‘I’ve done my own label for a couple of years. It’s named after my sons—Quin and Davis.’

“What he didn’t know was that the best Texas red I ever had was his cab shiraz,” Heath said. “So I knew things were going to be okay. He’s done a great job as our wine maker.”

Englert laughed off Heath’s prophetic story.

He said, “I don’t know if it was fate or what but that’s the same story he told me. I haven’t made that label in some time because we’ve been so busy.”

Englert has presided over phenomenal growth. The winery has gone from 1,500 square foot building with six tanks to a 10,000 square foot building with 35 tanks. Grape Creek has built a

from previous owners Ned and Nell Simes. The Simes’ established Grape Creek in 1985 with the help of noted wine making consultant Enrique Ferro from Temecula, Calif. It is the oldest winery along the Highway 290 corridor. The Simes’ made their first wine in 1989. Although the yield was less than 700 cases, Simes’ chardonnay won a gold medal and best of class at the Houston Wine Club’s competition.

Today Grape Creek yields 30,000 plus cases.

“Our production has grown ten-fold in six years,” Heath said. “I think it’s a boom industry and we’ve probably grown a little faster than most. The reason I think we’ve done well is that Fredericksburg is a tremendous draw. I

think being on 290 is a big benefit.”

In Fredericksburg, where beer is the drink of choice, the wine culture is growing. Grape Creek has helped change that perception. It is the fifth largest winery in Texas, according to a wine industry website.

“I don’t think the wineries would exist without Fredericksburg,” Heath said. “At the same time, the wineries are bringing a different kind of consumer to Fredericksburg that is helping pay the favor back.”

One-third of the Fredericksburg tourists come specifically for winery tours and tastings, according to the Texas Hill Country Convention and Visitor Bureau’s visitor tracking survey based on 2012 numbers. The number of wine specific visitors has tripled since 2000, according to the survey.

“The challenge has been managing growth,” Heath said. “It’s especially difficult when you’re trying to figure out how much wine you need three years down the road because you’re getting grapes to ferment, to put in barrels for a year to bottle to sell and that proved to be kind of challenging. That’s an example of swallowing growth.

“It’s a great problem to have. I’d much prefer it to the alternative,” he said.

Measured growth “I think we’re starting to get a point where we’ll continue to grow but I don’t think it will be at the same rate,” Heath said. “We do very little distribution, because we don’t want to distribute, other than to a hand full of great restaurants and specialty retailers.”

The biggest reason for Heath’s caution with growth is that it will change the business model into horizontal one.

He said it no longer becomes about quality wine but quantity and distribution.

“Distribution is its own game,” Heath said. “For a lot of wineries, you have to produce enough that you can have the wine on the shelf regularly and also produce it for a price point that the retailors, package stores, or restaurants can sell it for and make money. It kind of puts a pressure on volume. We just don’t want to grow our volume at the rate for

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the wines we want to make.

“We have fun at this and we can make money at it,” he said. “I used to have big corporate job, so I’ve done the big business thing. I don’t need to build this into a treadmill.”

This is the reason Heath hired Lydia Wessner as vineyard manager. Wessner, 26, has a B.S. from Texas A&M in Entomology and Horticulture and an M.S. from Fresno State in Viticulture and Enology.

The Plano, Texas, native’s goal is to get the vineyard back up to the original owners 25 acres of production. Pierce’s disease (a bacterial pathogen spread by the glassywinged sharpshooter that kills grapevines) gutted the vineyard and it’s been an uphill struggle to grow quality grapes ever since.

“I’m trying to get the vines back into shape and healthier,” she said. “It all depends on the viable acres.”

Along with disease Wessner battles Texas’ unpredictable weather, pesticides, and birds. It’s an all too familiar fight for many Hill Country farmers.

We replanted three existing vineyards and established two new vineyards, Heath said.

“We planted a new vineyard last March—Montepulciano and Aglianico for the Epiphany,” Wessner said.

see his children running around the vineyard and winery.

Heath and his wife, Jennifer, who married in 2012, are co-owners of the vineyard. His extended family are a familiar site on the grounds. The seven children between their families all work, have worked or will work at the winery during the summer, according to the Grape Creek website. Heath’s brother-in-law is the retail operations manager.

“My mom’s been out here quite of few times, he said. “We have an event where we have mom’s meatballs. Mom makes her special sweet and sour meatballs and

employees and a handful of very helpful part time employees,” Heath said.

“We have a real high retention of our people,” he said. “One of our long-term people, Jeff Binney, used to teach college courses on running restaurants. He now writes our ‘Jeff’s Corner’ on Facebook.

He and his wife Kathy both work here.

Another one of our people Ashley, is also our electronic media person. People contribute based on their skills in a lot of different areas.”

Talent like Englert’s whose ability has produced award-winning wines.

Recently, Grape Creek Winery racked

Family Affair This is work Wessner has done herself with a little help from different families including her own father and mother.

Brothers, Andy and Dusty Timmons brought a planting tractor down from Lubbock to help with planting and her parents Jim and Nguyen Wessner, who at one time owned an orchard in Virginia, traveled from their home in Dallas to help her plant the vineyards.

“They sat on the back of the planting tractor and stuck plastic knives into the soil [to measure the space between vines],” Wessner said. “They just pulled knives and helped straighten the vines and plant ones we missed. My dad helped with the irrigation emitters too. Twelve hundred vines were done in one day.”

Families are not an uncommon site at Grape Creek Winery. Englert, who used to live on the grounds, raised his two sons in the vineyard.

“We lived at the winery for four to five years,” he said. It wasn’t uncommon to

The bar at the new outdoor patio awaits guests.

prepares them with the Grand Rouge. We just had this event with wine club members in November.”

His two daughters Heather and Jackie have worked at the winery in the summer when not in school at the University of San Diego.

“My dad lives at an assisted living center in town,” Heath said. “His group comes out here twice a year. We set up for them and do wine. One of our guys has gone over done a teaching session at the center.”

Heath’s dream of making the winery a “Disneyland for adults” starting with the gravel drive from the entrance through the Chenin Blanc grapevines to the Tuscan-inspired interior of the tasting rooms has proven successful with not only visitors, but employees too.

“Grape Creek has 25 great full-time

up ten awards at the 2014 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of American wines in the world.

Grape Creek’s 2012 Rendezvous, Rhone-style red wine won a double gold in the competition. In a unanimous decision, five judges voted the wine as gold, which is a designation few wines receive.

“It is a great accomplishment. I think that wine has more to show,” Englert said.

“We shall see.”

The winery’s 2012 Viognier received a gold rating and other wines won silver and bronze medals.

Just as Heath wants his employees to excel in their areas of expertise, he wants the winery to continue to improve. And like Heath found the “mystery wine,” he plans to find the perfect blend of quality and quantity.

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READING BETWEEN THE VINES

Sips of gold

T

By Matthew Este

here is gold in the Fredericksburg hills.

To be more specific, Grand Gold.

Last year, Pedernales Cellars entered their 2012 Reserve Viognier in the Concours International des Vins in Lyon, France.

Competing against wines from around the world, the wine won the Grand Gold – no other wine from the United States obtained such distinction.

Viognier (most easily pronounced Vee-on-yay) is a white wine grape most popularly grown in Condrieu in the Rhone Valley of France. In the late 1960s, the grape was nearly extinct, but grape growers in France brought it back.

Interest grew for Viognier internationally; it is planted in many places in the United States, especially Texas.

During a recent Sunday drive, I dropped by a few of the local vineyards to try their takes on this wonderful wine.

My first stop was at Pedernales Cellars, whose Grand Gold honor from competition in France piqued my curiosity. Larry and Jeanine Kuhlken planted their first vineyards in the early ’90s and spent years studying grapes that worked in the Hill country climate and soils. Eventually they opened a tasting room a short ways off Highway 290 in Stonewall. The tasting room provides serene views of the area in an excellent location to spend an afternoon tasting wine.

As they poured this light yellow colored wine into the glass, I

could smell the honey and floral aroma – which excited me further as to what I was about to taste, with hints of tropical fruits and vanilla. While this is a dry wine, I think that it has enough residual sugar to make it a perfect accompaniment to spicy food, or great with a Caponata salad.

I later dropped by Hilmy Cellars, which offers two different Viogniers to try: a Naked (un-oaked), and oaked Viognier.

Hilmy Cellars started in 2009 when Erik and Neldie Hilmy — along with friends and family — planted 3,000 Sangiovese vines; they then built a winery and tasting room on 290. I first tried the Naked Viognier and was pleased by its fragrant floral nose and crisp, dry yet slightly fruity taste; a bit of minerality and balanced acidity makes me think that this would be perfect for boiled Gulf shrimp. The Oaked Viognier had a bit more fruit on the nose, and the taste was slightly sweeter fruit with a bit of butter and a slight woodiness. Although both wines were delicious, they give an education in the varied profiles this grape can exhibit under different winemaking.

The Kuhlkens and the Hilmys are just two examples of these modern day pioneers coming to the Texas Hill country searching for gold. And they represent only a small sample of the wonderful wines produced in the area. Stop by and check out these and the other wonderful wineries in the area.

Matthew Este is a sommelier and wine steward.

WINE COLUMN

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HILL COUNTRY DINING

Grilling up synergy Chef pairs local wines, foods at Cabernet Grill

By Kristen N. Townsend Photos by Steve Rawls

S

ome may call his approach to wine pairing a little unconventional, but for Ross Burtwell everything begins with the wine. As owner and Executive Chef of Fredericksburg’s renowned Cabernet Grill since its opening in 2002, Burtwell creates dishes to center around and complement his 100 percent Texan wine list.

New boutique winery selections mingle alongside the state’s award-winning labels to comprise the most extensive all-Texas wine list in the country.

Local wineries regularly send Burtwell bottles of new varietals. His favorites become the inspiration for an ever-evolving dynamic menu featuring locally raised, quality ingredients.

This passion for utilizing local goods originated over ten years ago while Burtwell attended a class at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley.

“I visited a local restaurant one night and was amazed at the level of wine knowledge the servers had,” Burtwell recalls. “I saw the actual wine makers dining and conversing alongside everyone else. The synergy really struck me.”

That synergy was not something Burtwell could immediately create in Texas before the wine boom. Now, however, as Texas vineyards continue to gain popularity and recognition, the Cabernet Grill embodies and perpetuates the same symbiotic relationship Burtwell witnessed so many years ago in Napa Valley.

Servers at the Cabernet Grill take prerequisite field trips to local vineyards in order to meet the wine makers and see the land and grapes, often tasting directly from the barrels. Burtwell stresses the importance of his staff

Chef Ross Burtwell

familiarizing themselves with local wine makers’ thought processes. In fact, it is not unusual for a server to relay a vineyard experience or tidbit to Cabernet Grill guests.

Fredericksburg, a tourist town at the center of the wine boom, is a natural home for Burtwell’s passion yet has seen its fair share of restaurant openings and subsequent closings. Burtwell attributes the longevity of the Cabernet Grill to the importance of catering to both tourists and locals alike. Visitors to the area can come straight from a local vineyard tour to the Cabernet Grill to request a meal paired with the same wine they tasted earlier in the day. Fredericksburg’s residents appreciate the restaurant’s attainable price

point, non-stuffy atmosphere and major representation of locally grown products on the menu.

“The people in this area are my neighbors, my friends,” Burtwell states. “We need to take advantage of that. They dine in my restaurant, so I want to do the same thing for them.”

All of this passion is deeply rooted in Burtwell’s credentials and experience.

His culinary career spans more than two decades and includes positions at major Texas hotel restaurants, ranches and even a stint managing the catering kitchen at Retama Park – one of the state’s premiere horse racing venues. Although his resume is solid and quite worthy of accolades on its own, Burtwell’s favorite praises come from local farmers and vintners themselves.

“When I walk through our dining room and someone tells me that their meal was the best they’ve had in years, or that our service was over the top… nothing beats that feeling.”

Kristen N. Townsend is a mother, freelance writer and lifestyle management coordinator for families in the Texas Hill Country.

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HILL COUNTRY READS

A peach of a book

By Barbara Elmore

Fischer & Wieser Fredericksburg Flavors

A

s if giving a lesson in customer service, Mark Wieser stepped quickly into the darkened storefront at Das Peach Haus on Highway 87 South to retrieve a book for a customer. The store was closed, but the kitchen in the back was open for an event, and the customer had asked if Fischer & Wieser’s new cookbook was available.

On the flyleaf, Wieser wrote “Enjoy!” before signing his name and handing over the book.

Such personal attention is habit for the former schoolteacher Wieser, half of the famous duo who first employed his now-partner to pick peaches when Case Fischer was still a local student. The peaches and other wares were sold at a roadside stand, and young Case kept his eye on the business.

“He was not in sales, but he was intrigued by the fact that what you did with a customer, how you treated a customer, had as much to do with making a sale as anything inside the jar, box or basket,” the book notes. After Case finished college, the men combined their skills and vision to form one of their hometown’s most well-known businesses.

Their recently published cookbook, “Fredericksburg Flavors,” tells their story. The history of Germans in Texas, “Our Fredericksburg,” and the tale of how the two men joined efforts, “Two guys with great taste buds,” are enjoyable interludes in the front of the book.

Then you get to the meat and potatoes of Fredericksburg Flavors. Dive in. Cooks will find more than 125 mouthwatering recipes that use F&W products “handcrafted one jar at a time,” as a slogan on the bottles proclaims. This happens at the company’s plant at 411 Lincoln St. The first recipe section of “Fredericksburg Flavors” highlights appetizers, like the longtime party favorite, seven-layer dip. This particular recipe uses trademark F&W products Guacamole Starter and Salsa a La Charra Salsa.

Recipes from the heart of the Texas Hill Country

Case D. Fischer and Mark Wieser with John DeMers Bright Sky Press, 2012 195 pages $24.95

Cooks who want hearty meals and sophisticated fare will find directions for making soups and salads, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, side dishes, breakfast and desserts. If you have a sweet tooth first thing in the morning, the Pumpkin Pie Butter Empanadas (page 162) appear easy and more effective than an alarm clock.

You can’t go wrong with simple, household recipes. The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce & Cream Cheese Appetizer (page 29). It calls for ½ to ¾ cup of sauce drizzled over an 8-ounce package of cream cheese. Ginger snap cookies or your favorite crackers are suggested dippers.

We tested the recipe with both, and decided the flavor of the ginger snaps nicely complements the slightly spicy and smoky raspberry chipotle taste.

To learn more about the company, go to the website at www.jelly.com. Shoppers can order the book and find out about other products, including gift packages. Tip: Don’t read the testimonials if you are hungry and your next meal is hours away.

Barbara Elmore is an author and freelance writer. She reviews books, among other things, on her blog, www.authorbarbaraelmore.com.

THANKS, Y’ALL. Frost is proud to join in supporting the Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts.

And we’d be proud to help you along your financial journey too.

frostbank.com Boerne Financial Center 1300 South Main Street Boerne, TX 78006 (830) 249-6633 MEMBER FDIC

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HILL COUNTRY ART SCENE

What’s in a name?

Bronzes and masterful paintings await Whistle Pik visitors.

High-end art gallery mixes hometown, international allure

By Barbara Elmore

A

t a G. Harvey showing of art in Carmel, Tim and Pamela Taylor experienced an epiphany that came in the form of a decision to open a high-end art gallery in Fredericksburg. They wanted to raise their family in the small Hill Country town, and what they saw convinced them they could find success representing national artists.

They bought property on a street corner that once housed a restaurant, built a structure with an authentic German air, and in 1995, opened Whistle Pik Galleries at 425 East Main.

Eighteen years later, the business’s clients travel from nearby communities – Marble Falls, for example – or across oceans, said Tim Taylor. Collectors from Belarus to Tokyo have shopped at Whistle Pik, he said. When visitors thronged to Fredericksburg for spring break, the galleries broke a one-week sales record.

Although collectors come from everywhere, 55 percent visit from towns and cities in Texas. And one-third of the Lone Star State customers live only 50 miles away, Tim Taylor said. Such

heavy local support both surprises and gratifies him.

The corner property houses two galleries. A customer might draw in a startled breath at the caliber of art, such as bronzes by Glenna Goodacre and Mick Doellinger, African scenes by Julia Rogers, or nature as Larry Dyke paints it. Inside the courtyard estate gallery, collectors might find a wall of Texas scenes by Porfirio Salinas (1920-1973) or a painting by Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922). In the sculpture garden, visitors can commune with Goodacre’s bigger-than-life bronze rendition of Ronald Reagan, “After the Ride,” complete with gloves in back pocket.

Continued on page 14

The galleries are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. the first Friday of every month for First Friday Art Walk. The website, www.whistlepik.com, is a gallery itself, where visitors can view art as well as a schedule of events.

Hours:

Thursday-Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday: 11:00 a.m.-4:00 Closed early when sold out.

H Also open extended days on special event weekends & holidays. H

Whole Pie - ½ Pies or By the Slice Enjoy your pie with us or take it to go.

Selection Changes Daily • Up to 20 Different Kinds Pie works with whatever you are celebrating ~ Weddings - Rehearsals - Anniversaries

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H Baked Fresh Daily From Scratch H

108 East Austin Street

(1 block off Main between Adams & Llano Streets) Additional Parking in the Rear

830-990-6992

For current schedule call or scan

www.fredericksburgtexasshopping.com

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108 E. Austin St One Block off Main.

MarktPlatz Main St. / Hwy. 290 Courthouse & Library

Llano St.

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LAY YOUR HEAD

All Seasons’ Victorian Mansion B&B is a timeless, unique property.

All Seasons Collection B&Bs defining Fredericksburg luxury for travelers

By Megan Willome

W

hatever the season, The All Seasons Collection can meet your needs, whether it’s an upscale room, a spacious suite or a country cottage. “We’re a boutique reservation service featuring only luxury properties,” said owner Joe Cloud.

“We built the business model around a full-service reservation agency, allowing us to create the guest experience.”

The luxury begins at check-in with champagne on ice. After guests receive directions to their property, they learn how to use the Krups coffeemaker,

which grinds and brews locally owned Ranch Road Roasters coffee. “At 7 a.m., it’s important to know how to make that thing work,” Cloud said.

All Seasons has 15 properties, and the limited number is by design.

“If you go to a lot of the B&B sites, it’s overwhelming,” said Cloud. “Our model for this is simple, in one image you can see all the properties and click on what you want.”

Keeping the company small allows All Seasons to get to know their guests.

“Two ladies who come here regularly, we sat down with a glass of wine

and talked about what they like, what they don’t. Then we’re booking their next trip,” Cloud said.

The wineries are one of the main reasons guests come to All Seasons.

“It’s becoming our biggest draw right now — the wineries and the art galleries,”.

Cloud, who owns The All Seasons Collection with his partner, John Wallace, said the company offers wine tours and packages to enhance the vacation experience.

“We try to do things that will let them customize. We’ve got a picnic basket if you want to enjoy the wild-

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flowers. We’ll deliver that to your door at 10:30 in the morning,” he said. “We are going to do Experience Weekends, partnering with restaurants: how to make sushi, how to can vegetables fresh out of the garden. Or make jam from strawberries fresh from Marburger Orchard.”

All Seasons also offers engagement packages and can work with clients on a destination wedding or special event.

Cloud and Wallace have owned a ranch here for 20 years and spent just about every weekend visiting Fredericksburg until eight years ago, when they moved here permanently. During the week, he traveled — sometimes as often as four weeks out of the month.

When the economy turned and it was time for a career move, Cloud said he thought to himself, “I’ve lived in hotels for 20 years. I can do a B&B.” Cloud enjoys providing unexpected amenities, such as signature fragrances — one for each property.

“It’s an opportunity to surprise and delight people,” he said.

Although The All Seasons Collection is geared toward an adult getaway, it’s pet-friendly, charging only a modest $30 fee. Cloud said the number of guests who want to bring their pets is “huge.”

“You’d be amazed. They’re making a road trip. It’s easy to bring the dogs with them. They’d rather do that than board them,” he said.

To make a reservation or to learn more, call 830/998-1981 or 800/775-3197 or go to www. allseasonsfredericksburg.com, or visit the new All Seasons Collection Office and Retail Store at 613 West Main Street in Fredericksburg.

Megan Willome is managing editor and a contributing writer for the Wacoan Magazine in Waco, Texas.

She blogs about poetry and other things at www. meganwillome.com.

All Seasons collection features 15 properties, each with unique characteristics, from a rustic cabin with a dogtrot (above) at Tanglewood Farms, to this scenic respite with a pond (below) at the Carriage House on Orchard. All properties are adults only, though pets are allowed at some with a small fee.

14 Coming in our next issue ROCK&Vine Wine and lifestyle magazine of the Texas Hill Country

The next big thing

The planned Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts will bring the best of food and wine to Fredericksburg and cement the town’s reputation as a wine destination. The estimated 34,000 annual visitors — a boost to the town’s current 1.2-million — will no doubt bolster the burg’s existing restaurants and encourage new investment.

The center will feature culinary classes, Texas wine tastings and food pairings, casual dining, food and hospitality industry training, special events rental space and some retail.

Whistle Pik Galleries

13

Want to make a donation?

TCWCA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit corporation. Opportunities exist for underwriting or sponsoring fund-raising events.

Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, Inc. P.O. Box 818 Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 (830)990-8237 info@tcwca.com

Continued from page 11

The Taylors operate the business in ways designed to be easy on the eyes and transparent to the collector: A shopper can easily see a price near each piece. Paintings are placed where shoppers can view them, not on the floor. Finally, employees respond to customers and treat them well. “It’s real important to us to display Texas hospitality,” Tim Taylor said, noting that he finds politeness widespread on Main Street.

Although each piece of art invites a story, the name of the business is a story too. The Taylors sold property in Colorado to purchase the Fredericksburg spot. One feature of the land they sold were marmots – ground dwellers called “whistle pigs” because they whistle. Neither Tim nor Pamela wanted “pig” as part of the business name, however, Pamela, a calligrapher who designed the gallery logo, wanted a sweeping serif on the final letter. They swapped a “K” for the “G,” and they had a name. “We are the only Whistle Pik in the world,” said Tim Taylor. “The name has been a marketing success.”

Barbara Elmore is an author and freelance writer. She reviews books, among other things, on her blog, www.authorbarbaraelmore.com.

Sources from Hill Country Factoids, page 15 Texas Monthly Magazine; Texas Parks and Wildlife website; Home remedies “Heathly Living with Peaches” by Sam Malone; Mason County Visitors Guide; Marble Falls Visitors Guide; Texas State Preservation Board history online; Weird Animal Facts by weirdfacts.com; “Medicinal Plants of the Southwest,” New Mexico State University; Pest Management Science Magazine; Texas Extension Wildlife Specialist Billy Higginbotham; “The Truth about Goats” in “Don’t Make Me Go to Town: Ranchwomen of the Texas Hill Country” by Rhonda Lashley Lopez; American Association of Medical Colleges’ State Physician Workbook Data Book; Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio; and “Tracing Dialect Death: The Texas German Dialect Project,” by Hans C. Boas.

PAT’S HALL From

“I Do” to

Boot Scootin’

Historic Pat’s Hall is available for weddings, fundraisers, celebrations, or just come dance to good country music

PatsHall.com—406 Post Oak Road, Fredericksburg—830.997.7574

ROCK&Vine

15

Wine and lifestyle magazine of the Texas Hill Country

PETRÆ & VITIS

The Hill Country Franciscan padres planted the first vineyards near El Paso in 1662, more than one hundred years before they cultivated grapes in California. • Biologists found that on the average, 92 of every 100 does in the Hill Country were pregnant, and white-tailed deer are known for producing twins.

• The Old Tunnel State Park, half a mile east of Fredericksburg city limits off Old San Antonio Road, is the smallest park in Texas, containing only 16.1 acres of land. In July and August there are over three million Mexican Free-tailed bats and 1,000-3,000 Cave Myotis in Old Tunnel.

• Alternative health experts found that eating a peach along with its skin before going to bed, helps constipation suffers. • While Texas voted over-whelmingly to secede in 1861, Mason County residents voted 77 to 2 in favor of staying in the Union. Loyal Valley, 16 miles south of the town of Mason, got its name because the German settlers there did not desert the Union. Supporters of the Confederacy regarded the German farmers as a threat.

Armadillos have four babies at a time, always all the same sex. They are perfect quadruplets, the fertilized cell split into quarters, resulting in four identical armadillos. If disconnected, the sex organs of an armadillo are still active. Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy. • Originally, the exterior of the Capitol in Austin was to be limestone, but the stone that was quarried streaked when exposed to air. Granite, a harder, more expensive stone, was proposed.

The debate delayed construction for almost two years. Finally the decision was made to use “Sunset Red” granite donated by its owners in what is

now Marble Falls. The state gave the stone to the contractor along with 1,000 convicts to quarry it.

Construction on the Capitol began in February 1882. When, in 1885, the granite cutter’s union objected to the use of convict labor and boycotted, the contractor responded by importing experienced stonecutters from Scotland. • The medicinal properties of mesquite have long been known and utilized by many native tribes throughout the southwest. Mesquite is commonly used to treat eye conditions, open wounds and dermatological ailments.

Texas residents can thank or blame the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto for bringing the first feral hogs to the country in 1539. There are nearly 2 million wild boars in the Lone State. • Scientists found that lavender oil is an environmentally sound repellent for yellow jackets. • When shearing goats, Hill Country ranchers leave four inches of cape on the backbone to keep them warm. • Texas is currently facing shortages in 36 of 40 medical specialties. The state has 176 doctors per 100,000 people; 26 medical students per 100,000 people (25th lowest in the nation); and 24 percent of the population without health insurance (the highest in the nation). • Girl Scout Camp Mira Sol (near Waring) was the first camp established to exclusively serve African American girls. Opening in 1950 in the Texas Hill Country, it was integrated in 1956, eight years before the Civil Rights Act was passed. • There are no German word equivalents for armadillo, live oak, ranch, hay-bailer, sonic boom, or jello.

Compiled by Christine Granados. Sources are on page 14.

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