ultimate travel Guide to Fredericksburg Texas Wine Country
In this ultimate travel Guide to Fredericksburg Texas wine country, I will share where to eat, where to sleep, and share some travel tips for your next visit. In addition, I will highlight 5 wineries we visited and discuss what we enjoyed and what we didn’t enjoy.
Did y’all know Texas Hill Country is the second most visited wine region in the U.S. right after Napa? Keep reading for your guide to Fredericksburg, TX, which spoiler alert, has over 50 wineries!
Travel Tips/Facts
Fredericksburg was originally a German settlement and it still retains elements of the German culture. It is located about 4 hours from Houston, and 1 hour from Austin and San Antonio.
TIP #1
Please be aware that summers are extremely hot, so note to self visit in the spring or fall for better weather to enjoy the wildflowers and the outdoors.
TIP #2
Also note that Fredericksburg can get extremely packed on the weekends, if you can, I recommend visiting during the week for a better more personal experience. Due to it being so popular on the weekends, make sure to check with the vineyards you plan on visiting and see if you need reservations.
Where to Stay
There are tons of Airbnb options, and several hotels but definitely book ahead of time if you are going on the weekend!
If you want to stay in town I highly recommend Fredericksburg Inn & Suites. I stayed there recently, read my review here. They are a 5 min walk from main street and we walked just about everywhere!
I also stayed on the 290 Wine Trail at Stonewall Motor Lodge, read my review here, which is awesome because you are driving distance to tons of wineries.
If you are looking for a unique stay, check out Blue Skies Retro Resort and stay at a colorful Shasta trailer with total Palm Springs vibes. Click here for my review.
Where to Eat
BREAKFAST
My absolutely favorite is Emma & Ollie for a sit down breakfast. Trust me when I say get the avocado toast or breakfast tacos! Furthermore, do yourself a favor and get some of their pastries. I had a chance to try a couple of their pastries AND their beignets and I will definitely be back every time I am in town!
On the other hand for an easy on the go breakfast, pick Kaffee Haus for some great coffee, scones and kolaches. For breakfast sandwiches check out Java Ranch which also has great coffee, and their sausage biscuit was so good!
LUNCH
Overall, most wineries have food menus with pizza, appetizers or charcuterie boards. Although, I’ve heard great things about Sunset Grill, Woerner Warehouse but I’ve only had a chance to try Main Street taquitos. I was really shocked to find authentic tacos in Fredericksburg but they were perfect after drinking so much wine!
DINNER
I’ve also heard great things about Navajo Grill and Hondo’s on Main. Although, I only had a chance to try Chases Places, and the drinks were amazing and so were the steak tacos!
WHAT WE ENJOYED:
THE VIEWS:
The winery is off the 290 trail so it does seem out of the way but it is worth it! I mean look at this place! There is so much room to sit and have some wine, including these tables at the front, or sit inside, or on the second floor patio, the view from up there is insane!!
THE SERVICE:
As soon as we sat down our waiter came over, he was constantly checking on our orders even while working several tables.
THE WINE:
I am regretting not purchasing a bottle to go. We had the Nectar La Rouge which is a red blend and we loved it! Also FYI, their wine is 100% grown and produced in Texas.
WHAT WE DIDN’T ENJOY:
NOTHING:
Everything was amazing. If you only visit one winery make it Augusta Vin. We will definitely be visiting again!
WHAT WE ENJOYED:
THE AMBIENCE:
It’s super fun, perfect for a girls trip or a bachelorette. And yes, they actually have a fat ass, a big donkey on their ranch that is! They have a huge outdoor patio with tons of tables.
UNIQUE WINES:
They have peach, blackberry, apple pie, prickly pear jalaraspeberrypeno, strawberry fields, and watermelon wines! We tried several of these last year during our tasting and they were all delicious!
FROZEN DRINKS:
They have a frozen sangria that is perfect for summer!
WHAT WE DIDN’T ENJOY:
THE LINES:
We visited during the weekend and obviously this shows how popular they are and not something against them. Drinks can be purchased outside and bottles can be purchased inside at their gift shop.
WHAT WE ENJOYED:
THE BEAUTIFUL SPACE:
They have beautiful flowers at the entrance, the green walkway that leads to the front patio, and this cute wine barn! There are so many photo opportunities that this has to be the most picturesque winery of all!
JOANNA’S MARKET:
Joanna’s Market sells sandwiches and cheese, crackers, etc to make your own charcuterie board. This was awesome as not many wineries sell food, so eat up, as you have a lot more wine to drink!
WHAT WE DIDN’T ENJOY:
THE LINES:
We visited on a weekend and made reservations online. Since we were going to purchase a bottle she let us sit anywhere and we could purchase the bottle at the wine barn. The line was super long and of course this shows how popular they are and obviously nothing against them. I’ve also visited twice during the week, done a tasting and had no issues with any lines.
WHAT WE ENJOYED:
THE SERVICE:
The employees inside were really friendly and welcoming. They let us know that they are doing wine tastings inside but we could purchase bottles outside. We found tons of open tables outdoors.
WHAT WE DIDN’T ENJOY:
NOTHING:
This is a very casual winery, but just note that you will not be trying Texas wines but South African and Chilean wines. I loved this as I actually had wines in South Africa, so it brought back memories.
WHAT WE ENJOYED:
THE WINE:
Rose is my go to and this one was actually really good.
THE FOOD:
One of the few wineries that also has appetizers and pizza. We were able to order from our table inside.
WHAT WE DIDN’T ENJOY:
THE SERVICE:
Our waitress let us know that the tables inside were mostly for tastings and that most people don’t eat inside. Our waitress also disappeared after she brought out our food and didn’t let us know she was leaving.
RESERVATIONS:
We made reservations online and our time slot was limited to an hour so they suggested we ordered our food ahead of time, which we did. Our waitress let us know that we would have to reorder everything at our table and the time limit was not enforced. We did notice that if you didn’t have a reservation they were sending people to a separate area. Honestly, we had such a terrible experience and yes the winery is pretty but there are way better wineries to take pictures at with much better service.
Overall
Overall, I suggest doing your research and if you are visiting during the weekend make reservations way ahead of time! There are tons of wineries, over 50, so you definitely have options. I try new wineries every single time and find new ones I love so have fun and enjoy! Cheers!
I hope this ultimate travel guide to Fredericksburg, Texas Wine Country was helpful to plan your next visit! If y’all have any questions let me know below. I’ll be doing a Part 2 and Part 3 of more wineries to visit and more things to do in Fredericksburg so stay tuned!
Really great information. How did you get from place to place? Is their a wine tour or something?
Good question! There are tons of wine tours and also a 290 wine shuttle, the only one I have done and can recommend is Texas Winos. I did use them before the pandemic though. Looks like they are open if you would like to check them out!