This post is a contribution from the UpTake Getaway Crew Austin. Visit them today and get a local spin on the great city of Austin!

Lake Travis behind the tasting room at Stone House Vineyards in Spicewood. Photo courtesy of Stone House Vineyards

It’s true: the Texas wine industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and the Hill Country region is one of the fastest growing wine tourism areas in the nation.  Recently, the New York Times picked the region as the #1 place to go this summer.

With rolling hills that see warm days and cool nights, the Hill Country is prime terroir for growing a variety of grapes, and many wineries are taking advantage by producing fine estate wines out of Tempranillo, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and even Pinot Grigio, to name a few. There are now 27 wineries in the Hill Country appellation, scattered among a number of routes known locally as Wine Trails. They are easy to navigate and explore by car on day trips; most of them include tasting rooms, and Flat Creek Estate even has an on-site bistro.  Read More »

Outdoor seating area at Sip Malibu

Los Angeles is not a place that makes you think “wine tasting!  Yeah!”  But more and more hillside property in Malibu, northwest of the city, is being converted into grapevine territory.  Sip Malibu, located adjacent to the Rustic Canyon General Store and Grill which is popular with motorcyclists, is the tasting room of the Malibu based Cielo Winery.  For $10 through $18 plus tax, you can sample a variety of the wines every day until 8:00 or 9:00 PM.

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Sonoma Grapes

For Valentine’s my boyfriend and I went to Sonoma, CA for a long weekend of wine tasting and eating fantastic food. Before stopping in Sonoma (where we were staying), we kept driving to Napa so that we could try out a few wineries before our check-in time. I am normally directionally challenged, but the beauty of Napa is its simplicity. The majority of the wineries are on the main freeway in Napa (I-29) so it makes navigating easy! Read More »

Romance starts with the hotel.  We first discovered Madrona Manor on a bike ride through the valley and I always thought it would make a great place to celebrate an anniversary or promote romance. It offers perfectly landscaped grounds, colorful flower border along manicured lawns, beautifully appointed rooms and the service to match.  It also offers a world class & romantic dining experience.

We arrived on Friday night for the weekend, had breakfast in the town of Healdsburg the next day, shopped a bit around the town square, bought a picnic lunch and rented two bikes to tour the wineries and get some exercise.  The ride is easy on relatively flat roads, there are few cars and the wineries are within a short ride from each other.  We then returned to the hotel for a lazy afternoon and then went to dinner at Madrona Manor.  A perfect day. The next day we toured a few more wineries, picnicked along the river and then drove back to the bay area.

If you wish to go wine tasting, there are too many wineries to recommend.  I would suggest you ask the desk staff to recommend a few wineries.  Personally, we like the family vineyards of  Bella and  Zichichi.

Plan your next romantic getaway in Healdsburg and the Dry Creek Valley. It offers sunny skies, great food, flavorful wine and a beautiful hotel to make it  memorable.