When we moved to North Texas last summer, I was delighted when we found a home close to the city of Grapevine. It has great tourist appeal and interesting places to visit. I’ve had the chance to go to numerous locales there in the past year.
When you think of wine, Texas is a state that you probably wouldn’t think of. But it’s the fourth largest wine producing state. And I do believe that my new favorite experience in the area is Grapevine Wine Tours. It’s a fun wine tasting/meal event that gets you a flavor for the wineries located in the area and leaves you with a taste for more…
I was able to attend a gratis evening out with Grapevine Wine Tours as part of blogger event earlier this week, and I can say that I’ll be back for another at my own expense in the future.
Grapevine Wine Tours offers a four hour tour in both a lunch and dinner experience. Both of them include a shuttle to two wineries with tastings included and a restaurant where you get a three-course meal and additional wine tastings. It’s a natural progression which for lunch has you at a winery, then lunch and then another winery; for dinner you do the two area wineries first, and then you have your dinner stop.
The schedule changes all the time and for the Grapevine Wine Tours (the company also offers Dallas Wine Tours), you get to experience three of seven different locations. All three places we stopped, Homestead Winery, Delaney Vineyards and Winewood Grill were amazing.
The convenience of choosing to do a wine tasting experience with Grapevine Wine Tours is so worth it. Included in the price of your tour ($79.50 for lunch, $89.50 for dinner) is roundtrip transportation from one of three Grapevine Hotels, wine tastings, your meal, and all taxes and gratuities at the facilities you visit. The only extra expenses you will have is if you choose to purchase any wine at the wineries (And if you like one buy it. These wines are not sold in retail locations in the area, just at the wineries) and a gratuity for your tour guide driver. If all the tour guides are like the one we had, you’re in for a fun filled time and will learn a lot about wine production in Texas and the history of the city of Grapevine.
Homestead Winery was our first stop which is located in historic downtown Grapevine. They had plenty of wines out for our group to taste. The ones I tried were all bursting with amazing undertones that made the wines exceptional and unique. Considering the quality they are down right affordable as well and I’m so glad that I was introduced to this local winery through Grapevine Wine Tours because I know I’ll be stopping there to pick up a bottle or two 🙂
Sunshine, vineyards, good friends, wine, what could be better? Our second stop on the Grapevine Wine Tours was Delaney Vineyards. I so enjoyed this locale not just for the great wine we received to taste but for the atmosphere of the venue as well. This French Chateaux in the middle of North Texas stands out a little, but it’s beautiful and with the grapes just beginning to flourish it’s unique in that they are the only local winery that has a vineyard right on the property. It was such a fun place to visit and see a bit of the inner workings of how the wine gets from vineyard to table. It was quite educational.
We got a short lesson in grape growing 😉 Did you know that all grapes start out green…even red ones?!
Look at these huge fermentation tanks and barrels!
I obviously know where my palate lies when it comes to wines. At the first two winery stops my favorite wines were sweet reds. Specifically at Homestead Winery it was the Chocolate Rose, and at Delaney Vineyards it was the Sweet Texas Red that was paired with chocolate covered fruit.
After all the delicious wine tastings at the first two venues on the dinner tour, you’re ready to move on to dinner. You get back on the fabulous air conditioned shuttle and your tour guide takes you over to a restaurant for your meal, and of course more wine 😉 On our tour we visited the Winewood Grill in Grapevine. I declare it a “must eat” destination for any foodie. And naturally at this wine-focused restaurant we sampled three more delicious wines.
My meal started with Tomato Bisque Soup, followed by the entrée of Scottish Salmon and finished with a Brookie. That’s right a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie baked inside. Heavenly I tell you!
Grapevine Wine Tours received the ‘Best Wine Tour” award in the Official Best of Texas 2013. They and the wineries/restaurants they partner with do a phenomenal job in the industry.
If you’re headed to North Texas and are a wine enthusiast, I encourage you to book a tour with Grapevine Wine Tours. Of course if you’re local look into it as well, tours can be done with a minimum of just four people. It’s a great thing to do for birthdays, bachelorette parties, girls night out or for team building or as a corporate event as well.
I really recommend the experience. I feel like Grapevine Wine Tours allowed me to find a hidden treasure in these local wineries. The willingness of the host wineries to make sure that everyone was knowledgeable about the tastings of the wines and the information they all shared about the industry made the tour that much more enjoyable.
For more information about Grapevine Wine Tours visit http://grapevinewinetours.com or call 817-259-WINE. You can save 10% off Grapevine lunch and dinner tours only, with code BLOG10 (expires 9/1/14).
Have you ever been on a wine tour before? If so what was your favorite part of it?
Tammy Litke is a Dallas blogger, blogging since 2008. She loves to watch movies, play video games, spend time in the kitchen, and travel. Between recipes and reviews you’ll find many helpful and some just plain funny posts on her blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
We live about two miles from the Strawbale winery of South Dakota and have visited it several times. It is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon trying different wines and seeing how wine is made on small scale.
I am such a wine lover! The places looks fabulous. I never knew that Texas was the 4th largest wine producing state at all! My sister is moving to Texas in August so I'll have to take a trip out to see her AND have some wine LOL!
I would love to go on a wine tour with the girls. A wine tour with the girls would be perfect to let the stress go for awhile and create some great memories in the process.
What an awesome day! We have tons of smaller wineries around here, but I have never been on a tour – although I talk about going on one all the time 🙂
I moved to DFW almost two years ago. I haven't visited here yet, but definitely want to visit now!
You're right, I would have never guessed that Texas was the 4th largest wine production state! Who knew? This sounds like it was such a great and informative experience! Who doesn't love a good glass of wine? 😉
My best friend would love this!
That looks like such a fun wine tour! I've visited wineries before but I've never actually done a tour – I'm doing one in Napa Valley next week!
I've always wanted to take a wine tour. It looks like so much fun.
I would love to go on a wine tour like this. It sounds like a great way to spend a day with friends. Your photos are fantastic!
We did go on a wine tour of a wine cave-type thing and the vineyards. I think my favorite is just enjoying how picturesque the vineyards can be. Glad you had a great time 🙂
We did go on a wine tour of a wine cave-type thing and the vineyards. I think my favorite is just enjoying how picturesque the vineyards can be. Glad you had a great time 🙂
We did go on a wine tour of a wine cave-type thing and the vineyards. I think my favorite is just enjoying how picturesque the vineyards can be. Glad you had a great time 🙂
I don't drink wine but a tour sounds like it'll be a lot of fun though.
I love a good wine tasting. This looks like lots of fun.
Wow I didn't know they served such great food on the Grapevine Wine Tours!
Now that's a tour I can get behind. I love a good wine.
I enjoy visiting the wineries in my area. This tour looks like such a great time and the food looks delish!
Oh how fun. I am not a huge wine drinker but I have always wanting to try a tasting. This tour sounds fun!
I've never been on a wine tour and I'm only an hour from LI Wine Country! I should really do that one day!
That looks like a great tour! I want to go for our 10 year anniversary and do a whole wine tour out there.
I've never been on a wine tour. I hope to go on one soon.
Oh this is right up my mom's alley she would love to do something like this.
This looks like it would be a fun time with my husband one day, I love wine tours!
Looks like a lovely place to visit. The last time we did a wine tour was on our honeymoon, many years ago.
You're so cute! That's beside the point, but oh my gosh, I love wineries and tours like that! (And wine. Oh I love wine.) There is so much beauty from the outside to the inside of those places!
I've never been to a wine tasting or a winery/vineyard before but would love to though.
Looks like so much fun! I am not a huge wine drinker, but my sister is. I would do this with her in a heartbeat.
How fun! & dinner looks fabulous!
What a fun tour. You are right, I wouldn't think of Texas as a big wine state, but your tour looked amazing!
I haven't done any winery tours. It looks like a great way to spend an afternoon.
I have always wanted to visit a winery and I could not have loved this night any more than I did. I learned so much and got to spend my time with great people! I can't recommend this fantastic experience enough to other people!
Such a great evening and I loved seeing all the beautiful spots in our area!
I have never been on a wine tour. Though I don't drink wine, I think it would be wonderful to visit a vineyard and learn more about growing grapes as I want to grow our own one day. We love grapes and I'd love to make grape jelly or jam.
We had so much fun! The ribs at Winewood were awesome, too!! And my favorite wine was the Bois d arc. Can't wait to go again with some friends!
It looks as if you sure had a tasty tour! I would (almost) give up some wine samples for an extra Brookie or two.
I don't drink wine, but this looks like a fantastic trip! I love excuses to get away with girlfriends.
Such a great way to enjoy friends and learning all in one evening! Totally going to do this one again! Good to see you!
It was a fun evening and one I'd happily repeat again! 🙂
Really you had a wonderful experience, that's great! Wine tasting is really an enjoyable event for wine lovers as well as others. Try out Napa & Sonoma winery tour, you will love it.