Celebrate the grape harvest in the Texas Hill Country.

The end of the grape growing season in the Texas Hill Country is celebrated the weekends of August 5-7 and August 12-14 with the 2011 Harvest Wine Trail. This is a great time to tour vineyards, meet vintners, and taste wine. Hill Country Texas Bed and Breakfasts welcome oenophiles!

The grape harvest is traditionally a celebratory event. It’s hard work, to be sure, and it needs to be completed in a timely manner. Everyone lends a hand, from farm hands to farm owners. This is when the most exciting aspect of wine making occurs – the crush – and folks on the 2011 Harvest Wine Trail will be well placed to witness it.

Each winery visit includes 1 to 3 complimentary tastes of wine and a 15% discount on certain purchases of three bottles or more. When you purchase your ticket, you’ll also receive a gift of Kerrygold cheeses. Pick it up at the winery of your choice and bring it with you as you taste, for nothing compliments wine quite like smooth, flavorful cheese.

There are nine Texas wineries in and around Fredericksburg, making Fredericksburg an ideal choice of lodging while you enjoy the 2011 Harvest Wine Trail. Yet there are Hill Country Texas Bed and Breakfasts throughout the area, in Comfort, Boerne, Marble Falls, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and elsewhere. Many are close to at least one of the wineries on the trail. Use one as a base, or wander from one Texas Bed and Breakfast to the next.

Additional information about the Harvest Wine Trail is available at Texas Hill Country Wineries.

27 wineries participate in the Harvest Wine Trail. Please pace yourself or have a designated driver.

Hamilton Pool Dripping Springs, TX, originally uploaded by JamesGriff.

The name Dripping Springs conjures thoughts of cool green waters and quiet pools, and that’s just what you’ll find near Dripping Springs, Texas. Cool off at a Dripping Springs Texas Bed and Breakfast sometime this summer – you’ll be glad you did.

The town of Dripping Springs is about 30 miles southwest of Austin, in the Hill Country region of Texas. The springs from which it takes its name are still present, marked by a granite marker in town. Ask directions from the innkeepers at your Hill Country Texas Bed and Breakfast, then visit the watering hole that once gave fresh water to Native Americans and early settlers.

Hamilton Pool (pictured here) is a natural deep water pool a few miles outside of town. It is a lovely swimming hole – stand under the 45 foot waterfall for the ultimate experience – and has fabulous nature trails, as well. Nearby Pedernales Falls State Park is a great spot for hiking, river swimming, mountain biking and birdwatching. Slightly farther afield is the Lyndon B. Johnston National Historic Park, where it is lovely to delve into both history and nature.