Texans love their wine. According to the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association, Texas is the site of the first North American vineyard (founded by Franciscan priests around 1662), and in the last 8 years the number of Texas wineries has grown from 40 to 200 (http://www.txwines.org/information.asp).

Deep in the Texas Hill Country is "Wine Country." Throughout the year, Texas Hill Country Wineries allows you to walk down five self-guided Trails to experience the origins of Texas fine wine. Tour the vineyards in the Harvest Wine Trail (Aug. 6-8 and 13-15, 2010), October Texas Wine Month Trail (Oct. 1-31, 2010), or the Holiday Wine Trail (1st three weekends of Dec. 2010). Texas Hill County Wineries features 24 different wineries which hold their own events as well. For more information about the wineries, click here.

Another fun event is the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. This is a series of dinners and luncheons at vineyards, held for several days annually and featuring chefs and wine experts. The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in April 2010. For general information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To learn more about Texas wine, check out GO TEXAN WineCast's video series below.