When I decided to add a section on wine to my website, I was still in the early stages of wine appreciation and discovery. This mostly meant experimenting with different wines while at restaurants and then expanding on those experiences at the local retail outlets. Then one day I had what would become my second great wine revelation (after "so what if it makes me sleepy") - I live in wine country!

For those of you that aren't aware, Texas has a booming wine industry and it has been embraced to the fullest in the Texas Hill Country. We literally have wineries everywhere. It may have taken a while, but it finally occurred to us that visiting a winery might be an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Well, that turned out to be an understatement. For the last few years now, our entire social sphere has become centered around the wineries in our area. Not only has this brought new friends into our lives, but it has helped to break down the last great barrier to total wine enjoyment - Snobery!

I have lived my entire life in Texas and have always taken great pride in all things Texas. However, I have to admit that when it came to Texas wine, I looked down my nose. I had only tasted a few Texas wines and there was just no way a wine produced in Texas could ever compare to even the most moderate wines from the rest of the world. Well, now I know better. The truth is Texas wines have matured and many deserve their place alongside the California Cab, Oregon Pinot Noir or Italian Sangiovese in your wine rack. The lesson learned? Any wine produced from any place (including your neighbors garage) deserves some basic respect. Have an open mind and give it a shot. You may just be happily surprised.

This section of my website is going to be devoted to wineries. It's not my intention to specifically focus on their wine (that's what the Wine Catalog is for), but rather to try and relate the atmosphere and enjoyment of visiting the properties and tasting rooms. Don't get the idea from the rest of this intro that it will be exclusively about Texas wineries. It may be mostly about those, but only because that's what I generally have access to.