Growers Gather
Texas wineries gather in Hill Country for tastings and insider panels
Westcave Cellars is one of more than a dozen participating wineries.
Wine-lovers curious about the state of the Texas wine industry can get caught up at a multifaceted tasting event in Fredericksburg on March 1. For the 100% Texas Tasting Experience, Texas Wine Growers (TWG), a nonprofit that works on education and policy, is gathering 16 wineries from across the state for tastings and "fireside chats" about what's next in the industry.
The 16 participating wineries will all be TWG members, including the acclaimed William Chris Vineyards, which moved up on the prestigious 2025 World’s 50 Best Vineyards list in 2025. According to an Eventbrite listing, full list of participating wineries is as follows:
- Ab Astris
- Bingham Family Vineyards
- Hawk's Shadow Winery
- Lewis Wines
- Lost Draw Wines
- Perissos Vineyards
- Pontotoc Vineyard
- Portree Cellars
- Reddy Vineyards
- Rivenburgh Wine
- Sandy Road Vineyards
- Slate Theory Winery
- Texas Heritage Vineyard
- Torr Na Lochs Vineyard & Winery
- Westcave Cellars
- William Chris Vineyards
Each ticket includes 20 tastings. Attendees can break up all the sipping with artisan snacks by Go Texan partners from around the state. Those include gluten-free cakes by Chuckwagon Nutcakes, pork by Texas Iberico, pickled goods by Texas Pike Pickles, and more.
The educational side of the event, the fireside chats, will be moderated by This Is Texas Wine podcast host and wine educator Shelly Wilfong. Two chats are on the schedule: at 12:30 pm, attendees can hear about values in action in "Fill Your Head: Purpose, Creativity, and 100% Texas Wine"; and at 1:30 pm they can refine their own commitment to buying Texas wines in "From the Ground Up: Why Supporting Texas Wine Means Supporting Texas Agriculture."
Beyond the chats, attendees will have the chance to meet and chat with makers, purchase bottles to take home, and round out their haul with snacks to-go.
“Raising a glass of Texas wine means supporting your neighbors," said TWG President John Rivenburgh in a press release. "You’re keeping more than 136,000 Texans employed, from vineyard crews tending to our 14,000 acres to the faces welcoming you in our tasting rooms. The 100% Texas Tasting Experience invites you to be part of something bigger – preserving Texas viticulture from the High Plains to the Hill Country, proving our wines can compete with established regions, and putting money directly into the hands of the people growing grapes and making wine here.”
Tickets ($65 general admission, $45 for TWG Advocate Members) are available online now. The 100% Texas Tasting Experience will be held at Swallows Eve (1411 Lower Crabapple Rd., Fredericksburg) from 11 am to 3 pm. The first hour is reserved for TWG members.
