Texas wine is starting to grow on me. The 30 people in our group really enjoyed the selection of eight varieties at the Tasty Touring event at Flat Creek Estates in Marble Falls.

For $15, we tried whites (pinot grigio, buckin’ horse white), reds (super texan, buckin’ horse red) dessert wines (muscato d’arancia, muscato blanco, port), sparkling wines (almond, raspberry). The wines were paired with Texas cheeses from Houston Dairy Maids. They were all delicious — we tried goat cheese, cheddar, and Havarti. These were served with dried fruit, french bread, oyster crackers, and dark chocolate Hershey’s kisses. Betsy and David hooked it up with whole wheat matzo to share with those keeping Passover.

Charlie Kidd, the winemaker, introduced each of the wines, answered questions from the group, and took us on a tour of the operation. Check out photos and a video from parts of our tour posted by Howard, owner of Austin’s Latin Cafe. Sadly, Flat Creek lost most of their grapes just a week ago during a late season frost and will have to purchase grapes from California to make up for the loss.

The original idea for the Tasty Hill Country Wine Tour was that the group would meet at the winery, and then head out to explore other parts of Marble Falls. Some ideas included Balcones Canyonlands Wildlife Refuge, Sweet Berry Farm, and Blue Bonnet Cafe.

Our group (Jen, Reid, Rebecca, Adam and me) — went with the strawberry picking option. On the way, we stopped in Marble Falls so Jen and Reid could pick up lunch at Storm’s. This is the kind of joint you stop at to pick up burgers, fries, and shakes. The fries are made from fresh cut potatoes and were pretty tasty. Their tagline: “Wherever you are in the Texas Hill Country, you can’t be too far from a Storm’s.”

The picking at Sweet Berry Farm was pretty slim…the berries were small and few and far between. However, before we knew it, Adam and I together had picked about seven pounds of small but extremely delicious berries. My fingers were stained with dirt and juice and my back hurt from bending over but the final result was worth it. We enjoyed homemade strawberry and pumpkin ice cream as a reward for our hard labors.

Our plans for the strawberries include strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry breakfast bread. We may end up freezing some as well but are open to suggestions.

Additional photos from the tour are posted to the Tasty Touring Facebook page and on TheRebecca’s photostream. If you were on the tour, please feel free to add comments either on the blog or on Facebook as I’d love your feedback!