This past weekend Emily, Michael, Craig, and I took a road trip down to New Braunfels.  We met up with our parents and aunt for a fun weekend of wine drinking!  My parents own a rental property on the river in New Braunfels, so we go down to visit during the off season.  NB is a wonderful German town on the Guadalupe and Comal rivers surrounded by the Hill Country region.  Usually when we visit, we spend most of our time sitting on patios enjoying the sunshine, eating chicken fried steak or having a beer and listening to Texas country music out at Gruene Hall.  But on this trip we had one mission…the 7th Annual Wein & Saengerfest!!  There is nothing like mixing German culture and food with Texas wines.  And despite the sweltering afternoon sun, we had a blast!

We started out Saturday morning at the New Braunfels Farmers Market.  We talked to a lot of local farmers and drooled over some amazing produce and crafts.

There were so many vegetables!!  I mean look at these stacks of onions and beets.  Practically every table was piled high with deliciousness.

I really love the punchy colors of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Makes me crave healthy food for a change!

Buying from local farmer’s markets is a really great way to find out where your food comes from.  Plus you get the opportunity to help out the local economy.

Jack & Emmy had some really beautiful dressings and tomato sauces.  Don’t worry, we totally bought some of the sauce.  Craig and I cooked with it Sunday night and made the freshest tasting lasagna I’ve ever eaten.  I think Emily is going to feature the sauce in a recipe on the site soon.

These preserves looked so delicious and I wish we had bought one of each.  Sadly we didn’t buy any of them.  Not even sure how that happened except to say that I kept getting distracted by all the delicious products around me.  There was a booth with fresh goat cheese next to the jellies.  It had pictures of the cute little goats playing out on the farm.  If the tiny jar of feta hadn’t been 10 bucks, I would have bought some.  We had wine on the brain though.  Didn’t want to use up all our pennies before noon.

Here is a pic of my Aunt Claudia, Mom, and Emily.  The ladies are waiting patiently for the boys to finish their fresh breakfast tacos so we can hit up the festival.  Plus, we needed a breather before the wine drinking began.

My dad is totally on the hunt for the perfect chairs to put near his outdoor fireplace.  I’m sure you can tell from his smile that he was pretty much in love with this beautiful cedar rocking chair.  I don’t remember the name of the wood-crafting company, but they had some really neat stuff. 

Okay, it’s officially 1:00…let’s get the wine drinking started!! 

We had a great red from Pedernales Cellars which is located in Stonewall, TX. 

Texas wines have come a long way over the last few years, but sometimes the wineries are just duds.  Luckily, the wines from Pedernales were really great with nice full flavors.   Go Texas!

Here is a taste of the German culture I spoke about earlier.  We listened to these sweet little kids for over 30 minutes.  They were adorable!!

You didn’t think I’d skip the food, right?!  What’s a day of alcohol if you can’t mix in a little heartburn!!  Oh bratwurst…how I love you so.  I decided not to take a picture of what the food looked like five minutes after I started digging in.  Let’s just put it this way…there was mustard on my shirt.  Nuff said.

Later in the afternoon we visited with some family friends in their AIR-CONDITIONED office which resides in a historic hotel in the downtown square.  We then drank more wine and visited Gourmage, a neat little cheese shop that Emily will talk about later this week, and ate cookies and pastries from our favorite bakery, Naegelins.  And apparently after a few glasses of wine I got too lazy to take pictures.  Here are a few other wineries we tried and enjoyed.

Fall Creek Vineyards – Tow, TX
Driftwood Vineyards – Driftwood, TX
Mandola Estate Winery – Driftwood, TX
Dry Comal Creek Vineyards – New Bruanfels, TX
Haak Vineyards & Winery – Santa Fe, TX

After a long day of partying in the sun, we went back to the condo for a little beauty sleep and then met on the balcony for some cheese and crackers…and possibly a few Coronas…which led to the eating of Rudy’s bar-b-q later that night.  Mmmm….Rudy’s….

I truly love weekends spent with my family (even if we can’t all be in attendance).  We all enjoy teasing each other, making memories, talking about old times, and eating and drinking.  Life is just good when you’re with the people you love.  While the weekend was quick, the memories will last a lifetime!

On Sunday morning it was time to pack it up and head back to Dallas.  Of course, we did have to make a quick stop at Collin Street Bakery at the north end of Waco for a little treat.  What?  It’s a long drive home!!  We needed snacks!

We’ll see you at Wurstfest in the fall, New Braunfels!!

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