The US‑290 Wine Road
Fredericksburg → Johnson CityThe main corridor — dozens of tasting rooms strung along the highway and its side roads.
Experience
Wine Country
More than fifty wineries cluster around Fredericksburg — by some counts the second-most-visited wine region in the country.
The lay of the land
Texas wine grew up in the Hill Country. The granite-and-limestone soils, high elevation, and warm days suit Mediterranean and Spanish grapes — Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Sangiovese — and the tasting rooms along US‑290 have turned Fredericksburg into a genuine wine destination.
The pleasure is in the pacing: a few tasting rooms a day, a long lunch, a designated driver or a booked tour. Bud break colors the vines in spring; harvest fills the air in late summer and fall.
Where to go
Featured spots
Gillespie County back roads
Around FredericksburgSmaller, family-run estates on the quieter roads north and west of town.
Town tasting rooms
Fredericksburg & Johnson CityWalkable tasting rooms downtown when you’d rather not drive between them.
Know before you go
A few good tips
- Book a tour or a designated driver — the wineries are spread along a highway.
- Reserve tastings at the most popular estates, especially on weekends.
- Many wineries are busiest Sat afternoon; weekday and morning visits are calmer.
- Spring (bud break) and fall (harvest) are the prettiest times in the vines.
Where to base
Destinations for this
Fredericksburg
30.275°N 98.872°WGillespie County
German roots, a Main Street of biergartens and shops, and the gateway to Texas wine country. The unofficial capital of the Hill Country.
Johnson City & the LBJ Ranch
30.277°N 98.412°WBlanco County
Boyhood home of a president and the Texas White House. In December the whole town lights up; in spring the roadsides run blue with wildflowers.
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