SADDLEHORN WINERY, NEON MOON COFFEE

culinary destination

A slower pace

Saddlehorn Winery a favorite country destination.

Nestled in the heart of Washington County, Saddlehorn Winery is a 390 acre ranch with picturesque views, rolling hills and a beautiful vineyard.

The winery and tasting bar are both open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring Saddlehorn’s award-winning, handcrafted red and white wines and views of their estate Blanc du Bois and Black Spanish vines that were originally plated in 2006. The tasting bar has views of the winery where visitors can see the tanks used for fermentation and the wines being made.

Part of the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, Saddlehorn Winery participates in their special trail that starts at the end of March and goes through early April. Their Wine & Crystal Trail runs the first two weekends in December. Tickets may be obtained online at texasbluebonnetwinetrail.com. There are a total of eight wineries on the trail.

Patrons are invited to join Saddlehorn Winery’s Wine Club that includes a complimentary tasting with every visit, a 20% discount on all wines purchased and a 10% discount on all gift shop merchandise. Members also receive advance notice and priority on all winery events and new and limited release wines. There are also member only events.

Saddlehorn Winery is located at 958 FM 1948 North in Burton and online at saddlehornwinery. com.

Coffee lovers rejoice

Neon Moon Coffee Roasters offers specialty coffee in downtown Burton.

Transforming green coffee beans into the aromatic coffee everyone loves depends on one vital ingredient – a roaster. And in Burton, that roaster’s name is Carl Luning.

“I was looking for a place to open up a roastery and no other town felt right,” said Luning, who started Neon Moon Coffee Roasters in 2020 with his wife, Rosemary. “The building I found in Burton is 99% perfect for a coffee shop. Locals threatened me that if I was going to have a roastery in town, I better serve coffee. They were true to their word; we sell a lot of it.”

A self-proclaimed “wine guy,” Luning’s appreciation for the nuances of fine wine led him down the road to specialty coffee.

“Back in 2009, I started hearing about specialty coffee,” shared Luning. “I started doing some research and discovered that coffee beans are like grapes, different notes, flavors. The coffee bug hit us and the drive to educate, learn and gain wisdom from other roasters and purveyors of great coffee is what led us to starting Neon Moon Coffee. It’s like we have our own little winery and don’t have to go through the trouble of making our own wine. We make coffee.”

Although Luning is surrounded daily by the responsibilities of running a small business, he still finds time to enjoy a cup himself.

“My favorite is my blend,” added Luning. “The Guatemala La Morena region beans add the dark chocolate notes, and the other half is the Brazil Salmo, adding peanut butter and raisin notes. I blend them both fifty, fifty. It’s my best seller. With blends, one has to be careful. Some roasters use a cheaper bean and mix it with a good bean. You get good flavors, but it’s not the same. My blends are almost always tier one specialty grade coffee. I’m also excited about the single origin coffee I am selling and we’re still developing new blends as we go. We roast the bean; you drink the coffee.”

Neon Moon Coffee Roasters is located at 12510 West Texas Street in Burton and online at neonmooncoffee.com.

"We roast the

bean; you drink the

coffee.

– Carl Luning