Rock & Vine magazine - Winter 2020

OFF THE HOOF WITH THE ZANZENBERG FAMILY

Rock&Vine GOOD LIFE IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

GERMAN FREETHINKERS: Courage and Conviction BACK TO BASICS on Wimberley's river

A taste of

TUSCANY in Texas

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A CUSTOM LANDSCAPE IN JUST THE RIGHT FRAME A new neighborhood of custom farmhouses in idyllic Fredericksburg. Your peace of home.

FriedenTX.com

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FEATURES

in every issue

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8

One farm couple's cash crop are tasty heritage pigs

Publisher's Letter

Steve Taylor

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22

Contributors

Elbow grease and investment brought the shine back to a Texas dance hall in Hye

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Steve Taylor

33 These transplants looked past wine to run with rum Gus Gonzalez III

77 Suzanne Davis took a flood tragedy to bring forth new life into her plot of Wimberley land Daniel Oppenheimer

Austin-based photographer Robert Gomez spent the day with a back-to-the-land family and their porky friends.

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Drinkery Maps

94 Events

Find out what's happing in your area

97 End Notes

ON THE COVER: Photographer Leo Aguirre Jr. captures the area's first rum distillery in Hye and its owner Stephanie Houston.

DEPARTMENTS 41

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TASTE It's all about culture, togetherness for this Italian wine and food family.

HAUS Top designer Jennifer Eggleston shows what's old is new again.

Kimberly Giles

Kimberly Giles

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67

TASTE A love of cheese brought this corporate couple together.

HAUS Rode Walker and sons have an eye for antique timberworks and incorporate it into modern builds.

Kimberly Giles

50 DRINKERY No matter what you call it, the taste and vibe at Hye Cider Company is chill.

Lee Nichols

54 DRINKERY Retail power couple turn to the vine to create a welcoming wine experience.

Matthew Este

Shannon Lowry

80 STOMPING GROUNDS Augusta Vin is the newest, and grandest, winery in the Hill Country.

Lorelei Helmke

85 IN THE HILLS German Freethinkers faced rough times in the 1800s, but they became part of the area's fabric.

Lee Nichols

WINTER 2020

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Mon. - Thurs. 10-5:15 Fri. & Sat. 10-7:15 Sun. 12-5:15 Check website for Holidays Phone: (830) 990-8747 email: wine@fbgwinery.com

www.fbgwinery.com 6 Rock&Vine

247 W. Main (in town - one block west of the Courthouse) Large parking area in front RV parking in back.

Fredericksburg, TX 78624

WINTER 2020

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contributors

Rock&Vine Featuring the best life has to offer in the Texas Hill Country.

The Hill Country seasons of dormancy, bounty

By KEN ESTEN COOKE Publisher

A product of Fredericksburg Publishing Company.

Publisher/Editor Ken Esten Cooke Contributing Editor Sherrie Geistweidt Design Editor Andrea Chupik Contributing Writers Jennifer Eggleston, Kimberly Giles, Lorelei Helmke, Gus Gonzalez III, Shannon Lowry, Lee Nichols, Steve Taylor Contributing Photographers/Artists Leo Aguirre, Robbyn Dodd, Barney Kane, Robert G. Gomez Advertising/Marketing Director Kimberly Giles Account Executives Cindy G. Burdorf, Ann Duecker, Kim Jung Rock&Vine Magazine 712 W. Main St. | P.O. Box 1639 Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 Phone 830 997 2155 rockandvinemag.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: $20 for two years www.rockandvinemag.com

COPYRIGHT: Rock&Vine Magazine is published by the Fredericksburg Publishing Company. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without permission of the publisher. Editorial content does not reflect the opinions of the publisher of this magazine. Editorial and advertising does not constitute advice or endorsement, but is considered informative.

e don’t take the Hill Country’s natural beauty for granted, especially when we see some of the sprawl in parts of it near our major population centers. The land, water and dark skies are all part of what makes this region of Texas such a draw for visitors and a piece of heaven for landowners.

Mother Nature also plays a big part of what makes this area so attractive. (Read Jim Stanley’s column in the local newspapers in Fredericksburg and Kerrville to get a naturalist’s perspective.)

In the peach industry, they keep a close eye on chill hours, the period peach tree varieties stay under a certain temperature so they will burst forth in the spring with delicious fruit. Peaches are still a big part of the Hill Country economy, especially in Fredericksburg, so they try to minimize any issues that might harm the crop.

Once dormancy hours are cleared, growers then keep a wary eye on late freezes, especially once blooms have set for the early varieties.

Mother Nature seems to always get the last word. But when landowners work with her, she will treat them right. This edition of Rock & Vine features one Wimberley landowner, Suzanne Davis, who began learning about land restoration after the strong floods along the Blanco River. Her plot was damaged, but she has taken lessons from other conservationists and returned it to a native landscape. It’s not always about a lawnmower and St. Augustine, but about native grasses that control erosion and host native fauna and flora.

We’ll be highlighting other conservation-minded landowners in future editions. Thanks to all those who strive to keep the Hill Country beauty intact and healthy.

We also take several looks at the “Hye Society” happening near the Gillespie-Blanco county line. That tiny spot is getting lots of attention and attractions, thanks to some hard workers with foresight and an appreciation for its past.

–R&V– We want to know what you think about our growing publication. Please send feedback and story ideas to ken@fredericksburgstandard.com. And thanks for reading.

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$20 for two years Send to 712 W. Main St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624 or subscribe at RockandVineMag.com

Editorial submissions: ken@fredericksburgstandard.com

Leo Aguirre is a photographer, graphic designer, chef and musician who works in the Hill Country.

He captured images from Woerner Warehouse and Pritzer.

Andrea Chupik is a graphic designer / art director living in Fredericksburg. View her work at designranchcreative.com.

Robbyn Dodd is a Hill Country-based photographer, who shoots candid and organic photos. Her work can be viewed at robbyndoddphotography.com.

Gus Gonzalez III is a freelance writer who lives in Austin.

Lorelei Helmke, is a wine educator and tasting coordinator. Find her at www.winesiren.com, Wine Siren on Facebook, and @realwinesiren on Instagram Barney Kane is our resident ad production designer on staff at Rock & Vine Magazine.

Shannon Lowry is a freelance writer and a former editor for Texas newspapers and magazines.

Lee Nichols is a freelance writer based in Austin. He loves beer and two-stepping in Texas dance halls, especially with his daughter, Lucy.

...

Letters to the editor Good morning, I LOVE your magazine. My family moved to Wimberley when I was 9, so I grew up here and ran the back roads between Austin, Fredericksburg, Luckenbach, Blanco and Wimberley. Moved away after college and moved back in 2018 after 30 years. Family and friends all still here but never had enough time to go explore the hill country growth on weekends and holidays.

But now.....I make the places you write about a priority to visit. It’s no wonder people envy us - our backyards are full of amazing, beautiful, tasty, fun, rejuvenating experiences. Thank you for the maps, articles, descriptions, recommendations, and photos.

Keep up the great work!

Shelly Hicks Wimberley, Texas

Jennifer Eggleston of cottage industry and Southern Living's designer network. Will continue to share her insights and design advice with us in our ensuing issues of Rock & Vine's Haus section.

Kimberly Giles is our Rock & Vine Ambassador, who is always scouting for stories in our Texas Hill Country, email her @ kgiles@fredericksburgstandard.com Robert G. Gomez is an Austin-based, Texas-raised photographer with a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Texas and an associate’s degree in photography from Austin Community College. His work can be found at robertggomez.com.

...

Daniel Oppenheimer is a fifth-generation Texan based in Gillespie County. He is the Land Program Manager for the Hill Country Alliance.

Steve Taylor is a Fredericksburg freelance writer who works with Taylored Communications.

More information is at anntaylorcontentmaster.com.

We always look forward to the new publication of the Rock & Vine Magazine. Our sales staff has found it to be very helpful with introducing our business to the wonderful community that we have the priviledge to serve.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you from Kingwood Fine Cabinetry and Fredericksburg Flooring Center

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B R I N G I N G B AC K H E R I TAG E ,

ONE SWINE AT A TIME

Justin Graham with his Sire King Willie.

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By STEVE TAYLOR Photos by ROBERT G. GOMEZ

ne should avoid buying a “pig in a poke.”

The term, dating at least back to the year 1555, references when someone tries to sell a bag (poke) with an edible “pig” inside – and the bag really contains a cat. (And yes, this relates to another term, “letting the cat out of the bag.”)

Justin and Kayte Graham of Zanzenberg Farm are more than happy to let you see what they’re selling – meats from pigs that date back to early generations on American farms.

Much like heirloom vegetables, Red Wattles, Herefords and Gloucestershire Old Spots are among the traditional, “heritage” swine the Grahams breed and raise on their family-owned and operated farm in Center Point.

“Heritage-breed hogs are not something that you’re going to find in commercial pork operations,” Kayte said. “It’s going to be the smaller farmer, ‘Hobby farms’ are doing it. There’s quite a few doing the same thing we are, but for the most part, it’s pretty minimal.”

She estimated that just 1 percent of the entire hog population, both in Texas and throughout the U.S., is comprised of heritage breeds.

But there’s nothing catty about their pork’s quality. The meat they sell is “beyond organic.” Non-genetically modified (GMO) hogs are antibiotic and hormone free, graze in pastures and consume cornand soy-free feed (and, occasionally, spent brewers mash from Pint & Plow Brewery in Kerrville).

The Grahams say the animals benefit from vitamin D provided by sunshine as well as nutrition from consuming various plants growing in mineral-rich soil.

Before being butchered, they are “finished” with a diet of locally produced whey and cheese (from River Whey Creamery in Schertz).

The result? Meat that is more flavorful, loaded with vitamins and minerals and unlike pork commonly found elsewhere.

Zanzenberg Farm sells about 1,200 pounds monthly of pork chops, roasts, steaks, ground pork, sausage links and bacon, as well as rendered lard and bone broth.

The Grahams now are looking to increase production “because we sell out so fast. We can’t keep enough pork in the freezer. It’s a great problem to have,” Kayte laughed.

WINTER 2020 13

WHERE TO FIND IT Because it’s a small operation, some searching is needed to find products from this family farm (the Grahams’ children Lincoln, 7, and Redford, 5, help out; Wallace, less than one year old, will someday join in).

Regularly, Justin or Kayte staff a table at farmers markets in Boerne (at the Cibolo Nature Center), downtown Fredericksburg, downtown Kerrville and at San Antonio’s Pearl Brewery.

Restaurants offering dishes that feature Zanzenberg meats include Bryans on 290 in Johnson City and Emma + Ollie in Fredericksburg, as well as the Pint & Plow.

Buyers also can make arrangements to order and pick up pork products while visiting Zanzenberg Farm, situated on three acres primarily used for breeding around their home.

Their pigs are raised on 16 acres less than a mile away.

The Grahams also own a near-by, 35-acre pecan production orchard, where they hope to increase pork production, add breeders – and in 2020 commence a pork-centric experiment.

PECAN-FINISHED HAM? In southern Spain, some farmers “finish” their pigs with a diet of oak acorns, Kayte said. The legendary jamon iberico de bellota (Iberian acorn-finished ham), also known as pata negra, is considered by many to be the finest pork in the world.

Kayte, Justin and eldest son Lincoln in front of the little big pig barn.

“We’d like to try it with pecans,” Kayte said, to see if the nut diet enhances pork flavor. So far, they only have tested their pigs’ appetite for Texas’ favorite tree nut.

“They just chomp them down. They’re really, really flavorful to them,” she said.

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Two berkshire line pigs grazing on new growth of barley, oats and wheat.

HERITAGE-BREED HOGS ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU’RE GOING TO FIND IN COMMERCIAL PORK OPERATIONS. IT’S GOING TO BE THE SMALLER FARMER, ‘HOBBY FARMS’ ARE DOING IT. – Kayte Graham Justin Graham instructing his eldest son Lincoln about electric fence.

WHY ZANZENBERG? The unincorporated community of Center Point, with a population of fewer than 5,000, hugs both sides of the Guadalupe River. When Charles de Ganahl opened town’s first post office in 1859, on the north side of the river, he named it Zanzenberg after his Austrian hometown.

When the post office relocated south of the Guadalupe, a new postmaster named it Center Point due to its near equidistance between Bandera, Comfort, Fredericksburg and Kerrville.

The Grahams were drawn to the Zanzenberg name in part because it harkens back to an earlier time when heritage pigs were more prevalent on farms and in kitchens.

“We want to bring back the older sensibility of community being tighter knit, gathering around the dinner table, every-one uniting around a good meal,” Justin said. “The name suited that. It’s a historic name that was sort of forgotten.”

COMING SOON: A KITCHEN With help from two grants, the Grahams plan to open a commercial-class kitchen in a building already standing next to their home. Already, equipment is being purchased and will be installed in time for a planned opening this coming summer.

The kitchen will allow the family to prepare pork products for sale, such as cured meats for charcuterie boards and plates; conduct demonstrations; and schedule food preparation classes for visitors and, perhaps someday, for nearby high school students in culinary and agriculture programs.

“If we build it, they will come,” Justin predicts.

Within a few years, the couple hopes to turn the farm into “more of an agritourism kind of operation,” Kayte said, with education playing a prominent role.

“Let’s offer a class on curing bacon. Let’s cure some bacon together and learn how to do that and learn the real connection between the original food and the end product,” she said.

WINTER 2020 15

Fine pork warrants the finest recipes. Here is a simple one suggested by Kayte Graham of Zanzenberg Farm that makes for tasty pork belly tacos and can top salads or a bed of rice and seasonal veggies.

Crispy Slow Roasted Pork Belly 2 pounds of pork belly, skin on 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or fresh rendered lard Salt and pepper to taste Optional: 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil and wasabi.

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees 2. With a sharp knife, score the skin side of the belly by cutting through the rind and fat but not into the meat.

This increases surface area, drawing out moisture from the skin and making the crackling crisp nicely.

Score by slicing diagonal lines about ¾” apart, then slicing lines diagonally the opposite direction, creating a checkerboard look.

3. Rub the belly all over with olive oil and seasoning.

4. Place the belly in a baking dish, skin side up, and bake for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart. Remove from oven and pour rendered fat into a separate container for later use.

5. Increase heat to 480 degrees, skin side up and roast for another 20 minutes to crisp the skin. Watching closely, rotate belly every few minutes so as to not to burn the skin. You'll see the skin start to bubble and turn a beautiful, crispy gold.

6. Remove from oven. Let sit for 15 minutes.

7. Slice thin with crispy skin on.

8. Optional: mix soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame seed oil in a bowl then use this as a dipping sauce.

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‘TIED TO THE EARTH’ Justin largely grew up in Uvalde County, “tied to the earth,” helping to farm land on his mother’s side of the family before “corporate ag” took over.

“More than most, I’ve seen what that looks like environmentally and what it looks like nutritionally,” he said. “We’ve done all these things to feed the world – that was the generational perspective.”

“However, in the process what we did was forfeit our own heritage,” Justin said. Looking around the Grahams’ farm, he said, “This is about bringing that back, restoring the core and being better stewards through and through – just good food, good health and clear thinking.

“It’s maybe what ails us as a nation and a community,” he added. “We miss our very necessary need to connect with the earth.” R&V

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BACK FROM THE DEAD

22 Up

from the grave of disuse. Oliver Deike to fix up the old dance hall in tiny Hye. Rock&Vine

By STEVE TAYLOR Photos by ROBBYN DODD

DANCING AND MORE RETURNS TO REJUVENATED HYE HALL

exas’ historic dance halls have been closing or, more sadly, deteriorating and collapsing in small communities since the dawn of TV and air conditioning.

What once numbered about 1,000 now total fewer than 400 across the state. Some are abandoned, overgrown with weeds and brush. About a quarter those remaining are considered “at risk” by the nonprofit group Texas Dance Hall Preservation.

But in the tiny hamlet of Hye, hugging U.S. Highway 290 between Stonewall and Johnson City, one has come back from the dead.

Refurbished and rejuvenated more than a century after it was built, Hye Hall has reopened its doors.

It brings back a Hill Country social institution that vanished in the 1950s. It also brings back memories for Margaret Duecker, a longtime Fredericksburg resident born 95 years ago in Hye.

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After an extensive renovation, Hye Dance Hall has already become a hit for area dancers and diners.

‘Sit on My Hunkers’ When she was a girl “two, maybe three” years old (known then by her maiden name, Margaret Rech), Duecker’s “Daddy” would “put me on the end of his shoes, on his toes, and I would dance with him.”

Starting this past October, the local band known as Lost Sounds of a Texas Honky Tonk has been performing starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. About an hour into the music, food is available from the Hye Market restaurant, across 290 from the dance hall.

When the band took breaks, “I would go out and slide on the floor. The larger children would pull me by the arms and I would sit on my hunkers and they would pull me.”

So are soft drinks and water – but no alcoholic beverages initially. Until Cook secures his state license, guests are invited to BYOB.

Until recently, Hye Hall was still standing but steadily crumbling. But thanks to owner Oliver Deike and Jason Cook, who operates Hye Hall, it was refurbished over the past two years.

‘Clean That Place Up’ A couple years ago, Oliver Deike and his wife, Mary Alice, were mulling the shuttered dance hall that dates back to before Oliver’s grandfather purchased it. It had been stuffed with broken farm equipment and other machinery. On one side, the weight had sunken the flooring 16 inches.

Hye Hall’s formal grand reopening was Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving. But unofficially, it reopened in October for Wednesday night dances and private events other days of the week. Hye Hall can be reserved for birthday parties, wedding receptions, group meals, Texas wine tastings, dances, yoga, brunches and more, said Cook, who schedules bookings.

“It will be a gathering place for our guests to step back in time and get away for a while,” he said. Cook also sees Hye Hall as a visitor center to share information about local businesses and the community’s history.

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There also was a termite infestation in another area of the building and the roof had “about 100 leaks,” Oliver said.

“She said, ‘You know, you need to clean that place up.’” Oliver recalled.

Mary Alice’s guidance dove-tailed with a related concern: Oliver couldn’t get the building insured unless he tidied up the property.

Dance hall fans toast the opening of the "new" dance hall.

Jason Cook and new bride Karen play hosts at Hye Hall.

He set about making the old building insurance-worthy “and, as I cleaned it up and it looked a little bit better, I got more involved and excited about it and then I just decided I’m going to put this thing back together.”

More than $100,000 later, the Deikes revived what had been Hye’s community gathering spot dating back more than 100 years.

‘Sody Water’ and More Unlike many historic Texas dance halls, which were community construction efforts dating back to the 1800s, Hye’s was erected (likely in 1916 by the town’s founder, Hiram Brown.

Brown’s dance hall and Hye Market (which also housed the local post office) largely constitute what remains of the close community where Margaret Rech grew up.

On Saturdays, that area was a gathering spot for local residents, many of them share-croppers like Felix and Annis Rech and their two daughters.

One male neighbor “who never went to barber school” cut men’s hair while a female counterpart “who’d taken a few lessons in a beauty school” would set women’s hair, Duecker recalled.

Margaret Duecker, a Hye native, remembers the dance hall as the place to be when she was a child.

Dancers scoot their boots around the floor, following a century of tradition.

Come evening in the dance hall, about 50 people would gather. Four of Oliver’s older brothers sold cold beer, “sody water” and five-cent ice cream cones. Another brother cooked hamburgers on a propane stove alongside the dance hall, she remembered.

WINTER 2020 25

The Lost Sounds of a Texas Honky Tonk play the two-step favorites.

Inside the hall’s entrance, Oliver’s grandmother checked men’s hats while other older ladies sat nearby watching couples sashay around the dance floor.

raised the birds (and sup-plied three nearby turkey plants before those business also died out). After that, the broken farm equipment and other items moved in.

Over the hall’s entrance, beneath a single electric light, a sign would alert local residents and passersby when the next Saturday night dance was coming up – not every Saturday night, but about once monthly, Duecker said. There also were dances on certain holidays and on Dec. 26, right after Christmas.

Looking ahead, Cook said there will be no additions to the original, historic structure, which measures about 5,000 square feet and can hold about 250 people, maybe more.

“If we would get company on the 26th, we would be so mad, me and my sister, because we couldn’t go to the dance,” she said.

Songs were performed by Hye locals or bands from nearby towns like Fredericksburg. Duecker recalled one with “big horns – they’d go WOO! WOO!” she exclaimed, laughing.

She danced with other girls when she was little, but it was waltzes and two-steps atop her father’s toes that she remembers more fondly.

“My Daddy was so good looking,” Duecker recalled, smiling.

Furniture & Turkey BBQs Oliver Deike’s grandfather took ownership of the dance hall from Hiram Brown after the Browns made plans to move to Austin.

“We’ll expand around the building, add parking spaces, more bathrooms, more outside seating, playgrounds and tasting areas,” Cook said.

‘I Met My Husband There’ Texas dance halls “all have their own, unique feel and personalities,” Deb Fleming, Texas Dance Hall Preservation’s executive director, told the Houston Chronicle in 2019. “They were the cornerstones of building the Texas that we know today. The more people you talk to about the halls that are gone, they really miss those places because they hold so many memories for them and their families.”

“You know – ‘my grandfather got married there; he met my grandmother there.’ ‘I met my husband there.’ ‘I had my first kiss there,’ whatever it might be.”

Now that Hye Hall is repopulated with dancing couples, such memories can made be again – and shared more widely. Cook and his wife, Karen, plan to spread the word world-wide.

Deike’s grandfather didn’t have enough money to buy it.

Brown arranged financing and “managed to make it work,” Deike said.

“I plan to take Hye Hall global,” he said. “We are already planning global events, Karen and I feel so blessed and fortunate – and feel a huge sense of responsibility to carry on this legacy.

After the dances died out, the structure became a furniture store, then hosted turkey barbeques for local residents who

“We hope everyone makes Hye Hall their home away from home.”

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924 Jefferson Street. #4, Kerrville, TX 78028

Cell: 830.307.4202 Email: clees@swbc.com

Cell: 830.285.5439 Email: mmelcher@swbc.com

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©2019 SWBC. All Rights Reserved. 1045-A8529 9/19

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Lodging & Hospitality In addition to helping you find your ideal accommodation, we offer a wide selection of concierge services including grocery delivery, spa bookings, fresh flowers and Fredericksburg Gift Baskets.

BOOK YOUR STAY. GO ONLINE TO FBGLODGING.COM, CALL 1 (866) 427-8374 OR VISIT OUR OFFICE ON MAIN STREET.

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Turtle Creek

Olives & Vines Hill Country Charm and World Class Sophistication 211 Earl Garrett Street Kerrville, TX 78028 Tues. - Sat., 11 am - 8pm 830-896-0010 Enjoy fine wines, small plates and authentic olive oil. www.turtlecreekolivegrove.com info@turtlecreekolivegrove.com

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Rock&Vine

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RUM

TRADE COMES TO THE HILL COUNTRY

By GUS GONZALEZ III Photos by LEO AGUIRRE JR.

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ong before whiskey, there was rum.

Distilled from fermented molasses, rum, known as “killdevil” when it first appeared in the West Indies in the mid17th century, became more than just a libation to slake the thirst of sailors, pirates and colonists.

These days, rum can be made just about anywhere in the world and have a wide array of flavor profiles. Be it sweet, dry, robust, earthy, herbal, vegetal, a well-crafted rum can contain layers of flavors that stand on their own, or anchor a cocktail as a base spirit in a Mai Tai, Daiquiri, Piña Colada, even an Old-Fashioned or Manhattan.

And though it’s at home in fruity drinks, premium rum is poised to take its place alongside premium whiskey, tequila and brandy as a sipping spirit.

Craft distillers are slowly challenging the market dominance of the industrial giants with traditional distilling methods and innovative flavor profiles that appeal to the increasinglysophisticated consumer. Hye Rum, in the Texas Hill Country, is no exception.

THOUGH NOT FROM JAMAICA, OUR AGED RUM IS FREQUENTLY COMPARED TO ANGOSTURA AND WHENEVER WE HAVE VISITORS FROM THE ISLANDS, THEY USUALLY COMMENT THAT IT IS JUST LIKE THEIR FAVORITES. – Stephanie Houston

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Business partners Stephanie Houston and James Davidson, along with founding partner Benjamin Calais of Calais Winery, spent two years researching rum history and production and searching for premium rum available in the U.S., France and the Caribbean.

Davidson, Hye’s distiller, and Calais experimented with imported French Oak barrels. Drawing inspiration from traditional Jamaican rum, Hye Rum distills non-GMO molasses in a copper pot still and ages their rum in French Oak barrels to develop the spirits’ body, texture and flavor and preserve its distinct character. Opening its doors in 2017 and located in Hye, Texas, along the Fredericksburg Wine Road, Hye Rum greets visitors to its cozy tasting room and cocktail bar with signature hand-crafted cocktails.

Rum is indeed on the rise.

WHAT BROUGHT Y’ALL TOGETHER? Ben and I originally met in Dallas as part of the Deep Ellum business community. Ben and James met at a dinner party from a mutual friend and had talked about distillation, particularly rum. In 2013, I had moved to Austin and read that Ben had moved his winery to Hye. I had just been out to the 290 Wine Road a few weeks prior for the first time and had the thought that I’d love to be a part of something cool that was happening out there.

In my mind, Hye is a really special piece of the wine road – it’s right in the center, the heart between Johnson City and Fredericksburg. The 290 Wine Road is the No. 2 mosttravelled wine road in the U.S. and a day trip from Texas cities. That in itself, makes the wine road a great location and easily accessible.

The people, the community are even better. I’m not sure if there’s a more unassuming Texas town that is home to some of the biggest industry players. The property we are on is pretty spectacular – it has subtle charm and also panoramic views of the Hill Country. The owners, the Schumann family, is an important part of the settlements surrounding Hye, arriving from Germany in the mid-1800s and starting a variety of businesses themselves. It’s interesting to know that the family originally landed in Galveston at the same time it was inhabited by Jean LaFitte, a notable if not notorious rum trader.

HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON FRENCH AND CARIBBEAN STYLE RUM? Ben, one of our original team is from France where rum is a very well-respected spirit. He always felt that rum was a category that could do better in the U.S., especially with a rum made in the traditional fashion that paid attention to tradition and keeping the spirit intact. James has really outdone himself keeping true to those traditions that originally came out of the Caribbean using a copper pot still, molasses and only a double distillation.

Though not from Jamaica, our aged rum is frequently compared to Angostura and whenever we have visitors from the islands, they usually comment that it is just like their favorites.

WHAT SETS HYE RUM APART FROM THE MORE ESTABLISHED BRANDS? The main reason is that we only focus on rum. Our goal is and always has been to get really, really good and rum whether it is our distributed product or small batch releases to our Rum Club. We want people to leave and say – that was amazing how can I get more? James has figured out how to replicate our three flagship rums for distribution throughout the state and also gets to flex his skills on some of the smaller batch releases.

TELL US ABOUT HYE RUM’S SET-UP AND HOW IT INFLUENCES THE FLAVOR PROFILES OF YOUR DIFFERENT RUM EXPRESSIONS. We currently only use a copper pot still. We like it because it leaves more of the spirit intact and creates bigger bolder flavor expressions. All of our molasses comes from just outside of New Orleans in Louisiana, the sugar cane capital of North America. We also generally don’t bottle immediately. We let the rum rest a bit. Our dark rum can take up to three months to be ready. It rests in tanks with WINTER 2020 35

immediately. We let the rum rest a bit. Our dark rum can take up to three months to be ready. It rests in tanks with French oak staves and then the molasses is reintroduced for a rich dark velvety finish. We do also have a barrel program and have 11-plus barrels aging. I love those because at some point, the spirit decides when it’s ready. James has an array of barreled rums in barrels from Cabernet to Bourbon. All that will eventually leave their own distinct marks on the rum inside.

HOW IMPORTANT IS GRASSROOTS MARKETING TO HYE RUM? We’ve spent 4 years building a very loyal small following that I see has staying power. I love our fans and rum club members because it showcases a diverse group of backgrounds, genders and generations. A spirit has the ability to appeal to anyone, and I feel we’d be doing ourselves a disservice to target market to one group or another specifically. For me, rum reminds me of being on vacation. It’s the “time-off” spirit. I think everyone loves vacay universally no matter what.

WHERE DOES HYE RUM GO FROM HERE? It’s our goal to be a top player in our home state market, and then be the next Texas spirit brand to have national and then international impact. How we get there is every bit as important as what we put into the bottle and I feel each day is a step toward that goal.

I’m really excited for 2020 as we will add some more historical tour elements. We have a lovely always breezy seating area we are also enhancing this next year with panoramic views of LBJ Ranch and fabulous hill country sunsets. Simple, easy, breezy just like being on vacation.

R&V

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圀䤀一䔀 吀䄀匀吀䤀一䜀 圀䤀一䔀 䌀䰀唀䈀 䔀嘀䔀一吀匀

The Perfect Venue for your Perfect Event 830.997.7470 FOURPOINTWINE.COM 10354 E US HWY 290 • FREDERICKSBURG, TX

䨀伀䤀一 唀匀 䘀伀刀 䄀一 䔀堀儀唀䤀匀䤀吀䔀 倀刀䤀嘀䄀吀䔀 䔀堀倀䔀刀䤀䔀一䌀䔀 伀刀 䈀伀伀䬀 夀伀唀刀 一䔀堀吀 䔀嘀䔀一吀 䄀吀㐀⸀ 䌀䔀䰀䰀䄀刀匀⸀ 圀圀圀⸀䘀伀唀刀倀伀䤀一吀圀䤀一䔀⸀䌀伀䴀 簀㠀㌀ ⸀㤀㤀㜀⸀㜀㐀㜀 簀 ㄀ ㌀㔀㐀 䔀 唀匀 䠀圀夀 ㈀㤀 Ⰰ 䘀刀䔀䐀䔀刀䤀䌀䬀匀䈀唀刀䜀Ⰰ 吀堀

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A full spectrum of

...

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258 East Main Street

Fredericksburg, Texas • 830-997-4937 info@littlechef.com • derkuchenladen.com

• Cigar Shop and Smoking Lounge • Walk-In Humidor • Texas Craft Beers and Wines

We’re mobile too!

Mobile cigar lounge available for parties, weddings, and corporate events.

31560 Ranch Road 12 Suite 207 Dripping Springs, Texas 78620 512-921-8388 www.smokeyslounge.com

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A new level of taste.

260 E. Main St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624 www.rathskellerrestaurant.net rathskellerrestaurant@gmail.com 830-990-5858

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taste

Mangia Bene.

Eat well.

lavio Andreucci’s family has been making wine in the Tuscany region of Italy for over two and a quarter centuries. So why would Andreucci want to bring Italy to Fredericksburg, Texas?

ITALY MEETS TEXAS WITH THE ANDREUCCI FAMILY

Story and photos by KIMBERLY GILES

Deciding on Fredericksburg back in 2016 was an easy choice, he said, as the burgeoning wine industry here has seen unparalleled growth in just the last decade alone. The only concept that seemed to be missing in this wine-growing region was cuisine.

“In Italy wine and food go together. It’s our culture, they are meant to complement one another,” he said.

For instance, if you want to understand a particular region of Italy in its most authentic form the best way is not only through its wine but also through its cuisine. The blend of both becomes a gastronomic experience that does not require a passport for travel.

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taste

PEOPLE ARE STRANGERS, BUT AROUND FOOD AND WINE THEY EXCHANGE INFORMATION, TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, AND SHARE THEIR STORIES. - Flavio Andreucci

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taste

“People are strangers, but around food and wine they exchange information, travel experiences, and share their stories,” Andreucci said. The concept is simple, surrender yourself to foreign lands, food, people and wine and ultimately you leave as part of the collective Italian family that resides here in the Texas Hill Country.

There are no spaghetti and meatballs here. According to Andreucci, “Spaghetti and meatballs is an American invention and only found in the tourist traps of Italy that specifically cater to American foreigners.”

Italy is made up of 20 distinct culinary regions and is roughly half the size of Texas. The moment of ispirazione (inspiration) had arrived for Flavio. His wines would be paired with food, distinctive and authentic to its region.

Every detail was meticulously crafted to be authentic for their patrons. And this includes the Andreucci staff members, who are flown from Italy and who work directly with Flavio in his Tuscan Vineyard. “This helps in educating people on the variations of the wine and food together,” says Flavio.

Andreucci also rotates chefs about every 90 days. This ensures that when one’s favorite Nonna (grandmother) visits from Sicily or Tuscany, they will have the most authentic dish representing that region.

Diners and sippers can adjust their watch to Italian time as the typical six-course dinner experience is also paired with six wines. This can take at least 3-4 hours.

Another distinctively Italian feature is that you will be seated at a community table that will serve anywhere from 20-40 people on any given night that is reserved.

This culinary pageant is not only entertaining – with education received from the Italian waitstaff and the residing chef – but also a lively affair as diners get to know the others sharing the culinary adventure.

Every ingredient is procured with exact measure. For instance, the owners fly in their necessary flour to make the freshest pasta and only use locally sourced farm fresh eggs. The pasta, gnocchi, and ragu sauces are made from scratch daily.

This selectiveness also applies to meats, cheeses and produce that can be sourced as close to their Italian standards locally or imported from select Italian purveyors.

Although Italy is made up of many regions with distinctive cuisines that are defined by province and those readily accessed ingredients, Andreucci uses rotating chefs whom with every effort they enjoy wowing their guests flavor palettes with their unique cooking techniques. They also have the option to learn directly from one of the chefs for a private cooking tutorial.

This season’s Nonna is Lorella. She only speaks Italian, yet her love of food and cooking translates magnificently to the universal language of food. She is sure to push one of her Ricciarelli’s (chewy almond cookie) or some freshly made gnocchi all the while smiling and saying “Mangia Bene.” R&V

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“You can’t forget memories.”

-Hondo Crouch

FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

312 W. Main • 997-1633 www.HondosOnMain.com 44

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HOURS Wednesday - Saturday 7:30am - 3pm Sunday 10am - 2pm Closed Monday + Tuesdays

607 South Washington Street ▮ Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 ▮ emmaolliefbg.com 46

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taste

FOR THE

LOVE OF FROMAGE

By KIMBERLY GILES

Photo by Adam Moroz

endall and John Antonelli are celebrating a decade in business at their cut to order artisanal cheese shop in the heart of Austin.

This husband and wife team hatched a plan over 10 years ago while on their honeymoon about how they could ditch their full-time careers and do something they felt passionate about and loved.

While on the beach of sunny Grenada in the Caribbean, John had the realization that he was not liked as an auditor but “everyone does like cheese.”

It was as simple as that, according to these two cheesemongers – they loved being together, traveling and sharing good food experiences that make everyone happy.

Cheese became their kismet.

This duo went on to learn the trade intensively through diligent research and extensive travels that lead them through

Husband and wife team Kendall and John Antonelli

France, Italy and Switzerland. Ultimately, John was able to intern with the French Affiner, Herve Mons. Mons is a wellrespected and generational Affiner (refiner) cheese maker. He works closely with farmers in his French region to ensure his cheese is a reflection of his area and encapsulates the process of aging together. He has a philosophy of cheese as “living” with a personality, expression of taste and aroma employed with a consistency of very high standards.

This cheesy love of Kendall and John’s ended up in Austin, where Kendall (a native Texan) and John opened their first location on February 11, 2010. Starting out as a team of two they are now 25 strong (6 of these employees are ACS certified cheese experts) and carry over 100 types of cheese that can be cut to order.

Along with international cheese options the Antonelli’s also source domestic farmstead cheeses with other handmade pairings like local honey, regional preserves, charcuterie meats and chocolate.

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SERVING BREAKFAST ALL-DAY

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oca l t i g n pi

Kee

BEER • WINE • MIMOSAS BLOODY MARYS & MARGARITAS BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN!

902 South Adams Fredericksburg, Texas 830.997.5904

Open Daily 7am-3pm Sunday Brunch 8am-2pm Closed Wednesday

sunsetgrillfbgtx.com 48

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taste

Photo by Andrew Bennett Partnering with and understanding their community producers locally and abroad that employ the highest ethical and sustainable practices in turn allows for many of Antonelli’s loyal patrons a continuing education of all things fromage.

Antonelli’s procured cheeses are not just in Austin they are also featured in many locations throughout the Texas Hill Country, including: William Chris Vineyards, Altstadt Brewery, Cross Mountain Vineyards, La Bergerie, Andruecci Wines, Cabernet Grill, Hye Meadow Winery, Southold Farm and Cellars, Jobell, Fall Creek Vineyards, Desert Door and Vista Brewing.

Included beside is their expertly devised list of cheese/food/ beverages that combines taste, smell, aroma and sensations.

A delight for the olfactory senses. R&V

ANTONELLI’S 4220 Duval Street • Austin, Texas antonellischeese.com academie-mons.com Photo by Andrew Bennett

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drinkery

CYSER OR CIDER?

By LEE NICHOLS Photos by KIMBERLY GILES

Food from stationary food truck on site, Hye Thai.

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Cherry and Travis Graham of Hye Cider

drinkery HYE CIDER CO. HAS BEER, WINE FANS ‘CHEATING ON THEIR TASTE-BUDS’

There are certain assumptions one would logically make when patronizing Hye Cider Company – the main one being that you could purchase cider there. After all, it’s right there in the name.

Surprisingly, you’d be wrong.

You can get fermented apple-based beverages there – but if they had called themselves Hye Cyser Company, odds are you’d scratch your head, say “What’s that?” and keep driving.

So owners Cassandra “Cherry” Graham and husband Travis Graham figured it would be best to go ahead and name their business after cyser’s better-known cousin.

But what the heck is cyser?

“So instead of just fermenting apple juice, which is what you do in order to get cider, we ferment apple juice and local honey simultaneously,” said Cherry Graham. “This honey that we use, from Pop’s Honeypot in Fredericksburg, is fantastic and it enables us to dry things out further, add a depth of flavor, as well as up the alcohol content considerably.

“We’re one of only two companies in the country that specialize exclusively in cyser.”

On a sunny fall day at HCC’s tiny production facility and tasting room, just two miles east of “downtown” Hye, we sampled glasses of their five varieties.

And indeed, there is a noticeable difference from cider.

Whereas the better-known cider tends to be very sweet, cyser is cleaner on the palate.

We started with Hye Stylin’ – the original recipe that started this whole venture for the Grahams.

“I lovingly refer to this one as the ‘OG,’ the original gangster, because this is the exact same recipe as the very first time I tried my hand at cyser-making about nine years ago. And it turned out so good that we built an entire company around it,” Graham said. “It’s very light, very crisp, very dry – so light that it almost evaporates as you drink it. This one gets

compared to champagne or prosecco quite frequently.

“I developed it because I loved the idea of fermented apple juice but could never find one that really pleased my palate, because I have zero sweet tooth. So I started making this bad boy for personal consumption, and then my friends would try it, and then they’d ask me to make more, and I said, well, if I make more I’ll have to start charging you, so here we are.

“Honestly, I had no idea what cyser was. I went from brewing beer to making cider as just an offshoot to try something new.

I looked at a bunch of recipes online and they all were very simple: take apple juice, add yeast, shake vigorously, wait patiently. And I said that’s way too simple for me. I want to overcomplicate matters, so I immediately added honey to it, with the idea of making a honey cider. And it wasn’t until I’d been making it for a little while that I stumbled across the term ‘cyser,’ which is actually a subcategory of mead.”

We continued working our way through HCC’s varieties, and were pleasantly surprised by the variety of flavors.

The Hye Note, Graham said, “is a slightly sweeter sister to Hye Stylin’. All of the ingredients are exactly the same – same juice, same honey, same yeast, but with a slight twist on the ratios. It’s cool to try these two side-by-side, because you see how much apple flavor comes through, how much more honey, how much more body, and a touch more alcohol, too.”

The Hye Bay is fermented with bay leaves. Yes, bay leaves – something you’d sooner put in a soup than an adult beverage.

It mixes a savory note with the sweetness.

“It pairs with a very wide variety of foods. My go-to is always Italian, but if you picture this with a crawfish boil, anywhere between that and chicken noodle soup, it has its place on just about every plate. Anything you’d want to chuck a bay leaf at, it pairs well with it.”

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drinkery

Hye Cider is a pet friendly location.

But maybe you’re more of a craft beer lover. No worries, HCC has one for you: Hye Hops.

“Beer was always our thing, so this one is an homage to our nerdery, we absolutely had to dry-hop a cyser. We used whole cone Willamette hops, and put it on at a very, very cold solution, so no bitterness is extracted. You get all of the aromatic qualities, you get a big potpourri of gardenia on the nose, a little bit of piney and grassy flavor at the tip of the tongue, and then it finishes with green apple Jolly Ranchers.”

But if you’re not a beer drinker, don’t let that keep you away from Hye Hops.

“We’re right on the Fredericksburg wine corridor, and I get wine drinkers in here all they time, and they’re reluctant, they say they don’t want to try it because they don’t like beer, and they end up loving it. I love the expression on their face – it’s like they’re cheating on their tastebuds.”

Rounding out the lineup is the Hye Heaven.

“This is probably as sweet as we’ll ever go,” Graham said.

“It’s sweetened with the same local honey, but it’s made with Turkish figs and four different types of toasted peppercorns. So even though it starts out with that honey sweet fig flavor, it finishes with pepper, so it cuts that sweetness, not leaving a syrupy or cloying sweet finish to it.”

As we’ve noted in a previous edition of Rock & Vine, a lot is going on in Hye right now, especially in adult drinks: there are whiskey distilleries, rum distilleries, and of course, wineries.

And now, this little slice of heaven between Johnson City and Fredericksburg has cider...sort of.

“I love it when people say, ‘I don’t like cider,’” laughs the founder of Hye Cider Company. “Neither do I. I’ve never made a cider in my life.” R&V 52

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Couples from Austin and Houston out sipping cider and enjoying the day.

HYE CIDER COMPANY 23 Rocky Road (Just off Hwy 290) Hye, 78635 830-282-0143 hyecidercompany.com

Where tasteful creations begin FULL SERVICE CATERING WEDDINGS AND REHEARSAL DINNERS CORPORATE EVENTS ON & OFF SITE SERVICES HOLIDAY PACKAGES

305 South Lincoln Fredericksburg, TX info@woernerwarehouse.com 830-997-2246 WINTER 2020 53

drinkery

A peek inside the modern interior of Narrow Path.

BIG WINES

ON THE NARROW PATH

By MATT ESTÉ Photos by KATHY TONNER

Bob Turbeville has grown grapes since 2004. He initially grew on one acre, using a converted room in his barn to make his wines.

Family and friends would come enjoy the harvest and stomping the grapes.

Bob and wife Mary Ann own Hill Country Outfitters on Main Street in downtown Fredericksburg. Over time Bob’s hobby grew into Narrow Path Winery. And in 2016, they opened a tasting room out of Hill Country Outfitters at 115 East Main Street.

Their son John made many of the wines and tended to the tasting room. Eventually a winery was built at the vineyard just outside Albert. Even though I’ve visited Narrow Path Winery (6331 South Ranch Road 1623 in Stonewall) several times, I’m always amazed by the beauty and elegance of this winery.

“I’m all about aesthetic” Bob said. “We wanted to create a building that highlights nature’s beauty. Floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides so that one can sit inside or out and have a great view.”

We sit on the back patio overlooking the 10 acres of vineyard situated before an unspoiled view of the Texas Hill Country. In the distance deer chase one another as the sun starts to go down. The tasting room staff offer us blankets.

“I want to provide a level of hominess to the people that come here,” he said. “My philosophy is that Narrow Path should be a place where I have people come and drink wines and relax.”

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drinkery Bob talks about the number of friendships he has made through his winery. Many of these people join his wine club.

Outward appearance is that these people get treated more like family. “I enjoy meeting and getting to know people and seeing them every time they visit,” he said.

One afternoon I arrived as a club party was finishing. I was invited onto the patio by some club members who poured us glasses from a bottle they had just purchased. The wine – in this case an Amador County (CA) Syrah – was as wonderful as the conversation that rolled from wine and food, then to travel and adventure.

Bob freely admits he does sometimes use grapes from outside Texas. But whether his own grapes or those from another vineyard, “careful research goes into sourcing the best vineyards. We are upfront on the label with the AVA that the grapes originate, but all the wine making is in Texas and in our style.”

The vineyard’s 10 acres feature Tempranillo, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Tannat.

Narrow Path produces less than 200 cases a batch. “The always-evolving small batches allow me to experiment with blends and techniques. It allows us to give our club members something different every time.” Bob describes his winemaking philosophy. “I like to keep it simple; nothing edgy.

We want to offer good classic wines.”

Bob Turbeville stands beneath the massive cedar root chandelier that hangs above the bar.

Most of the wines are dry. “I have the Dream Chaser Merlot that has a little bit more sweetness, so there is something here for everyone.”

I asked him where he sees Narrow Path in five years. “We are at 2,000 cases a year now. I think we will be at 7,000 in five years. There have been a lot of changes in the hill country since we started growing grapes. There is a lot more care in growing, which means better winemaking. There are also a lot of niche industries that fill needs. From tour companies to wine storage and companies that fulfill wine club shipments.”

It was evident the “family feeling” exists here, and it wasn’t created – it came to be through the Turbeville’s spirit. I sensed from the staff of Narrow Path that they were happy to work there and proud of the wines they were pouring.

A woman from San Antonio who was picking up her club allocation raved about wines from past orders and it was obvious that she was excited about this one. You don’t have to be a member to try or buy these wines. Bob pointed out that most of his wines are under $30 which is becoming a rarity in the Hill Country.

If you’re looking for some great Texas wines off the beaten path, take 1623 past Albert to the Narrow Path.

Three-year-old Labrador Maggie, Narrow Path’s greeter and wine dog.

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221 EAST MAIN STREET

4

FREDERICKSBURG, TX

HABERDASHERY_BOUTIQUE IG 56

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930.990.2462

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HABERDASHERYBOUTIQUE.COM

HABERDASHERY BOUTIQUE FB

830.998.1556 • BLACKCHALKHOME.COM • FOLLOW US @BLACKCHALKHOME WINTER 2020 57

mustard

D E Sa r Ic hG N i t e c t s

www.mustarddesign.net 830.997.7024

TRES LUNAS ACCOMMODATIONS ELOPEMENT PACKAGES WEDDINGS

Rest. Relaxation. Rejuvenation. Renewal.

512.557.4853

treslunasresort.com 4887 Bucks Run Road Mason, TX 76856 (between Mason & Fredericksburg)

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haus 401 S Lincoln Street Fredericksburg, Texas 830.990.0565 www.KingWoodCabinets.com

Photo: Reflections Photography

FREDERICKSBURG FLOORING CENTER

BLINDS

TILE

CARPET

STONE

LAMINATE

WOOD

OWNERS: MIKE KRAMER AND MARCI WALKER 401 S. LINCOLN STREET FREDERICKSBURG, TX

(830) 997-8375 FBGFLOORING@GMAIL.COM 59 WINTER 2020

haus

ELEMENTS O

Echo Gallery

Farmhaus Antiques

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Farmhaus Antiques

haus

F ANTIQUITY Story and photos by KIMBERLY GILES

Farmhaus Antiques in Fredericksburg

lending time periods with design style in a contemporary space requires a critical eye and a discerning taste. Antiques can offset the modernity of a newly constructed home or space. They offer warmth through their worn history, link us to an era or inspirational memory, and become a focal point in our homes. This excitement

Echo Gallery in Johnson City

of the unplanned object of antiquity offers an opportunity to showcase one’s unique, individual style.

Jennifer Eggleston, our HAUS design contributor, takes us on a journey into the art of mixing styles and periods in a way that is effortless, comfortable, eclectic and timeless.

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haus

RV: Is there an era you are attracted to now when mixing your decorating styles?

JE: I have always been drawn to modernism with noteworthy favorite designers such as Le Corbusier, Eames, and Wagner; true classics that are timeless in their designs.

I always look for a way to mix modernism into design with the focus on negative space. Negative space can be used in a positive manner; function should always dictate form. I like to focus on the most basic daily elements of life, housing and furniture.

RV: What are your preferred destinations to source your clients design requests?

JE: I have a discerning eye and look at everything, everywhere all the time.

Farmhaus Antiques

Steve, the owner of Austin’s “Uncommon Objects,” has mentioned that I have an uncanny knack for sniffing out cool metal furniture pieces. Uncommon Objects and Citywide Garage sale in Austin have been my longtime favorites.

I also rely on Adele Kerr and Company in New Braunfels, the White Elephant in Dallas, Leftovers Antiques in Brenham and Old World Antieks in La Grange.

RV: What are some of your favorite antique discoveries you are drawn to?

JE: I absolutely love scouting for antique trunks and boxes of all shapes; they fulfill a two-fold purpose as storage and in aesthetics. Anything metal or industrial that would include bins, drawers, lockers, and locker baskets for organization.

I also love all things that are worn in wood, leather, and metal as it provides an earthiness and warms up the environment.

French leather Club chairs, Antique rugs, a modernist painting in a traditional environment, a farm table mixed with Lucite or metal chairs, modern light fixtures with antique tables, antique mirrors also make a large impact.

I am always searching for something unexpected and revel in that, I prefer to let the unexpected be the focus.

RV: Fake antiques. Your thoughts?

JE: Fauxtiques? The inauthentic versus the authentic. I am OK with something done right, particularly if it functions better.

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I am not a fan of the massive amounts of imported “made to look old, but missed its mark” fakes, especially when I am looking for something as a designer that is truly genuine and has the implied rarity. It is very disheartening to see 350 inauthentic tobacco drying baskets or old ceiling tin panels all lined up when they are clearly new. R&V

A R C H I T E C T

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FROM BULL RIDER to HOMEBUILDER

By SHANNON LOWRY

his isn’t Rode Walker’s first rodeo or the first barn he ever built or custom ranch house he ever designed. Or for that matter, it’s not the first signature western apparel he ever created.

The Abilene native, who has made Fredericksburg his home for the past 32 years, owns Timber & Stone Builders and Antique Timberworks. The family-run construction business has served a 70-mile area around Fredericksburg since 2002 and has earned a reputation as one of the Hill Country’s premiere builders.

The company designs and builds everything from contemporary custom and semi-custom high-end homes to rustic cabins made from reclaimed materials, barns, wedding chapels and even a 40,000-square-foot local winery is currently underway.

Supplied by Rode Walker in his past bull riding career.

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Rowdy, Rode, and Bunde Walker – Photos by Sam Sutton

Rowdy Walker, Mark Bowe (tv host of Barnwoord Builders), and Rode Walker – Photos by Sam Sutton

oday, Rode Walker and his wife Christy have three grown children, all of whom grew up in Fredericksburg. Their daughter, CJ, lives in Frisco. Their two sons, who worked in the lumberyard at Antiques Timberworks while they were growing up, now manage various aspects of the two businesses.

Son Rowdy is the manager of Antique Timberworks, coordinating with various dismantlers all over the Midwest to buy reclaimed and vintage building materials such as hand-hewn beams, ceiling decking, accent wall wood siding and mantles. The company also offers custom sawmilling and creates custom furniture. Their products are then sold to builders, architects and homeowners and used by Timber & Stone in cabin restorations.

Son Bunde (pronounced Bundie), is a project manager at Timber & Stone Builders.

“Bunde’s a big asset,” said Walker. “He did commercial construction in Austin for 10 years and came back here and is getting involved in residential construction but we are also doing some commercial projects. We’re in the process of building the largest winery on 290 today.”

Together, Bunde and Rowdy are poised to take the family businesses forward into the next generation, a source of pride for their dad.

COWBOY WAY Rode (pronounced Roadie) Walker doesn’t just look like a cowboy or have a cool cowboy name. He started rodeoing at 14, rode bulls, broncs and roped in college, then went pro as a bull rider, taking his licks at as many as 10 rodeos a week on the relentless rodeo circuit. Walker was successful at this rugged, unforgiving sport, becoming a national champion bull rider along the way.

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Photos by Timber & Stone builders

I SIT WITH HOMEOWNERS TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING RIGHT DOWN TO SELECTING PIONEER TO CONTEMPORARY FIXTURES, SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS. – Rode Walker

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“I left Abilene as soon as I graduated high school. I was involved in rodeo and was on the rodeo team at a couple different colleges,” Walker said. “I went pro when I was 19 and just rode bulls. I rodeoed professionally all over the United States and Canada until I was about to have my first child. I stopped rodeoing hard when I was young. I was 24 when I had my first child.”

His sons didn’t follow Rode into the rodeo arena. Both got involved in baseball at a young age and Rode encouraged them by becoming a Little League coach.

Asked if he got hurt a lot riding ornery bulls for a living, Walker shrugged. “Nah, not much,” he said. “I broke an arm one time and a leg another time and some ribs one time. The ribs hurt the most.”

That rib-busting bull came out of the shoot and took a deep, steep plunge toward the dirt, then reared up with his head straight back and hit Walker square in the face, knocking him to the ground. He didn’t even have time to scramble to his feet before the bull turned and buried his head in Walker’s ribs, twisting and pulverizing the tissue and muscles around his ribcage. He hobbled around campus for several weeks and had a hard time carrying his school books.

Walker graduated from Tarleton State University in Stephenville with an ag education degree. After student teaching, he laughed, “I decided I didn’t want to be a teacher.”

NEXT CHAPTER While trying to subsidize a bull-riding living, he got involved in designing western apparel. He came to Fredericksburg in the apparel business and then opened the Double Ox Steakhouse and Cantina in 1999.

“It was very successful but I was looking to do it bigger and better outside of town,” he said.

The hours involved in running a restaurant were allconsuming though. Instead, the entrepreneur decided to purchase Antique Timberworks in 2002 and closed the restaurant to devote himself full-time to the construction and reclamation businesses.

“This was kinda refreshing for me,” Walker said of Timber & Stone and Antique Timberworks. “I loved working with colors and textures in the apparel business so the design aspect of it is what I like best now. I started connecting with good subcontractors who could pull off the bar we set.

“I conceptually design all the homes we build, and then have an architect do the CAD drawings,” he said. “We

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started out building log cabins, then larger homes and even larger contemporary homes and some commercial projects.

There was something about it that caught my attention. The history of this place, the historic architecture. I connected with timber frame architecture, stone and logs, along with reclaimed ceiling decking, rafters and bead board accents.”

Along the way, Walker built a log cabin for his family and some 65 structures for various clients. Most of Walker’s projects aren’t visible to the public since the lodges, retreats and homes are out on remote ranches.

“Now we are building semi-custom homes,” he explained.

“We look at the view, the functionality of the place, then we’ll go through our library of designs and find a plan that will work for the homeowner and for their site. I sit with homeowners to figure out everything right down to selecting pioneer to contemporary fixtures, simplifying the process.”

Walker’s most memorable project was one of the first larger homes the company built in Sisterdale. “We started out building a timber-framed party barn,” he said. “After we finished it, we painted old signage on the walls. Then the owner said, ‘you know what, I’d like you to build my big house.’ We gave it our little spin with reclaimed materials and it wound up being a nice 5,000-square-foot home.”

The Walkers are currently starting or finishing eight construction projects, including a semi-custom home west of Mason. They are also nearing completion on a home for Scott Giese, CEO of San Antonio-based Innovative Corrosion Control, Clean Earth Solutions, on his ranch east of Blanco.

Giese said, “We had seen Rode’s work before and he was in process of building a cousin’s home just before we started ours so we were actually able to watch his quality while we were in the planning stages of ours. It has been a wonderful experience that has far exceeded our expectations. The quality and efficiency of the design and build have been second to none. Their product is exquisite.”

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Giese added, “I have already and will continue to recommend Rode and Timber & Stone Builders to anyone considering building a custom home. The experience and final product is incredible!�

R&V

To learn more about Timber & Stone Builders and Antique Timberworks, visit timberandstonebuilders.com.

The companies are located at 5431 East Highway 290 in Fredericksburg, phone 830.997.2280.

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Curated Home Goods

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Major in Plant & Soil Science with a specialization in Viticulture & Enology.

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The Texas Winery and Vineyard with the Million Dollar View Founded in 2002, the winery sources half of its fruit from our Estate Vineyard and the other half from the Texas High Plains AVA. As the winery grows, we remain committed to our goal of producing food-friendly fine wine in Central Texas using Texas-grown fruit exclusively.

Driftwood Estate Winery’s Longhorn Red was the 2015 winner for the Best Texas Wine at the Houston International Wine Competition.

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Faith Family & Friends

In 1847, German immigrant John Christian Durst was a ssigned a 10 acre plot in Fredericksburg TX, which

o r t wo comp lime ntary glasses of wine per day

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RESILIENCE ALONG A RIVER WIMBERLEY WOMAN’S FLOOD DISASTER OFFERS A CHANCE FOR REBIRTH

By DANIEL OPPENHEIMER

t’s a crisp November after-noon and landowner Suzanne Davis is admiring native bald cypress seedlings while cutting back invasive Brazilian verbena along her stretch of the Blanco River.

Davis and her husband, Edward, live in Wimberley, where, four years ago, the Blanco River rose more than 20 feet in an hour — over 40 feet at its peak — causing extensive devastation to property and life.

“The destruction all around was incomprehensible,” she said. While the couple had to start over with their house as well as the land, they consider themselves lucky.

Suzanne and Edward’s portion of property along the Blanco River had Saint Augustine grass and mature Bald cypress trees. Then the flood removed all vegetation leaving behind a stark canvas.

“After the flood,” Davis, recalls, “we had nothing left along the river. I sat down by the river, had a really good cry, then pulled myself together.” While the mechanics of rebuilding the house were clear, Davis did not know where to start repairing the land.

“It’s not like you can just put down new tile.”

Fortunately, there were agencies like the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) and multiple nonprofit organizations eager to offer help in the form of technical assistance and deep-rooted, native plants to help stabilize the river banks, known more formally as riparian areas.

“We learned to leave the logs and limbs in place to stabilize the bank, and we took home some sedges and a mix of riparian grasses and forbs,” she said. “It was like hope in a package.”

Suzanne Davis stands alongside her riparian area in the Blanco River.

– Photo by Claire Sharp

In just a few months, they started to see signs of life, verdant flashes emerging in the riparian area. “We saw our first bushybluestem and said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous.’”

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A Hill Country and Blanco River view from the Davis property. – Photo by Suzanne Davis

RIPARIAN AREAS In “Flash Floods of Texas,” Jonathan Burnett documents our state’s long-standing struggle with floods. “Texas flash floods have produced events that tax the imagination.” The Hill Country, referred to as Flash Flood Alley, is perhaps one of the most vulnerable areas of the state, given our weather patterns and topography.

Riparian areas are small, spanning only about 1-3% of the landscape. They represent the transitional zone or corridor between an aquatic environment (e.g. a creek, river, or lake) and the drier uplands. When populated with a diversity and abundance of native vegetation, they provide a variety of values, including greater bank stability, erosion control, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and flood mitigation.

Today, Davis reflects on how the riparian area has changed in the past four years. “It was bland before the flood, monotone in color and lacking plant diversity. Now we have a more interesting, interactive setting, more like a beautiful piece of art. The plant shapes, textures, and colors—all the shades of yellows, browns, lime and green—are beautiful. If you like art and more than one color, you’re going to love riparian areas.”

Native bunch grasses like Switchgrass and Eastern Gama grass, shrubs such as black willow, and trees like sycamore have all flourished since the flood, providing Davis and her neighbors with a vibrant canvas — as well as habitat for blue herons, butterflies and Guadalupe bass.

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“You know, we lost about 10 feet of land from the flood. Where we are, the river became much wider and shallower.” Now native plants like sedges and rushes that grow at the water’s edge are starting to trap and store sediment, she said. “We’re watching our banks grow back.

That’s the remarkable work of riparian areas: specialized plants slow down floodwaters and capture particles of soil.

Over time, enough soil is trapped to provide a footing for new plants to establish.

The community of riparian plants is dynamic and diverse, comprised of sedges, rushes, grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE While they’ve managed their land to be a more natural setting, Suzanne and Edward still want this to be a place for people, even friends worried about snakes. “We mow the area where we truly feel like we walk and the grandkids like to play.”

With paths mowed three feet wide, friends and family seem to enjoy the natural setting around them.

Landowners, of course, have differing opinions on mowing.

Some will mow all the way to the water’s edge, while some on the other end of the spectrum will foster something more akin to wilderness. Davis says, “It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing. And most people we talk to seem open to that balanced approach.”

WE LEARNED TO LEAVE THE LOGS AND LIMBS IN PLACE TO STABILIZE THE BANK, AND WE TOOK HOME SOME SEDGES AND A MIX OF RIPARIAN GRASSES AND FORBS. IT WAS LIKE HOPE IN A PACKAGE. - Suzanne Davis

The Davis's riparian corridor in the Wimberley Valley.

– Photo by Jenni Marino

Lots of her neighbors are now working toward achieving such a balance by creating buffers or grow zones of native vegetation, along with targeted access areas that are cleared and maintained for fishing, swimming, and other forms of recreation.

TPWD and numerous non-profit partners continue to of-fer educational resources and plant materials to riparian landowners. While “riparian” may have been a foreign term just a few years ago, Suzanne believes it’s now become a household word amongst land-owners in the Wimberley Valley.

Having spent her career as a teacher, Davis is given to sharing knowledge. Her approach is mostly through casual conversations, sometimes in the field or perhaps over wine and cheese — and she has found many landowners are interested in learning more about how to begin encouraging a more natural and diverse setting on their own property.

“When we get together, we share ideas and grass seed. We help people think through how they can do a little more — it’s been a lot of fun.”

STEWARDSHIP She is not alone in her work. Fellow riparian enthusiast and Wimberley resident, Christine Middleton, connects with dozens of landowners through a seasonal newsletter that highlights riparian stewardship best practices.

Now Davis and her neighbors get excited and talk about the new plants they discover in the riparian area. “Sometimes you just have to sit by the water’s edge, enjoy it, and notice it.

It will fill you with hope.” & RV

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stomping grounds

AUGUSTA VIN A T E X A S H I L L C O U N T R Y E S TAT E W I N E R Y

By LORELIE HELMKE Photos by LEO AGUIRRE JR. Augusta Vin is one of the Texas Hill Country’s newest estate wineries. It is the vision of owner and home builder, Scott Felder. He purchased the 65 acres along highway 16 south of Fredericksburg in 2015 and began planting his extensive vineyard in 2016. The tasting room is a testament to Scott’s building experience – it is gorgeous!

140 Vic Lane Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830.307.1007 augustavin.com

Starting with the 2019 vintage, the winery will offer 100% Estate-grown wines. Today the wines are about 85% estate grown, sourcing from Texas Hill Country and Texas High Plains vineyards for the additional grapes. All the wines reverberate through the mouth which indicates well-made wines. I am looking forward to experiencing the evolution of this winery.

Plan on spending the afternoon at this amazing new winery.

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stomping grounds

BRISK WHITE – Texas Blend of white grape varietals

LATITUDE 45 – The Latitude of Northern Rhone Valley

Intense bouquet of cantaloupe and lime zest greet the nose.

Hints of baking spice with green apples follow. On the tongue, the zingy acidity wakens the senses while the resounding minerals appear on the finish.

Great by itself or pair with ceviche or shellfish.

A distinctive aroma of Mexican vanilla mingles with white flowers, honeysuckle and Anjou pear. This is a visceral wine with a light, long and bright finish.

An impressive complexity for a young white wine. Try this one with Cobb Salad, chicken or seafood.

MARSANNE – Estate and High Plains Vineyards

ROSE OF COUNOISE – Estate Grown

Up front white flowers and orange blossom trigger memories of spring. Green papaya aromas and melon intermingle. This white offers a very pleasant, juicy finish. Try this one with Thai food or a spicy curry.

LATITUDE 44 – The Latitude of Southern Rhone Valley Marsanne-based blend from Estate and other nearby vineyards. This wine shows a gorgeous golden color reminiscent of older white, but this easy sipping wine is young and fresh with a racy streak of acidity. It offers aromas of gooseberry and lime and a medium finish. Great with baked whitefish in a lemon cream sauce.

A Rosé with intense favors.

Scents of cherries, orange zest and cranberry compote. Ripe strawberries and red plum aromas join in. This rose is felt all over the mouth with its brilliant long finish. This should be on everyone’s holiday table.

MALBEC – 100% Malbec from the Estate and nearby vineyards Bright ruby color shines in the glass. Lush raspberry and blueberry aromas with a hint of anise and dark plum that entice.

This malbec shows an elegant style with a hint of tannin. An easy drinking red. Perfect with red sauces like Bolognese.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON– Estate and Texas High Plains In the glass this Cabernet Sauvignon brandishes a bight brick color. Aromas of blackberry, back cherry and cassis rise along with dried cherry, and earthy fig notes.

There is a hint of eucalyptus alongside. A medium bodied, feminine style wine with a delightful finish. A wonderful compliment to beef stew or slow cooked shanks.

TEMPRANILLO – Estate and nearby vineyards Displays beautiful garnet pigment. Shows a spicy display of bright cherry, dried herbs, soft leather and a touch of tobacco leaf. This one is silky on the palate and delivers a long sumptuous finish. Pairs well with bacon-wrapped tenderloin or wild game.

TANNAT – Estate and nearby vineyards This bold red exudes a rich, dark ruby color. Inviting scents of black cherry, anise and earthy smoke greet the nose.

It distinctively glides through the entire mouth with a brilliant acidity and balanced tannin structure. This is the one to drink with that Tomahawk steak.

PETITE SIRAH – 100% Texas Grown A bold, yet effortless red that presents jammy fruit aromas of blueberry and black plums.

There is a notable hint of black pepper and cocoa with a hint of vanilla. A full-bodied wine with lovely acidity balance. Pair this one with lamb, grilled chops or roasted leg.

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in the hills

A MONUMENT TO FREETHINKERS

By MICHAEL BARR

Art by KELBE SCHRANK

Artist Kelbe Schrank captures the staid yet freethinking Jacob Kuechler, one of the Freethinker settlers.

Kuechler escaped death from Confederate troops, remained in Mexico, then returned to Texas to eventually become a commissioner with the Texas General Land Office.

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ven while confronting the uncertainty, the loneliness and the physical hardship of the harsh Texas frontier, an extraordinary group of German Freethinkers in the Texas Hill Country still found time to enjoy the music of Mozart, conduct spirited community forums in Latin and savor a bottle of good wine.

Between 1845 and 1861 a number of German Freethinkers (Deutsche Freidenker) arrived on the Texas frontier. They were not typical working-class immigrants but educated German intellectuals, many from the wealthy class.

Freethinkers were part of a European reform movement with roots in the Enlightenment. They opposed despotism, class privilege and the excessive power of the church.

They advocated unorthodoxy, religious dissent, skepticism and unconventional thinking. They believed that truth came from logic, reason and empiricism not from authority, tradition or dogma.

Freethinkers were secularists. Some of them were atheists.

Many Freethinkers participated in the 1848 German Revolution. They fought against traditional European autocracy. When the revolution failed, a number of Freethinkers sought freedom and democracy in America.

About a thousand Freethinkers eventually settled in the Texas Hill Country in the communities of Comfort, Sisterdale, Luckenbach, Castell, Bettina, Cypress Mill and Tusculum (Boerne). Among the settlers were notable scientists, philosophers and engineers.

They came to the frontier with muskets, plows and axes but also with works of art, musical instruments and books.

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The Treuer der Union Monument in Comfort, a memorial for the German settlers killed by Confederate troops. – Photo by Mike Barr

could understand, the abolition of capital punishment, taxation based on income level, the elimination of religious instruction in schools, the abolition of temperance laws, and the abolition of the grand jury.

Since many Freethinkers spoke and read Latin and considered fluency in that language essential to a cultured intellectual society, the settlements were known as Latin colonies.

Freethinkers were ahead of their time in many ways. They advocated equal rights for women. They opposed slavery and secession.

In 1854, at a San Antonio Saengerfest organized by Freethinkers, the group published a set of resolutions demanding, among other things, simple laws that anyone

About half of the Hill Country Freethinkers gathered in Comfort. A group of Freethinkers met there for much of the 20th century.

Rock&Vine

in the hills

At Bettina Colony in what would become Llano County, a group of idealistic young Germans from Heidelberg, Giessen and Darmstadt hoped to build a Utopian colony on the Texas frontier based on friendship, freedom and equality.

Bettina was the first communal society in Texas. It had no formal social structure and no government. The founders believed any kind of institutionalized leadership was a form of tyranny.

Forty miles south of Bettina, Nicholas Zink built a cabin in the pristine wilderness near Bosom Hills in Sister Creek Valley. Zink, a civil Engineer who surveyed New Braunfels, was an educated man with a large circle of sophisticated friends. A number of those friends followed Zink to a settlement in the middle of nowhere that came to be called Sisterdale.

Zink and his friends were not dirt farmers but urban, cosmopolitan Germans. They were a fascinating collection of writers, scientists, radicals, anarchists, Utopians and revolutionaries exiled from Germany following the failed 1848 Revolution.

For a time, Sisterdale was a sanctuary of style and sophistication on the wild Texas frontier. When Prince Paul of Wurttemberg, visited Sisterdale, he was astonished to find such refined culture at a wilderness outpost where he dodged marauding Comanches the day before.

The Freethinkers were not ideally equipped for frontier life, but the intensity and depth of their drawing room conversations, in multiple languages, rivaled any similar discussions in Paris, Berlin, Vienna or London.

The Freethinkers were Germany’s best – the most educated and enlightened people of their day.

And yet outside the Latin colonies, Freethinkers were a controversial and often despised minority. Even other Germans didn’t agree with them.

Their religious skepticism made people uncomfortable.

Freethinkers became a target of scorn for more conventional thinking Texans.

Then the Civil War came, and the scorn turned to something more sinister. Suddenly the Freethinkers’ progressive ideas of liberalism, humanism and freedom and equality for all began to sound downright dangerous.

To most Texans, the Civil War had no middle ground.

Anyone who opposed secession was the enemy. Any talk of abolition was treason.

After Texas seceded, Confederate authorities in Austin responded to the Unionist threat by ordering all citizens to take an oath to the Confederacy. The Freethinkers, along with many other German Unionists, were caught between a rock and a hard place.

As tensions escalated, German Unionists formed a militia called the Union Loyal League for self-protection. The state government in turn declared parts of the Hill Country in rebellion.

At about the same time the Confederate government in Austin organized a force of state militia and Confederate cavalry to patrol the Hill Country to put down what was perceived to be open insurrection by Hill Country Unionists. This force of Confederates, commanded by Captain James Duff, bivouacked near Fredericksburg.

On August 1, 1862 a group of German men, many of them Freethinkers, met on Turtle Creek, 18 miles west of Kerrville. Sixty-one of them decided to flee to Mexico.

They planned to cross the Rio Grande at Del Rio, double back to Louisiana by boat and join the Union forces that had recently taken New Orleans.

The Confederates got wind of the plan, and rode in pursuit.

On August 10, 1862, mounted Confederate raiders, dispatched by Captain Duff, attacked the Germans encamped on the banks of the Nueces River. The Confederates killed 19 German Unionists and wounded 9 others. Confederates executed the wounded a few hours after the battle.

Of the Unionists who escaped, at least 8 more died trying to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico.

The Battle of the Nueces River was controversial.

Confederates regarded the event as a military action against insurrectionists. Most Hill Country Germans considered it a massacre.

After the battle, friends and family members brought the remains of the dead Unionists back to Comfort for burial.

The community erected a memorial at the burial site.

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A plaque thought to be controversial when it was proposed for Comfort's High Street.

– Photo by Mike Barr The Treue der Union monument 1866 on High Street in Comfort is the only German-language monument to the Union in the former Confederacy.

Meanwhile the disruption of society during the war broke up what was left of the Latin colonies. Some Freethinkers sought safety in more urban areas. Some went back to Germany. But a strain of Freethinking still runs through the German Hill Country however prickly that strain might sometimes be.

Walk with Us Enjoy our wines and views at our Winery & Vineyard.

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In 1998 a group of modern self-styled Freethinkers, with approval of the proper authorities, placed a 12 feet high, 32 ton limestone boulder in the public park along Texas Highway 27 in Comfort. The plan was to attach a plaque to the boulder as a monument to the Freethinkers who had played a significant role in the region’s history.

Then Comfort had second thoughts. The proposed language on the plaque was controversial. Some citizens were upset with what they saw as a memorial to atheists.

So community leaders shelved the project. Workers took down the boulder and a truck hauled it away.

It took 5 years to resolve the dispute and get the wording on the plaque just right. Today the down-sized monument to the Freethinkers is not in the park but on private property next to the Ingenhuett Building on Comfort’s High Street.

Modern day Comfort is not completely comfortable with the unconventional Freethinkers.

The Freethinkers, I suspect, are okay with that. R&V WINTER 2020 89

drinkery maps Pontotoc

117

39 San Saba

Lake Buchanan

Tow

112

Buchanan Dam

29 29

Llano

Castell

108

29

Oatmeal

Lake LBJ

Sunrise Beach

Travis Peak

71

15

Spicewood

100

Round Mtn.

113

Cypress Mill

12 93

89

63 25 Stonewall

16

53

68 70

Johnson City

103 10

82

10

33

17

290

90 35

28 79 58

39 Driftwood 38 116

Sisterdale

42

96

22 10

95

Boerne

57 Bandera

21 26

183 San Marcos

Spring Branch

18

AUSTIN

71

98

Wimberley Comfort

73 Vanderpool

110

88

KERRVILLE

Center Point

Bee Cave

Dripping Springs

87

86

101

Lakeway

16 Henly 36

9 Blanco

Jonestown Lago Vista

54

80

Luckenbach

SEE PAGE 100

64

Hye

111 3

Lake Travis

Round Rock

74

Willow City

FREDERICKSBURG

49

183

44

Marble Falls

Horseshoe Bay

87

Georgetown

Liberty Hill

Granite Shoals 16

Rogers 35

83

Kingsland

32

Andice

Bertram

Burnet

105

Inks Lake

45, 77 & 92

290

106

85

Blufftown

71

Mason

Florence

281

Canyon Lake

Canyon City

67

281

34 65

35

Smithson Valley Bulverde

37

87

104

Gruene 46

N New Braunfels

30 Seguin W

109

E

S

Hill Country Wine Region The Texas Hill Country region now has over 100+ breweries, distilleries, wineries and vineyards combined and continues to grow each month. With this growth, Rock & Vine has also expanded its reach with coverage to the northern counties of San Saba and McCullouch, down south to Bandera, Kendall and Comal, out west to Mason, Kimble and Menard, and east to Hays, Williamson and Travis counties.

Highlighted areas on page 92

90

Rock&Vine

Listing numbers correspond with numbers on map. Locations are approximate not to scale.

1.

12 Fires Winery

30. Copper Star Cellars (Off Map)

60. Hye Meadow Winery

92. Sandstone Cellars (Off Map)

2. 290 Vinery

31. Cross Mountain

61. Hye Rum

93. Santa Maria Cellars

3. 290 Wine Castle

32. Dancing Bee Winery (Off Map) 62. Inwood Estates Winery

94. Signor Vineyards

4. 1851 Vineyards

33. Deep Eddy Vodka

63. Iron Goat Distillery

95. Singing Water Vineyards

64. Kerrville Hills Winery

96. Sister Creek Vineyards

65. Kinematic Brewing Company

97. Six Shooters Cellars

66. Kuhlman Cellars

98. Solaro Estate Winery

100 Durango • Johnson City 300 W. Main (Hwy. 290) • Johnson City 101 Durango • Johnson City 4222 S. Hwy. 16 • Fredericksburg

5. Ab Astris

320 Klein Rd • Stonewall

6. Altstadt Brewery

6120 E. US Hwy 290 • Fredericksburg

7. Alexander Vineyards 6360 Goehmann Lane Fredericksburg

8. Andreucci Wines

13217 FM 1117 • Seguin

308 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg 8060 W. US Hwy. 190 • Rogers 2250 E. US Hwy. 290 Dripping Springs

34. Dodging Duck Brewhaus 402 River Rd. • Boerne

35. Driftwood Estate Winery 4001 Elder Hill Rd. • Driftwood

36. Dripping Springs Vodka 5330 Bell Springs Rd. Dripping Springs

2 Locations 8898 US Hwy. 290 308 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

37. Dry Comal Creek Vineyards

9. Andalusia Whiskey Company 6462 N. Highway 281• Blanco

13308 FM 150 W. • Driftwood

10. Arc de Texas

4555 Hwy. 281 • Johnson City

11. Armadillo’s Leap Winery

2 Locations 134 E. Main St 6266 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

12. Augusta Vin

140 Augusta Vin Ln • Fredericksburg

13. Baron’s Creek Vineyard

5865 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

14. Becker Vineyards

2 Locations 307 E. Main St. 464 Becker Farms Rd. • Fredericksburg

15. Bell Mountain Vineyards

463 Bell Mountain Rd. • Fredericksburg

16. Bell Springs Winery 3700 Bell Springs Rd. Dripping Springs

17. Bella Vista Ranch

3101 Mount Sharp Rd. • Wimberley

18. Bending Branch Winery

142 Lindner Branch Trail • Comfort

19. Bingham Family Vineyards

1741 Herbelin Rd. • New Braunfels

38. Duchman Family Winery 39. Fall Creek Vineyards

2 Locations 18059-A FM 1826 • Driftwood 1820 County Rd. 222 • Tow

40. Fat Ass Winery Tasting Room 153 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

41. Fat Ass Ranch Winery

51 Elgin Behrends Rd. • Fredericksburg

42. Fawncrest Vineyard & Winery 1370 Westside Circle • Canyon Lake

43. Fiesta Winery - 2 locations

147A E. Main St. 6260 US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

44. Flat Creek Estate

24912 Singleton Bend East Rd. Marble Falls

45. Fly Gap Winery (Off Map)

2851 Hickory Grove Rd. • Mason

46. Four Point Cellars

10354 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

47. Fredericksburg Brewing Company 245 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

48. Fredericksburg Winery

247 W. Main St. • Fredericksburg

49. Georgetown Winery 3915 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

20. Blue Lotus Winery

8500 W Hwy 290 • Hye

21. Boerne Brewery

106 Sage Brush • Boerne

22. Branch on High

704 High St. • Comfort

23. Brewbonnet (inside Wildseed farms) 100 Legacy Rd • Fredericksburg

24. Calais Winery

8115 W. US Hwy. 290 • Hye

25. Chisholm Trail Winery

2367 Usener Rd. • Fredericksburg

26. Cibolo Creek Brewing Company 122 N. Plant • Boerne

27. Cicada Cellars

14746 E. US Hwy. 290• Stonewall

28. Comfort Brewing

523 Seventh St. • Comfort

29. Compass Rose Cellars Inc. 1197 Hye Albert Rd. • Hye

715 Main St. • Georgetown

50. Garrison Brothers Distillery 1827 Hye Albert Rd. • Hye

51. Grape Creek Vineyards

10587 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

52. Grape Creek Vineyard on Main 223 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

53. Hahne Estates Winery

14802 US Hwy. 290 East • Stonewall

54. Hawk’s Shadow Estate Vineyard

7500 McGregor Ln. • Dripping Springs

55. Heath Sparkling (coming summer '19) 10591 US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

56. Hilmy Cellars

12346 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

57. Hill Country Cellars & Winery 3540 S. Hwy 16 Ste 2D • Bandera

58. Hill Country Distillers 723 Front St. • Comfort

59. Horn Wineries

9953 E. US Hwy. 290 • Hye

9953 US Hwy. 290 • Hye

11247 W. US Hwy. 290 • Hye 10303 US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg 817 Usener Rd. • Fredericksburg 3600 Fredericksburg Rd. • Kerrville 635 E. Hwy 46, Suite 207 • Boerne 18421 E. US Hwy. 290 • Stonewall

67. La Cruz de Comal Wines 7405 FM 2722 • Canyon Lake

68. Lewis Wines

3209 W. US Hwy. 290 • Johnson City

69. Longhorn Cellars

315 Ranch Rd. 1376 • Fredericksburg

70. Longhorn Hills and Winery

555 Klappenbach Rd. • Johnson City

71. Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards

6009 US Hwy. 290. • Fredericksburg

72. Lost Draw Cellars

113 E. Park St. • Fredericksburg

73. Lost Maples Winery

34986 Farm Market 187 • Vanderpool

74. McReynolds Winery

706 Shovel Mountain Rd. • Cypress Mill

75. Mendelbaum Winery/Cellars

10207 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

76. Messina Hof Winery

9996 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

77. Murphy's Cellars

120 Fort McKavett St • Mason

78. Narrow Path Winery 2 Locations FM 1623 (South of Hye) • Albert 111 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

211 San Antonio St. • Mason

12044 S. Hwy. 16 • Fredericksburg 362 Livesay Lane • Fredericksburg 316 Mill Dam Rd. • Comfort

1142 Sisterdale Rd. • Boerne

6264 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg 13111 Silver Creek Rd. Dripping Springs

99. Southold Farm + Cellar 10474 Ranch Road 2721 Fredericksburg

100. Spicewood Vineyards 1419 CR 409 • Spicewood

101. Stone House Vineyard

24350 Haynie Flat Rd. • Spicewood

102. Texas Heritage Vineyards

3245 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

103. Texas Hills Vineyard

878 RR 2766 • Johnson City

104. Three Dudes Winery

125 Old Martindale Rd. • San Marcos

105. Torr Na Lochs

7055 W. State Hwy. 29 • Burnet

106. The Vineyard at Florence 8711 W. FM 487 • Florence

107. The Vintage Cellar

6258 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

108. Thirsty Mule Winery & Vineyard 101 CR 257 • Liberty Hill

109. Timber Ridge Winery

2152 Timber Creek Rd. • Pipe Creek

110. Treaty Oak Distilling Company

16604 Fitzhugh Rd. • Dripping Springs

79. Newsom Vineyards

111. Vinovium

80. Pecan Street Brewing

112. Wedding Oak Winery

717 Front St. • Comfort

106 E. Pecan Dr. • Johnson City

81. Pedernales Cellars

2916 Upper Albert Rd. • Stonewall

82. Pelota Wines, Inc.

3209 US Hwy. 290 • Johnson City

83. Perissos Vineyards

7214 W. Park Road 4 • Burnet

84. Perspective Cellars

247 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

85. Pilot Knob Vineyard 3125 CR 212 • Bertram

86. Pint & Plow Brewing Company 332 Clay St. • Kerrville

87. Pontotoc Vineyard

320 W. Main St. • Fredericksburg

88. Real Ale Brewing Company 231 San Saba Court • Blanco

89. Ron Yates Wines

6676 W. US Hwy. 290• Hye

90. Salt Lick Cellars

214 Edmonds Avenue • Johnson City 2 Locations 316 E. Wallace (Off Map) • San Saba 290 Wine Rd., • Fredericksburg (Under construction)

113. Westcave Cellars Winery 25711 Hamilton Pool Rd. Round Mountain

114. Western Edge Cellars

228 W. Main St. • Fredericksburg

115. William Chris Vineyards 10352 US Hwy. 290 • Hye

116. Wimberley Valley Winery

2825 County Road 183 • Driftwood

117. Wines of Dotson Cervantes 13044 Willis Street • Pontotoc

118. Winotus

115 E. Main St. • Fredericksburg

119. Woodrose Winery

662 Woodrose Lane • Stonewall

120. Zero 815 Winery

11157 W. US Hwy. 290 • Hye

1800-C FM 1826 • Driftwood

91. Safari (opening soon)

5479 E. US Hwy. 290 • Fredericksburg

WINTER 2020 91

drinkery maps 99 LANE

FREDERICKSBURG FREDERICKSBURG

5

GOEHMANN

Cain City

1376

COM RD. FORT

C LU

LOWER ALBERT RD.

51 55

14

ALBER RD 1623

81

Albert

HYE ALBERT RD.

GELLERMANN

7562

66 61 120

119

HAHN RD.

CITY

N BACH-CAIN .

KE RD

RD.

MEUSEBACH CREEK RD .

WOODLAND DR.

RD. CAIN

IO

Blumenthal

56 94 46 41

Hye

290

Stonewall

T

ON

8

290

115

Pedernales River

PER

13 71 69

76

LBJ National LBJ State Historical Park Historical State Park Ranch

27

UP

NT SAN A

87

19 91

107 6 43 97 23 Rocky Hill 7 CITY

OLD

102

Pedernales River

JENSCHKE LANE

290

LUCKENBACH RD.

GOEHMANN LN.

LANE

.

KLEIN RD.

16

31 20 60

59 24

29 50

78

OLD

Luckenbach

WINE CORRIDOR

DOWNTOWN FREDERICKSBURG W. CENTRE ST.

PECAN ST.

ELM

W. COLLEGE ST.

TRAVIS ST.

ORCHARD ST. TRAVIS ST.

16 SCHUBERT ST.

Pioneer Museum

48

31

78 118 43 40

SAN ANTONIO ST. T

EEK S

E. CR

16 N

W

PARK ST. E

S

92

Rock&Vine

UFER ST.

72

Visitor Information Center

LINCOLN ST.

11

LLANO ST.

Marktplatz

ADAMS ST.

AUSTIN ST.

52

47

Museum of the Pacific War

14 84

MAIN STREET

8

87

S WASHINGTON

MAIN STREET

114

CROCKETT ST.

87

ORANGE ST.

MILAM ST.

AUSTIN ST.

EDISON ST.

BOWIE ST.

ACORN ST.

CHERRY ST.

SCHUBERT ST.

290

THE CLUB

Events January 1—Hair

of the Dog Day, Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road, Gruene, all-day live entertainment, free. gruenehall.com/#calendar

1—Eisbahn, Ice Skating in Fredericksburg, at Marktplatz. Share in the holiday spirit at the rink, which is staffed with volunteers from Heritage School.

A portion of the proceeds is donated to charity and needs-based tuition assistance for qualifying families at the school. fbgtx.org/Calendar.aspx

10-12—New

Braunfels Antique Show & Sale, 375 S. Castell Ave., New Braunfels, with dealers from 19 states and one from France. Concessions and pies from Royers Round Top Café. heritageeventcompany.com/newbraunfels-antique-show.html

18

—Luckenbach Blues Festival, an all-day celebration featuring area, regional and Texas artists, slides into town at Luckenbach Texas Dance Hall, 420 Luckenbach Town Loop. luckenbachtexas.com

18-19 —Fredericksburg Rock & Mineral Show,

Rockhounds’

Lady Bird Johnson Park at the Pavilion, Highway 16 South, Fredericksburg, with dealers, demonstrations, rock cutting and activities for children. fredericksburgrockhounds.org

94

Rock&Vine

20-22 —6th

Annual Hill Country Wine Symposium 2020, at the Horseshoe

Bay Resort includes 25 seminars, lectures and panel discussions for industry insiders about vineyards, wineries along with business and marketing. Established in 2015 by Texas Hill Country Wineries, the symposium hosts a twohour networking reception to share wines from across the state and enjoy local cocktails and beer. texaswinetrail. com/product/2020-hill-country-wine-symposium/

24-25 and Feb 1-2 —Kerrville

Renaissance Festival River Star Art and Event Park at Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3785 TX-27 East, Kerrville. Music, entertainment on three stages, food vendors and a merchant village with some 40 artisans take visitors back to another time. Family friendly. kerrvillerenfest.com

March 15-16 —Castell

Annual Chili Cookoff,

Castell General Store, 19522 Ranch Road 152, Castell, Free admission. $25 if you want to compete; event limited to 20 cooks. Live entertainment, BBQ, burgers.

February 7-23 —The

Event,

Wine Lovers Celebration

with wine tastings at each participating winery in the Texas Hill Country. texaswinetrail.com/wine-loverscelebration/

8

—Opera on the Ranch Event, by Texas Hill Country Opera and Arts, Eagle Dancer Ranch, 1621 Ranch Road 1473, Boerne, showcases a variety of music from opera to country, with local talent and country music Hall of Fame songwriter Gary Morris. Cocktails, dinner and live and silent auctions. eventbrite.com/e/opera-on-the-ranchtickets-62231437906

14-16 —Fredericksburg

21

—Blanco Market Day, in downtown Blanco on the old courthouse square kicks off the 2020 season with arts, crafts, antiques and food. Set on the third Saturday of the month from March through November with a special December holidays event, the market runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. historicblanco.org

27-

14

April —Wine and Wildflower Journey, takes off through the Texas Hill Country, where you can sample award-winning wines at Hill Country Wineries. texaswinetrail.com/wine-wildflower-journey/

28

—Hill Show, Lady

Country

Indian

Artifacts

Bird Johnson Park, 432 Lady Bird Drive, Fredericksburg, features Native American artifacts from Texas and the U.S., including pottery, arrowheads, Indian jewelry, trade era beads, artifact cases and other collectibles. hillcountryindianartifacts.com/Mar2020Show. html

Trade Days,

Sunday Farms in Fredericksburg, with music, and more than 350 vendors collectibles, tools, crafts, primitives, hunting accessories, candles, clothing, http://www.fbgtradedays.com

at a biergarten, live selling antiques, ranch furniture, jewelry and food.

13-16 —Llano

Earth Art Festival, brings together folks from all over the Hill Country for art and fun in in Grenwelge Park, 199 E Haynie St., Llano.

WINTER 2020 95

Liebeskind is proud to be the ONLY retailer in the US to offer BONDI Kidswear. Bondi stands for high quality top fashion baby and childrens wear with strong emphasis on creativity, quality and tasteful designs at an affordable price. We know you’ll love every stitch!

Cynthia’s Art Studio William Chris Vineyard’s 2019 Artist Blend Label contest winner. Come visit during the Spring Showcase featuring my Texas Hill Country Art and their delicious Texas Wine!

Fine Art Commissions

Why not enjoy your favorite view all of the time?

Artist: Cynthia Thompson 808 754 5897 www.cynthiasartstudio.com 96

Rock&Vine

END

notes

Compiled by SHANNON LOWRY

TWO-STEPPIN’ IN HEAVEN

SNAPSHOTS FROM TEXAS WINTERS PAST

“My idea of heaven is to own Texas, stock it with Texas longhorn cattle, staff it with Texas Rangers, ride from windmill to windmill and have a dance every night,” said longhorn breeder Maudeen Marks, who was born in 1918 on the legendary LH-7 Ranch in Barker outside Houston and died in 2009 at her home ranch in Bandera.

Texas isn’t known for snowy weather but it is a widely celebrated and highly photographed occurrence when those white flakes fall from the sky. Here’s a look back at longgone Lone winters when the extraordinary happened and folks paused to enjoy the rarity and brevity of the moment. healthy soil, suppress weeds, attract pollinators, promote genetic diversity, and require low water input — all without chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Hailing from one of the “Seven Families of Texas Longhorns,” Maudeen not only had a deep love for the longhorns she bred and hand-raised, she walked among them, petted them daily and herded them from pasture to pasture simply by calling them, never fearing their horns or their wily ways.

The story of the Marks longhorns harkens back to the 1840s, when Maudeen’s great-grandparents arrived on the Texas coast at Galveston. Championing the longhorn breed was passed down through the family’s lineage to Maudeen’s father, Emil, who stuck to raising longhorns even when fellow ranchers were increasingly turning to European stock.

Maudeen eventually inherited the LH-7 Ranch, along with 3 longhorn steers, a few cows and seven heifers. She went on to build an empire of some 150 registered longhorns. From its beginning in the early 1950s, her father always saddled up for the Salt Grass Trail ride that kicks off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo every February.

And while this Texas character is remembered for preserving the hardy longhorns that were brought to North America in 1493 by the Spanish, Maudeen’s portrait is part of a mural that graces the Saltgrass Restaurants in 10 states and a centercut filet on the chain’s menu is named for her.

Native Texan Maudeen Marks led a remarkable life as a longhorn breeder, heiress, writer, artist and concert pianist. – Photo courtesy of frontiertimesmuseum.org

A man is bundled up against the cold standing next to his horse- or donkeydrawn buggy. – Photo courtesy of The Portal to Texas History, crediting The Williamson Museum Woman skating on a patch of ice on a Texas ranch, 1949.

Photo courtesy of The Portal to Texas History. – Credit Matthews Family and Lambshead Ranch.

Looking south from the Texas Capitol in Austin in the winter of 1895. The temporary capitol is in view on the right, with the Travis County Courthouse on the left. – Photo courtesy of Austin Public Library, The Portal to Texas History WINTER 2020 97

END

notes

HOW COLD CAN TEXAS GET? Below zero temperatures in winter are normally found just a tad north of the Lone Star State, but the coldest temperature ever recorded here occurred in Seminole in West Texas, where it plummeted to 23 degrees below zero on Feb. 8, 1933.

HOT TEXAS APPLE CIDER To stave off a chilly biscuit day, try this party-size recipe for Hot Texas Apple Cider. It’s ready in 25 minutes with just 10 minutes for prep time and 15 minutes to cook.

1 gallon apple cider 1 quart pineapple juice 1 pinch of ground nutmeg or more to taste 20 whole cloves 1 orange 5 cinnamon sticks, or more to taste

WILLKOMMEN

Welcome to THE site for Fredericksburg, Texas real Estate and properties for sale.

Nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg’s Small-town atmosphere, relaxed lifestyle, and the quality of life draw families and retirees from all over.

Whether you are buying or selling, or just considering the perfect place for your retirement years, I would love to serve youEVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Mix apple cider, pineapple juice and nutmeg in a large pot.

Press cloves into orange in the shape of Texas. Float orange and cinnamon sticks in the cider mixture.

Heat cider mixture over medium heat until warmed and flavors have combined, 15 to 20 minutes. This can also be made in a slow cooker on low setting until warmed.

VINE WISE In survival situations in the wild, grape vine sap can be used as a source for fresh drinking water. The vine sap water is purified by the plant itself. Cut the vine as close to the ground as possible and cut a long slit down the entire length of the vine so water begins flowing out the vine's bottom.

The rest of the plant can provide food and medicine.

Grapevine leaves are thought to aid in the circulation of blood in the circulatory system and properties within the leaves may help treat varicose veins, hemorrhoids and intestinal bleeding.

98

Rock&Vine

CAROLE REED

CAROLE@CAROLEREED.COM

830-992-9446

Broker J.R. Russel Lic# 601430

RANCH

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

HILL COUNTRY LIVING | YOUR WAY

8 3 0 - 9 9 7 - 6 5 3 1 | F R E D E R I C K S B U R G R E A LT Y. C O M WINTER 2020 99

REST / CALM / SOOTHE / FOCUS / PET / SKIN / SPORT

ULTRA-PREMIUM / PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE PURE / CLEAN / ALL-AMERICAN

100

Rock&Vine

401 E. Main Street, Ste. 1B Fredericksburg, TX 78624 830-992-3094 www.pharmroad.com