Texas Wine Trail Lodging
The Inn Above Onion Creek is convienently located close to two great stops on the Texas Wine Trail, Mandola Winery and Driftwood Vineyards. Touring the Texas wineries is a great way to enjoy your hill country getaway and it's easy to make your way to these two great wineries and still have time to visit other great hill country attractions including Bella Vista Ranch, the first commerical olive oil producer in Texas. A fun filled day is making the loop from Mandola's to Wimberley and back to the Inn. Driftwood Vineyard and Bella Vista are convienvently located between Mandola's and Wimberley so you never go out of your way to visit the next. Be sure and visit www.texaswinetrail.com for additional information on other great texas wineries.
Mandola Estate Winery is less than 10 miles from the Inn Above Onion Creek. The sleek new winery has recreated a bit of Tuscany in the hill country. Native Italian grape varieties- Pinot Grigio, Vermentino, Moscato, and Sangiovese blend seamlessly with the great grapes of France and California. Mandola is producing excellent Texas wine and is one of the premiere stops on the Texas Wine Trail. Be sure and stop by the tasting room and pick out a wine bring to dinner at the Inn. Visit www.mandolaestatewinery.com for business hours and special events schedule.
Damion Mandola's Tattoria Lisina restuarant is a rustic and casual tuscan style restaurant. The menu offer authenic country-style Italian fare. It's located right next door to the winery so be sure and grab a bottle of wine to accompany your delicious lunch. Visit www.trattorialisina.com for menu and reservations.
Driftwood Vineyard, located on top of a hillside overlooking the vineyard, offers amazing views of the rows of grapes below. The views are spetactual and worth the drive itself. It's a short drive from Mandola Winery and is midway between Mandola's and the city of Wimberley. Driftwood Vineyard has been producing wine commerically since 2002 and offer 5 different varieties.
Their tasting room is quite comfortable and also boasts a gift shop with hill country created foods and crafts. The 1100 square foot deck is a wonderful place to drink a glass of wine and take in the breath-taking views. Driftwood Vineyard allows you to bring a picnic lunch and we can make you one. Let us know if you'd like to take one of our picnic lunches to the vineyards. Visit www.driftwoodvineyards.com for business hours and special events schedule.
Open Thursday through Sunday, Bella Vista Ranch is one of the most popular attractions for guests staying at the Inn Above Onion Creek to visit. The Ranch is comprised of "two parts". First Texas Olive Oil Co., and Bella Vista Cellars. On weekends you can take a guided tour of the olive orchard and see first hand the care that goes into the tending to the grove and learn about the history of olive oil production.
The tasting room and gift shop has a great selection of their award winning olive oils available for tastings and purchase. Along with the olive oils, you can sample some of Bella Vista Cellars wine creations, inlcuding a guest favorite, blackberry wine. The small-scale winery crafts wines using old-world wine making practices and wines are produced in limited quanity. You can normally taste and purchase between 3 and 6 varieties of wines, depending on availability. Be sure and try out the fresh perserves, dipping oils, balsamic vinegars and even chocolates. Visit www.bvranch.com for business hours and special events schedule.
