3-in-1! I love Lucy! a Derby! and the Symphony!

Saturday we headed out west about an hour and half from Austin to a small, little German oriented-gone country town better known as Fredericksburg.  As you drive along hwy 290 the road begins greet you with peach stands and wineries galore just before you arrive in town….hence the reason for our trip: The annual grape stomp at Becker Vineyards.  The ½ barrels full of grapes were set up outside but there was one slightly discomforting feeling overcoming all 3 of us before we stepped foot in these barrels….no one washes off their feet before, only after! Totally disgusting!…and yes, we participated.  There were loads of people gathering inside for wine tastings and tours of the vineyard.  We, of course, scoped out the most promising seat in the house – someone who looked nice, might give a few extra pours to top off our glasses and would keep us entertained!  For $10 you got an etched Becker glass with 7 tastings. We definitely hit the jackpot on this one!  We took full advantage of this man’s nice-ness as he let us try practically every wine on the menu and then try some again!  These were some of our favs: Viognier, Malbec, Cab Franc and the Raven. 

Sunday we headed to the Fredericksburg Fair for their mini Kentucky Derby.  Our bets were placed on which horses we felt had the best legs or the best name – i.e Shake ‘em Lulu!  We obviously know a lot about horse races;) and were definitely big spenders since each bet was only $2!  By the end, I didn’t even break even (no surprise!), Annaliesa won something on every race and Julia won the most with a whopping $7!

Julia and I returned back to Austin that evening just in time for Symphony in the Park.  Every Sunday during the summer the Hartman Foundation hosts a division of the symphony to play a couple pieces they’re working on for the upcoming season.  The weather was awesome! People, children and their beloved dogs spread out across the hill leading up to the Long Center to listen, drink wine and veg out for their last performance of the summer.  It was similar to Blues on the Green except it was pot-free and a lot classier! 

On a side note, we tried a new wine called Silver which came in a super cute gray, ceramic bottle.  Usually when I buy a wine based on the bottle it never turns out good -- typically living up to the saying never judge a book by its cover, but not this time!  This one was actually good.