A day spent exploring Texas wineries pairs naturally with a stay in the countryside. The Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail brings together nine wineries across southeastern Texas, with stops ranging from small family vineyards to larger estates and working ranches.
For guests staying at BlissWood Bed & Breakfast Ranch in Cat Spring, the trail offers an easy way to spend a day exploring the surrounding area before returning to 350 acres of ranchland. You can also keep the wine experience close to home with BlissWood’s Ranch Winery Experience, which includes a guided horseback ride to neighboring M3 Cellars for a private tasting.
The trail’s seasonal passport events make it possible to explore at your own pace, whether you visit during spring’s bluebonnet season or plan a fall wine getaway.
The Story of Texas Wine
Texas has been growing grapes and making wine for centuries. Franciscan missionaries introduced grapevines to Spanish missions in the 17th century, establishing some of the state’s earliest vineyards. European settlers later brought additional grape-growing knowledge and varieties to Texas.
Modern Texas winemakers work with a wide range of grape varieties and growing conditions. The state’s heat, humidity, soils, and regional climate differences have led growers to experiment with varieties that can thrive here. Texas wineries now produce everything from dry reds and whites to fruit wines and dessert wines.
You can see that variety throughout the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail. Some wineries grow grapes on their own property, while others work with grapes from vineyards elsewhere in Texas. Visiting several stops gives you a chance to taste the differences for yourself and meet the people behind the wines.
Featured Trail Stops & Participating Wineries
Each winery offers something different, so you can choose your stops based on the kind of day you want to have.
Blue Mule Winery – Fayetteville
34 miles from BlissWood
Blue Mule Winery sits on an 11-acre farm and grows Black Spanish and Blanc du Bois grapes. After a tasting, visitors can explore the property and meet animals including donkeys and alpacas.
Texas Star Winery – Chappell Hill
30 miles from BlissWood
Located in Chappell Hill, Texas Star produces both grape and fruit wines, including Prickly Pear, Plum, and Cranberry. The winery has indoor tasting space as well as outdoor seating beneath the trees.
Threshold Vineyards – Navasota
43 miles from BlissWood
Threshold offers guided tastings and vineyard tours for visitors who want to learn more about growing grapes and making wine. Tours require reservations, so this is one to plan ahead.
Bernhardt Winery – Plantersville
62 miles from BlissWood
Bernhardt Winery has a Tuscan-inspired setting and produces wines using Texas grapes as well as varieties from around the world. The winery also hosts live music and offers food options during select events.
West Sandy Creek Winery – Richards
79 miles from BlissWood
Located on 360 acres near the Sam Houston National Forest, West Sandy Creek combines wine tasting with a ranch setting. The property includes vineyards, cabins, and animals such as a camel and zebronkeys.
Golden Oak Micro Cellar – New Waverly
94 miles from BlissWood
This 13-acre property was once a horse ranch and is now home to an estate vineyard and small winery. Tastings can be paired with food in a rural setting.
Messina Hof Winery – Bryan
52 miles from BlissWood
Messina Hof has been making Texas wine since 1977. Its Bryan estate offers tastings, vineyard tours, dining, events, and overnight accommodations.
Perrine Winery – College Station
72 miles from BlissWood
Perrine offers a personal tasting experience with owners Beth and Rick Leopold involved in producing and serving the wines. The selection includes dry reds and whites, fruit-infused wines, dessert wines, and wine freezes.
En Gedi Vineyards & Winery – Calvert
105 miles from BlissWood
En Gedi grows estate Lenoir and Blanc du Bois grapes. One of its featured wines is Port Sullivan, a dessert wine made from locally grown Lenoir grapes and aged in bourbon barrels.
You do not need to visit all nine wineries in one day. The official trail suggests several three-winery groupings that make planning easier. One route connects Blue Mule Winery, Texas Star Winery, and Threshold Vineyards. Another pairs Bernhardt Winery, West Sandy Creek Winery, and Golden Oak Micro Cellar. A third combines Perrine Winery, Messina Hof Winery, and En Gedi Vineyards & Winery.
Before heading out, check each winery’s current hours. The trail is self-guided, and individual tasting rooms maintain their own schedules. Groups of eight or more should contact wineries before visiting. If your group will be tasting, arrange a designated driver or other transportation.
The official trail map is a useful place to start when deciding which stops to include in your trip.
Exploring the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail
The trail comes alive in two distinct seasons, with passport events held in spring and fall. Each offers a different way to experience the wineries and surrounding countryside, so the best time to visit may depend on what you want to see and do along the way.
Spring Wine Trail
Spring is a particularly popular time to explore the trail because of the area’s bluebonnets and other native wildflowers. The Spring Wine Trail runs from March through April. The event uses a self-guided passport. During the two-month event, passport holders can visit each participating winery once and receive three wine tastings at each stop. If you’re staying at BlissWood during the spring, you can spend a day visiting wineries and return to the ranch for an evening surrounded by the quiet of the countryside.
Fall Wine Trail
Fall brings its own reason to get out and explore. The Fall Wine Trail runs from October through November, giving visitors two months to visit the participating wineries.
Because the passport is valid throughout the two-month event, there is no need to fit every winery into one weekend. You can visit a few during one trip and return to the trail another day.
Make BlissWood Your Home Base
If you are planning more than a quick day trip, staying near the wine trail gives you more time to enjoy the area without spending your entire getaway behind the wheel.
At BlissWood Bed & Breakfast Ranch, guests stay on 350 acres of working ranchland in Cat Spring. Accommodations include private cabins, guest houses, and glamping options, giving you a quiet place to settle in after a day of wine tasting.
There is plenty to do without leaving the property, too. Depending on your interests, you can explore the ranch’s trails, go fishing, spend time with the animals, ride horses, or simply enjoy some downtime at your accommodations. That makes it easy to build the weekend around more than wine. Spend one day exploring the Bluebonnet Wine Trail, then leave the next day open for the ranch.
BlissWood offers another way to work wine into your stay. The Ranch Winery Experience begins with a guided 45-minute horseback ride from BlissWood to neighboring M3 Cellars. Once you arrive, you’ll enjoy a private wine tasting before returning to the ranch by golf cart. The experience brings horseback riding and wine tasting together in one outing. After the ride and tasting, you can return to BlissWood and spend the rest of the day at the ranch.
What Guests Say About the Experience
“The most incredible and memorable trip! My husband surprised me for my 40th birthday and Blisswood has EVERYTHING your heart could dream of. The horses, safari, skeet shoot, ride to the wine tasting, gazebo picnic, fishing, couples massages, the cutest Enchanted Cabin. As soon as you pull on to the property you are stepping in to a fairytale!”
– Cruiser324884, Tripadvisor
