Saturday

Saturday was nothing short of a perfect day. We slept in because we really needed it, then we leisurely got ready and got in his truck. He wouldn't tell me where we were going just that we would probably be gone all day. As we drove into the Hill Country I slid over to sit in the middle next to him and he put his arm around me . Without a break in our conversation, he would push in the clutch and I would shift down for him when we went up a steep hill, so he could leave his right arm around my shoulders.

We drove north on I-10, past Boerne and Welfare, through Fredericksburg and into Doss. I still had no clue where we were going. I watched a thousand green fields fly by, a few longhorns and one llama, a small rainshower and fresh peach stands on the side of the road at least every mile. Finally we turned off at a sign titled Grape Creek Vineyard, as we pull up in the gravel drive and I see the quaint winery. The small wine-tasting room is inviting, with its warm hard-wood floors and walls filled with wine bottles. The room opens up onto a patio shaded in honeysuckle and grape vines.

We walked in, hand in hand, and sampled their sweet summer wines with our favorite being a 2002 Cabernet Blanc. We buy a bottle, I steal a couple of used corks and we jump back in his truck, dizzy from the wine. Not even a half a mile down the road we turn into Torre di Pietra Winery, a beautiful stone winery with miles of grape vines in neat rows that disappear over the horizon. They hand us glass upon glass of wine that is sweet in my mouth but warm inside me. We choose a rich purple wine called Red Flirt, with whimsical flavors of cherries, berries, and plums. Once again, into his truck, with one last look at the infinite rows of grapes.

Our last stop is Becker Vineyards. The tasting room is filled with the smell of lavender, which they grow in addition to grapes, and the sound of jovial laughter. Once again, we sample wines to our hearts content. Some of my favorites; Fume Blanc, Riesling, Muscat Canelli Amabile and Texas Port. The Texas Port, which we agreed was nothing short of the most amazing wine we'd ever tasted, was instantly added to our days collection. He had his heart set on a tour but the winery was busy and it seemed like we had been forgotten.

As we sat and waited patiently we saw a man walk into the back with purpose, I nudged Arthur to ask him about the tour. When he did, the man introduced himself as Richard Becker ( I can only blame the large amounts of wine already in my system for not putting it together sooner that this was in fact the owner of Becker Vinyards). He told us that no he wasn't doing a tour but asked us to come on back and he would give us one. He gave us a glass with an etched logo of Becker vineyards and showed us around. It was amazing. We tasted fresh grape juice, which tastes nothing like store bought grape juice, right out of the cooling vats. He took us to their personal library of wines and he opened a bottle of their award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon and told us about his family and how they started the winery. He took us to a huge room underground stacked high with french oak wine barrels in the process of fermenting. We tried Chardonnays, Merlots and Clarets in various stages of fermenting. They were all amazing and the wine kept flowing. He opened four bottles of Italian seasonal wines and we drank them all. It was becoming harder and harder for me to concentrate on Dr. Becker as he explained the ins-and-outs of wine making, but Arthur kept his arm around me and steadied me. Dr. Becker finished the tour with us, we thanked him profusely and left, giddy with wine and the attention we had just received from a man who had literally hosted Kings and Presidents.

We drove into Fredricksburg just in time to make it to a chocolate shop I remembered from my childhood. We bought two boxes of chocolates that were filled with what else, wine! We stopped by a peach stand by the side of the road on our way out of town as the sun began to set. Then I slid back over to his side and rode home with his strong arms around me.

Let me just say that I really do have the best man in the world!