Last week, a great team made up of the Bevvy Group and Chamber of Commerce staff pulled off eight events over six days. The team, in collaboration with the festival’s key partners and sponsors, created memorable experiences for over 3300 ticket holders taking advantage of terrific venues throughout our community.

The City of Fredericksburg continued as the festival’s Presenting Sponsor providing support that allows us to expand our marketing efforts. Attendees came from across the country this year. We had many first time visitors to Fredericksburg from New York, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and California to name a few states.

Heath Family Brands (Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Invention Vineyards, K Estate) sponsored the VIP and Sparkling Garden experiences at the Grand Tasting on Saturday October 25. The Heaths and their organization are truly invested in growing the reputation of Hill Country wineries nationwide. The time invested in the festival by the talented Heath team played a critical role in helping to make significant improvements to this year’s festival. Heath Family Brands are more than a sponsor, they are a great partner.

William Chris Vineyards sponsored the Festival’s Opening Reception at the Albert Hotel (official hotel of the festival). The opening reception was also the debut of William Chris’ new sparkling wine. A traditional sabering off of the sparkling wine by Six Twists Sabre master, Bobby Humphries (Six Twists), officially kicked off the festival.

Waldorf Astoria Residences sponsored the popular Street Dinner. This year due to the rain forecast, the dinner was held in Adelsvereins Halle at Markplatz. A big thank you to the meteorologists at CBS Austin for sending us multiple weather updates and broadcasting live from the dinner. We had five talented chefs prepare culinary delights: celebrity Chefs Stephan Pyles and Michael Fojtasek joined three of our local great chefs—Ashley Odom of Feast & Merriment—Max Pettit of Revel Catering/El Quincho—our home grown Keidel Hughes of the Albert Hotel.

Uncork Texas Wines was the Grand Tasting Sponsor. Over 40 wineries participated in the Grand Tasting as part of the main event of the festival on Saturday. 

A special event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Becker Vineyard’s first vintage was the Black Tie BBQ featuring Eaker BBQ, Junebug BBQ, and Leroy’s TexMex. Attendees came dressed in Texas Hill Country version of black tie… Boots, hats, starched jeans, bolo ties, and plenty of skirts for dancing! Thank you to Lee + Associates for sponsoring this event.

Other key sponsors for the festival include Ben E Keith, Brinkley, Frost Bank, Halter Ranch, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Rock & Vine, Surtierra Tequila, Rambler Sparkling Water, Texas Hill Country Wineries, Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association, and UrideZ.

The festival concluded with a brunch at Fischer & Weiser Farmstead. A big thank you to the Fischer and Weiser families for your long term support of the Fredericksburg Food & Wine Festival.