FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS – I stroll into what I think is a home décor shop on Main Street called 78624 and instead find a luscious bar with deep dark wood, craft cocktails and a huge sitting area with comfortable sofas and a cool courtyard out back. A few minutes later I’m touring the National Museum of the Pacific War and find a striking exhibit on the art of Hawaiian shirts. Later in the day I sip lovely local wine at a building that was an oil and gas distributorship only a few years ago.
I’m not quite sure what I expected when I drove up to this town from Austin on a recent October day, but it probably wasn’t this. If you’re looking for a surprising corner of Texas, you definitely have come to the right place.
I started the day at war museum, which seems like a strange attraction in the centre of Texas until one discovers that Fredericksburg is the home of Chester Nimitz, the admiral who led the U.S. efforts in the Pacific theatre during World War II. It’s a fine museum that tells the story of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the plodding, ugly war that took so many thousands of lives in the following four years.
A memorial to World War II soldiers at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Visitors can hear U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech to Americans after the bombing in Hawaii, with those infamous words about a “day that will live infamy.” You’ll also find Japanese subs, American planes, a model of the American atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima and many a poignant description along the way. One that hit me especially hard came from a U.S. soldier at The Battle of The Tenaru, Private Robert Leckie. Superimposed over a photo of piles of dead Japanese soldiers are the American’s words: “All of my elation at the victory, all of my fanciful cockiness fled before the horror of what my eyes beheld.”
HAWAIIAN SHIRTS IN TEXAS
I also enjoyed reading a quote from former President Harry S. Truman, who said this during the war: “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still.”
As I’m heading out of the museum I spot a temporary exhibit called “The Art of the Aloha Shirt.” Not exactly what one expects in the land of cowboy boots and Lyndon Baines Johnson, the former U.S. president whose ranch is just a few miles south of town. The exhibit traces the story and design work of John “Keoni” Meigs, who was born in Chicago and later became a designer of Hawaiian shirts, as well as an associate of such artists as Georgia O’Keeffe.
The museum has a series of memorial walls, with plaques containing the name of soldiers. Many are lovingly decorated with American flags. There’s also a fine Japanese peace garden you can stroll through and a separate museum dedicated to Nimitz.
78624 is a wonderful looking bar and shop in Fredericksburg. JIM BYERS PHOTO
For lunch I check out Vaudeville Bistro, a lovingly restored historic building (there are TONS of them in this handsome town), where there’s a fine restaurant in the basement, a classy home décor shop on the main floor and an art gallery up above.
“It’s like all of Fredericksburg in one building,” says my lunch mate, Sean Doerre of Visit Fredericksburg.
Sean goes for a power bowl with avocado, veggies and rice, while I opt for local greens with shaved celery and zucchini and some added chicken confit for protein, then grab a terrific coffee latte for the road.
Fredericksburg is a hugely popular wine destination, with something like 45 wineries in Gillespie County. They tried growing popular California varietals in Texas but have since discovered Tempranillo and other grapes popular in Spain work better in the hot climate.
At Lost Draw Cellars, worker Chris Herrera tells me owner Andy Timmons was a fifth-generation cotton and peanut farmer before moving into the wine business. The winery is a small but growing affair in a downtown Fredericksburg location that was a gas and oil distribution center only a few years ago. Timmons is said to grow more grapes than any farmer in Texas, which I was told is the fifth largest wine producing state in the U.S. these days.
Chris Herrera of Lost Draw Cellars in Fredericksburg, Texas. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Most of the grapes come from up around Lubbock, several hours north of Fredericksburg, where nights are cooler and the loamy soil better suited for growing grapes.
SOFT AND FRUITY VIOGNIER
I start off with a very nice Viognier, a specialty in these parts. It’s lovely and soft and fruit-forward; a great wine for sipping on the front porch on a warm day in Texas.
“I sometimes call the Viognier a white wine for red wine drinkers because of the body,” Herrera explains.
The Counoise rose is nice, with a beautiful pale pink colour. I find their Tempranillo a bit light; almost like a Pinot Noir. But the zinfandel is full throttle and satisfying; almost like a Spanish-American style blend to my palate.
Becker Vineyards is south of town a few miles, on a glorious piece of land with old stone Buildings, a towering windmill and a massive patio.
Worker Bobby Totten tells me they get about 20 per cent of their grapes from the Fredericksburg Region and the rest from Lubbock.
Becker Vineyards has won numerous awards for its wine, including their fine Viognier. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Richard Becker is an endocrinologist from San Antonio who came in 1989 and saw a property that was being foreclosed. It reminded he and his wife, Bunny, of land they’d seen in the south of France so they bought it. He and Bunny travelled to France and brought back some Viognier clippings; now their most famous wine.
WINE SERVED AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Totten tells me Becker wines have been served at the White House and poured often for visiting royalty, including the King and Queen of Spain. The winery won four gold medals at the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, where Lost Draw also got a gold medal.
Dinner that night is at a popular spot across from the war museum called Otto’s German Bistro, which feels warm and convivial; like a German/Texas version of the bar in the TV show “Cheers.” The owners also run a French restaurant next door and, I’m told, a Caribbean tapas bar.
The duck schnitzel with spatzle and flavourful cabbage is excellent, and the German-style flatbread (flammkuchen in German) to start was the essence of cheesy goodness. Even better was a surprisingly sophisticated cocktail called a Jurg, with bourbon, asbach, fresh ginger, rosemary, lemon and honey; one of the top cocktails of the year so far.
Another surprise, and a great way to finish off a day in Fredericksburg.
JUST THE FACTS
– The Fredericksburg Inn and Suites has nice rooms a block from the main street. There are two swimming pools and a hot tub, as well as a wood-burning fireplace for cool evenings. Breakfast is included with your stay.
– It was closed when I went by, but I had a quick glance at Das Peach Haus, a legendary food shop and market in town that sells a huge array of tasty-looking jams, jellies, pasta sauces, peach cobbler and other treats. They also have a winery and a culinary school. Out back there’s a pretty pond with benches and towering pines that gives the place a bit of a Georgia feel.
Das Peach Haus is a legendary spot in Fredericksburg, Texas. JIM BYERS PHOTO
– If you’re more of a beer drinker, The Fredericksburg Brewing Company is a fun spot on Main Street. A little out of town is Alstadt Brewing, a lovely spot on Highway 290 that makes beer according to the old Bavarian purity laws.
– The LBJ Ranch is a short drive from Fredericksburg and a wonderful spot for history fans. I was told President Johnson used to fly home from Washington D.C. on a smaller plane than the one the president usually flew in and that it was nicknamed Air Force One Half.
For more information: http://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/ or https://www.traveltexas.com/
