Bending Branch Winery

Bottom line up front: BEST wines in and around Boerne. PERIOD.
Details: Esposa and I have been here several times recently. It’s well off the beaten path, but worth the twisty country drive past beautiful Texas Hill Country creeks, ranch, and farmland. Ample parking. Clean modern tasting room. Crowds vary drastically from SRO to semi-​busy. The staff are friendly and helpful, some more than others. Okay, enough of the extras. You want to know ’bout the vino, que no? Okay, so the regular wines are good to very good. Skip them. Pay a little extra and sample the reserve wines. Those are very good to excellent. The club-​member-​only wines are the best. We have now joined their club and are happy to visit to pick up our obligatory club wines (somebody has to do it, right?).

Recently visited here with a couple of friends. Great wine and exceptional service. The wine tasting was very reasonably priced and the atmosphere was relaxing and hospitable. Would love to go back one day!

If you like dry wines, this is definitely the vineyard for you. If not, you may struggle a little. Sweeter wines were not offered when I visited. However, what was lacking in wine selection was made up by gorgeous views of the hill country. I loved the outdoor seating area. It was the perfect spot for me and my group to relax and enjoy our surroundings.

We’ve been here before and had a nice time and decent wine. This time, however, there was no one there but us. The 5 wines on the tasting menu were all young, tart wines. The music playing was inappropriate for the setting, and the staff was like the wine — young and immature. They were completely disinterested in engaging with us, rather preferred talking about last night’s party with each other. We definitely did not enjoy this experience.

Wonderful wines, fantastic views, engaging staff, fun band. My friend and I had a wonderful tour and left with a few bottles. Highly recommend!

We visited on a cool day in the spring when all visitors were crammed inside the quaint tasting room. In spite of the crowd, the staff were fairly adept at handling us all and helped make our tasting as pleasant as possible. You had to walk by their large and well designed patio area to go inside and I wished it had been warm enough to enjoy our tasting there. While most of their wines use Texas grapes, a few they still source from California. We enjoyed the Tannat and Tempranillo best (both grown in Texas).
Coincidentally, Bending Branch’s location is about a mile down the road from another very good winery, Singing Water Vineyards. Both are out of the way but really worth the visit.

I like this place!
If you are up for the drive which can be really cool if you take the scenic route you will be rewarded with good wine, a pleasant relaxing Hill Country setting and very hospitable hosts.
The tasting pours were generous. The $ ¹⁰⁄₅ pours is a decent deal but even better if you buy two bottles they were comped for both of us.
We actually purchased 3, one to enjoy there and two to bring home. They make wine with grapes from all over including California. The Thinkers Blend was a favorite comprising 7 varietals that worked very well.
Also we found out the quick way back to Austin was 87 to Fredericksburg then 290 east. Not very scenic but much quicker.

As you may have suspected from any of my other Texas winery post, I am not a fan of Texas wines. 80%+ of Texas Hill Country wines aren’t even grown in the Texas Hill Country.
I digress. Of my various post, this one is receiving positive reviews and glad I made the visit. I had been putting off a friend for some time who swore by this place. I’ve heard it before from other novice wine consumers. However, I will say, «why hadn’t I visited this place before???» Not one wine was that usual Texas, bland taste. All offered were very good, especially when we got to the Reds.
I recommend this winery and their wines and would suggest to search them out at your various neighborhood stores. This place is a gem and hopefully won’t be ruined by its growing popularity.
Kudos to Dr. Young, owner and vintner!!!

Some of the best Texas big reds I’ve had.

I wasn’t going to write a review because the reviews I read said all I wanted to say… until I read the one about Darrell.
I have been a wine club member here for a few years and bring my family and friends to the winery itself as well as the sister location, Branch on High. Yesterday we went to the winery to pick up our shipment, and followed that up to see Darrell at the downtown location.
I have never, not one time, had anything other than a stellar experience with the staff, including Darrell. I have never witnessed him say, look or breathe a bad word. He’s knowledgable, fun, and approachable. I will happily continue to visit any location he’s working at.
I’m sure the majority of people who interact with him would agree.

Great sales staff. Linda and Dana helped us with passion and enthusiasm. We had a wonderful time. Good wines. We learned a lot about Tanat, their favorite variety.

The staff were warm and informative and we felt relaxed the moment we stepped in. The environment is clean and calm and the experience was worth the trip from San Antonio. I will be back. The only reason it is not getting a 5 star is because the staff seemed a bit discombobulated from the Valentines day rush.

Awesome place tucked in the hill country! Cool staff, they know their wines and I tried wines I’d never heard of before… Great place, will go back and certainly do recommend

Just a tip, if you don’t like crowds, don’t come on Saturdays, they remove the bar stools on the weekends for the purpose to move the crowd.
We were the only one there around 1PM on Sunday, so we had a great chit chat with the staff. But when we were leaving, the place is pretty full.
We enjoyed the wines and service was great, so nothing to complain to complain about.

I have been coming here for years and am never disappointed. When I take a bottle of their wine to dinner parties, it is always a hit and conversation starter. Love the wine and the grounds are beautiful. Very nice people too!

Greeted warmly by the staff, the tasting were generous and informative. We really enjoyed these wines. Our first time to try a Vermentino varietal and we were pleased as we were with the Tannat (the Saddle Wine– won the Houston Livestock Show competition) and Petit Syrah. We bought the Tennat, Petit Syrah and The Thinker. This winery has a great atmosphere with live music and a large patio with plenty of seating and water for hot days… but big shade trees. A «Must Taste» if you anywhere close to this area.

Mostly red wines, but a good variety. Darryl took care of us while we had our girls weekend. He was amazing. Funny and made the experience even better. Souzao was my favorite wine

A great way to spend a day driving to comfort and trying different selections at the tasting room.

So you really gotta want to go to this winery as it is off the beaten path (and by beaten path I mean 290/​Fredricksburg), but it was such an enjoyable experience! The tasting room is small, but intimate and the grounds are nice with the big bent branch in the courtyard as evidence of being the winery’s namesake.
I went as part o the Wine and Wildflower Trail, which entitles the ticket holder to 1 – 3 complimentary tastings at each of the participating wineries. I was a little disappointed initially that they only did two wines and those wines were pre-​selected by the winery. But, the two wines I sampled were decent, the 2011 Comfortage and the Souzao. However, the really high note of the experience was talking with Lorraine, the barista and the owner, John. Lorraine was so nice and John was so informative! He shared some great suggestions on wineries to visit near Austin and on 290 heading back to Austin and even made a recommendation for a cave to visit as I was doing a blog on Texas Show Caves. That is a level of interest and attentiveness and just being a nice person that has become a lost art these days and I really appreciate a person and a business that embodies those qualities.
I thoroughly enjoyed my tasting experience, although too brief as I was trying to visit some other wineries, and will definitely return for one of their events and a weekend tasting in the very near future!

Considering the rapid growth of the Texas wine industry, it is possible that there is another winery out there that is making better wine than Bending Branch… but I doubt it. Anything that might interest you about this winery from the tasting room to their web site to the labels and obviously the wine, is superior. If you are reading this review to assist with putting together an itinerary of Texas wineries to visit, make sure to put this one at the top of your list.
.about the wine:
2009 Tannat RF, 1840 — This deep red wine has an incredible aroma in the glass that can be called «flowery». There are tastes of red fruits and candy up front, but as the wine oxidizes in the glass, you will likely get something more spicy and chocolatey.
2009 Petite Sirah, 1840 — Another deep, dark red that I label as powerful. You should get the earthy and spicy flavors that are expected along with a subtle chocolate tone.
2010 Comfortage — The name is clever, the wine is awesome. This one is buttery and somewhat woodsy, but not too heavy. If anyone asks what a Texas white wine should be, this is the one.
2009 Picpoul Blanc, 1840 — This is a light and easy white that will pair well with most foods. There are hints of citrus and oak (or cream), but neither will overwhelm your palate.
.about the tasting room:
The tasting room is located just south of I-​10 outside Comfort. The building and grounds are nicely maintained and the room itself is well done. During my visit, the staff was very helpful and obviously excited about Bending Branch. They know the wine and are more than happy to answer questions.
While there, I joined one of their 2 wine clubs. By Texas winery standards, the options available are very unique and should meet the needs of just about everyone. You will not find any of these wines in your local wine shop and their availability overall is somewhat limited so, you should consider joining one of the clubs… or at least buy a couple of bottles from their website.
Texas really needs more wineries like Bending Branch and I hope what is going on here is a sign of things to come.