Touring Texas Wineries
By: Thomas & Regina Ciesla

 


First Edition         Second Edition

The first edition [ISBN 0-88415-376-2] of Touring Texas Wineries was released in 1998. This ground breaking book introduced the concept of "wine trails" to the Lone Star State.

Combining information on wineries, travel, food and accomodations along these trails and visualized via stunning wine maps and pictures, readers embraced the book and the concept of the trails. In a state as big as Texas, distances between groups of wineries can be daunting. The wine trail concept grouped wineries together in a way that allowed wine tourists to visit a handful of wineries during a fun, relaxed weekend adventure.

When the second edition [ISBN 1-58907-004-6] was released in 2003, the explosive growth of the Texas wine industry forced the authors to add a new wine trail, bringing the total up to seven. Enhanced graphics for maps of the trails and individual wineries made travel that much easier.

In both editions, a chapter of author-generated recipes using Texas wines was a favorite with the readers.

Touring Texas Wineries is a softcover book (another first for books on Texas wine), exemplifying the authors' vision for the book -- a 'take-it-with-you' type of book -- not something sitting on a coffee table or a bookshelf gathering dust. During public appearances, the authors' encouraged readers to have the winemaker or owner sign the page where their winery was discussed, allowing a scrap book of signatures. Feedback received from various wineries told the authors that this signature collecting had caught on in a BIG way.