Christmas in Fredericksburg
When it comes to the holiday season, there is no other place better to celebrate the season of lights other than Fredericksburg, an old German community set right within the heart of the Texas Wine Country. Known for its deep historic roots, a fine selection of boutique shops and restaurants, as well as a winding row of tasting rooms just waiting to serve wine lovers searching for the flavor of true Texas wines, the town of Fredericksburg, Texas comes to life during the holiday season with an over abundance of Christmas lights, including a giant candle-lit windmill that is an exact replica of the many that are found throughout Germany during the Christmas season, as well as a televised parade that draws spectators from all areas of the country. Many social media influencers have likened the town to the setting of a Hallmark Christmas Special, and minus the perfectly-cued magical snowfall woven throughout the length of movie, they might just be right because Christmas in Fredericksburg is truly enchanting.
Hidden within the hustle and bustle of the season of Christmas in Fredericksburg is a unique establishment that’s quickly gaining popularity, and for the owners of Arch Ray Resort, Christmas time is a special time of the year for reasons other than the sparkling lights and festivities. It’s during the season of giving that Steve and Sally Baxter often reminisce the humble beginnings of their entrance into the world of Texas wine-making.
The Beginning
The year was 2009, and it was a brilliant idea for a gift, though, Sally could have hardly imagined the outcome from that single present that she had neatly wrapped and hidden underneath the tree. For years Steve had shown an interest in expanding the vision for their multi-generational homestead, known as the Baxter Ranch, which is a beautiful estate located along the Colorado River in Lampasas County. For six generations, the land had been used by the family for cattle ranching and the harvesting of sandstone, but Steve envisioned more for the rolling hills on his family ranch than just heads of cattle peppered across the land. One day he had hoped that part of the estate would be filled with rows of lush grapevines and that the Baxter Ranch would be the grounds where something incredible would be birthed within the Texas Wine Industry.
That Christmas was the year when the dream began to erupt into reality. Sally’s gift, a small wine-making kit, sparked the inspiration needed for her husband to step out and begin to pursue his vision. From the moment he opened that gift, his ingenuity took flight and he began to stir with ideas. That Christmas holiday was the beginning of an incredible journey as Steve began to meddle in the artistic world of oenology. Very quickly, the minutes spent in the kitchen turned to hours upon hours as Steve and his daughter, Savannah, worked to perfect their wine making skills, but the dream didn’t stop at the threshold of the kitchen door. Within just a few months, Steve’s vision began to expand from making wine inside their home kitchen to planting vineyards upon the land.
The Dream Begins
During the Spring of the following year, the Baxter family, along with some very dear and helpful friends, began planting the first vines near the alluvial banks of the Colorado River. Rows of the aromatic grape, Mourvedre grew alongside other lines of vines filled with the Spanish grape, Tempranillo, and the very desirable Cabernet Sauvignon. During that summer, the family came together and began the long journey to learning how to make a vineyard thrive within the region of Texas. Just six months after the first plants were laid in the ground, the Baxter family opened up their first winery, named Fiesta Winery, out at the ranch in Bend, Texas, and they sold bottles of Home Sweet Home, the first vintage perfected right in the comfort of their own home. They hand bottled, hand corked and hand labeled every bottle that was sold, and Sally Baxter will tell you first hand, that it was a true labor of love.
Though the Baxter Ranch lay far from the beaten path, Fiesta quickly became a very popular stop in the Texas Wine Country as word began to spread quickly through the Hill Country of Texas and beyond. During the first several years, the Baxters perfected the art of making sweet wine, an industry that was unheard of up until that time and was, for the most part, left untouched by other wine makers. As each harvest season would come and go, the family began to create more and more labels of sweet wine that boasted catchy titles such as Mustang Sally, Back Porch Sittin’ and Texas Well Water, all names that eponymously tell the story of the Baxter family and their life out on the ranch.
As Fiesta continued to gain notoriety and many of their labels began to win award after award, Steve Baxter’s dream began to drift beyond the gates that surrounded the Baxter Ranch. The family had created their place in the world of sweet wines, but soon Steve began to envision another winery. This one would be set in the heart of the Texas Wine Country, but this time, the new winery would be a place where dry wine would step into the the spotlight, but that stage would be shared with seasonally hand crafted beers and spirits as well as incredible food from a Ranch-to-Table Restaurant. In 2019, Steve’s vision came to fruition when Arch Ray Resort broke ground and began to build the production facility along the 290 Wine Trail in Fredericksburg, Texas.
As the building neared completion, the production team began to work on crafting delicious brews inside the Ogle Brewery, and from the Paul Bee Distillery their first release of the very popular Ranch Cut Bourbon was well underway while the first vintage of dry wines (pressed in 2019) were nearing their time to be bottled. Soon, Arch Ray’s tasting room was opened and operating to serve the public, and in 2023, the Ranch-to-Table restaurant, 1894, opened it’s doors. One year later, Fiesta Winery joined forces with its sister company when a tasting room was moved on-site offering guests the option to choose between the best of both worlds in sweet and dry wines. It has quickly become a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike.
When he shares about their journey into the world of Texas wine, Steve will always share that it was by the process of trial and error. They chose to learn from both their successes and failures, but it was the experience that came through both outcomes that helped them to master the artistic craft that fills thousands of wine glasses in the heart of the Texas Wine Country today. Visit Arch Ray Resort during the time of Christmas in Fredericksburg, Texas and discover a taste of true Texas wine while you enter into a story filled with deep family values, organic Texas roots and a century-long story of heritage that will leave you feeling proud to be in the Lone Star State.
