Wine is displayed at the Torre di Pietra winery in Fredericksburg, Texas, Oct. 17, 2008. Texas is now the nation's fifth largest wine-producing state. The Mediterranean climate is conducive to growing grapes, attracting dozens of new vintners in the last several decades. There are 22 wineries in the Hill Country, seven around Fredericksburg alone with two more to open soon.
Visitors taste wine at the Torre di Pietra winery in Fredericksburg, Texas, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. The wineries clustered together complement each other by sparing visitors long drives between stops.
Barrels of wine are seen at the Torre di Pietra winery in Fredericksburg, Texas, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. The explosive growth of wineries adds a kind of urbane bent to the region's long popular outdoor activities, including river tubing and horseback riding.
About 50 miles south of Fredericksburg, in Bandera, you'll find dude ranches, like the Dixie Dude Ranch. It offers hiking trails and other outdoor activities, and lots of room for children to roam. The ranch also has a heated pool and massage treatment available, for those who find the saddle soreness of ranch life a little too authentic.
Visitors take a morning ride at the Dixie Dude Ranch near Bandera, Texas, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. Dude ranches have been operating here since 1920. The self-proclaimed "Cowboy Capital of the World" is home to seven dude ranches, where guests can take trail rides and eat cowboy fare.
Horses are prepared for a morning ride at the Dixie Dude Ranch near Bandera, Texas, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. The 725-acre spread started hosting cityfolk in 1937.
A visitor rides a horse at the Dixie Dude Ranch near Bandera, Texas, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. In Hill Country, Dude ranches and country dance halls sit alongside wineries and haute cuisine. And a hard morning on horseback can be followed by an afternoon of wine and cheese at one of the region's 22 wineries.