Wineries Off The Beaten Path: Fill Your Glass with Something Special

After a day of tasting, settle into one of the Texas-themed rooms at The Full Moon Inn in Fredericksburg. At this bed and breakfast, guests can choose from themed rooms and cabins ranging from a repurposed smokehouse dubbed the Oil Boom or a Cowboy themed log cabin complete with holsters and rawhide. A daily breakfast is set at an informal communal table, complete with biscuits, bacon and plenty of mimosas to get a jump on a day of wine tasting.

Drive down Highway 290 to Kyle, Texas and you’ll find Sage Hill Inn, an elegant boutique hotel and spa that looks out onto the rolling hills of Texas wine country. Rooms here offer cozy fireplaces, complimentary drinks and homemade cookies, and doors that open to stunning sunset views. After a dinner featuring produce grown on an onsite culinary garden, guests can bring their glasses of locally-made wine outside and finish the evening in Adirondack chairs around a crackling fire pit.

Reserve a room at the chic Hotel Chaco in downtown Albuquerque, and you’ll be just a quick drive from the many of the region’s wineries. While the interiors here are the polar opposite of the rustic pueblo architecture so prevalent in the Southwest, the designers of the hotel were inspired by the weavings and sculptures of traditional Navajo artisans. Unique features like carved stone sinks and works by Native American artists lend a warm Southwest vibe to Albuquerque’s newest hotel.

If your wine tasting trip calls for a bit of wellness, Sunrise Springs Spa Resort in Santa Fe has you covered. Their spacious individual casitas boast fireplaces, beds decked out in handwoven throws and bathrooms stocked with toiletries made from locally grown herbs. An onsite spa offers rejuvenating mineral soaks, CBD massages and healing energy work.

Whether you’re visiting during fall harvest season, snowy winter or springtime, Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles welcomes guests with classically appointed rooms on a property that’s surrounded by lush landscaping, lily ponds, and a stone and marble spa. In between vineyard visits, guests can opt for cooking and cocktail making classes as well as yoga and mind-body workshops.

Geneva on the Lake is ripe with Finger Lakes history. This historic hotel was a private estate and a Capuchin monastery before being transformed into a gorgeous upstate resort. Rooms here channel old-school European luxury and formal gardens are planted with neat hedges and local flora. The resort’s restaurant, Lancelloti’s, offers wine pairing options featuring locally grown pours.

When visiting the Brandywine Wine Trail, B&Bs are the to go. The Fairville Inn has just 13 comfortable rooms and two suites, all decorated with architectural elements from the original barn on the property. Hints of the Inn’s 19th century past are everywhere with a root cellar, spring house, and a colonial summer kitchen. The property is surrounded by a serene meadow and pond, and in warm weather, guests can lounge on chaises in the garden.

Housed in a residence built in 1714, The Pennsbury Inn is filled with Brandywine Valley charm. Rooms are outfitted with four-poster beds complete with handmade lace canopies and quilts, a common living room filled with an over-stuffed chair, and a pond in the bubbles in the backyard. Each morning the owners lay out a spread of homemade breads, pastries, and jams. Just down the road, Galer Estates uses old world winemaking techniques for their line of reds and whites. Tastings here come with four pours of their current line up, including a bright Grüner Veltliner, unoaked Chardonnay, and a Bordeaux blend.

Stay at The Essex for a high-end take on Vermont hospitality. Rooms are kitted out with a fresh take on New England style, including Franklin stoves and retro Igloo mini fridges. Meals at the hotel’s two restaurants are crafted from produce grown on the property and chefs here offer a rotating roster of cooking classes, all featuring Vermont-grown ingredients.

When visiting Shelburne and Groennfell, be sure to pack up a few cans of wine and mead to enjoy in the great room of Green Mountain Suites. The lobby of this inviting Burlington lodge is warmed by a roaring stone fireplace and an indoor pool stays open year-round. Rooms feature kitchenettes, but there’s really no need to use them since the hotel provides a big Vermont style breakfast each morning.