Driftwood Estate Winery — Attraction in Texas

Definitely going to return.

The drive was straightforward until we started going on our off-roading trip. We went from a four lane road (usually 2 lanes but for some reason it expanded to 4 just before the turn) and then went to caliche. That road turned of and immediately became a VERY rough ride. I hit one crater way too fast and I immediately started to get driving lessons from my wife. As the road started to get steeper, the ruts and holes got deeper. Soon I was wondering if I needed to shift the suburban to 4WD. Eventually, we made it to the top and the parking lot started to open up. I'm sure that the road was hammered with the recent rains and they will go hit it with a grader.

At the entrance of the Winery, we were greeted by a Hays County Constable. He was standing at the entrance, just hanging out. Don't know if he was hired by the winery or if the county felt it was the best use of his wages. Either way, it was a bit unsettling. Maybe that was someone's purpose.

It was the first time I had been to this winery and I don't have a lot of experience with them, so I was a relative newbie. I went to the wrong counter and order a drink and he sent me back to the correct one. Inside, there's a long table by a fire place to chat & drink. Up the stairs you can go to the cash registers to the left (to buy bottles) or to the bar looking thing on the right to go thru a multi-variety tasting. Pick wisely.

We bought a bottle of the 2014 Orange Muscat and a bottle of the Rose (sorry, don't recall more details). Both of them were excellent. We sampled each and brought the rest home (don't tell the Constable if that was illegal!).

We enjoyed our wine outside. There were numerous nice tables, seating areas, chairs, etc. We found a quiet corner overlooking the wonderful views across the Hill Country and had the longest continuous conversation we've had in years. Did I say we left our teenagers at home? We finally left when a group of kids on school recess drove us off. Ok, they weren't on recess but the kids wanted their fun and we must have been within their game boundaries.

Until the end, we had a wonderful time with wonderful wine. Definitely going back. Was seriously thinking of joining their wine club. However, since there is scant pricing posted anywhere I figure if I have to ask, I'm not going...

I'm disappointed in the service we received at Driftwood Estate Winery - absolutely pathetic. There were 6 of us females and we had a designated driver in a black Mercedes van. They kept saying we were a bus. I had already called ahead to confirm we could arrive in our larger vehicle after reading other bad reviews, and a female told me absolutely as long as we were a private group with a designated driver. We showed up and an incredibly rude OFF DUTY constable named Ray said to "get out." I told him he was being rude and he said "turn your car around and get out" and then told our driver "get 'me out of here!" This would be acceptable if we were drunk and behaving poorly but he was rude and disrespectful off the bat. Nothing disgusts me more than a chauvinistic man. He should be spoken to immediately. I then called the Driftwood Estate Winery and a male manager said "yep sorry bout it" and fed me a line about how they don't accept groups after a certain hour. We were not on a tour or part of a "group." I'm sorry, last I checked most people don't go to a winery to drink alone? 6 people seems like a small number of friends to me...and I double confirmed that when I called. The worst part was that he put the phone down and let me sit on hold while he proceeded to laugh and make fun of us with people in the background. I waited for 5 minutes when I finally realized he too was a disrespectful man who didn't seem to think he needed our business. He purposely left me hanging - what kind of customer service is that? Unwelcoming to out of town visitors - horrible experience. After reading reviews I'm seeing this is apparently (in their eyes) an acceptable way to run their business. I'm all about local businesses but these people don't deserve anyone's money. They prefer drunk drivers and don't like women. We all have families, husbands and kids to go home to and we had a driver simply because we were trying to avoid driving under the influence. We will take our money elsewhere. I hope the Dripping Springs police department sees these reviews throughout this page and see that this establishment is promoting DRUNK DRIVING. I will be reporting this...

We recently hosted a small formal dinner at Driftwood Estate Winery's pavilion area with catering by The Driftwood Bistro and wine from Driftwood Estate Winery. If we could leave 10 (or 10 million) stars, we would. We are from outside of the Austin area and came upon DEW after booking a small wedding ceremony in the Driftwood area. After corresponding with Patricia (Catering Manager at the Bistro) once via email with what we were looking for and if they'd be able to accommodate our requests, I knew we found our dinner site, sight-unseen.

We had the opportunity to visit for a comfortable, friendly meeting to discuss details approximately one and a half months out from our event. The Winery property is absolutely beautiful with unbeatable views. Mark with the Tasting Room was incredibly helpful in assisting us with selecting bottles for our event, and even suggested a fabulous idea in holding a small wine tasting to greet guests as they arrived at our dinner. Mark with the Bistro (two Marks, both great!) assisted us with our menu, dietary concerns for guests, and even took care of making our wedding cake. If I could bottle up a bit of Patricia's kindness, warmth, and genuine drive to help make our event absolutely perfect so I could experience it daily, I would! The entire Driftwood staff was absolute perfection from initial planning, preparation, and execution of the event.

Our meal was 10/10, cake FABULOUS, wine incredible - we sent guests home with bottles of wine and guests even bought additional bottles separately they enjoyed so much. I am still hearing about how much our guests enjoyed the meal and wine, the ambiance, the staff, and their attention to detail. I had the best crab cake of my life that night, and consequently I don't want any other crab cake ever again except for theirs!

If you are looking for a comfortable yet gorgeous atmosphere, seamless execution in planning and carrying out your event, delectable food, and excellent wine selection - look no further. If we needed to plan an event in the Driftwood or Austin area again, we'll go here first! Our special day was made all the more special because...