POUR DECISIONS

More than 45 Hill Country vineyards open doors for special wine crawl

The passport gives wine lovers access to over 45 wineries.

Starbucks hasn’t officially brought back pumpkin spice lattes, and Spirit Halloween has just received its first shipment of ghouls, but that doesn’t mean fall-starved Texans can’t dream of snuggling up with a glass of Cabernet. Nonprofit trade association Texas Hill Country Wineries is bringing back its Texas Wine Month passport.

The digital ticket, redeemable throughout October, allows guests to stop by more than 45 wineries for self-guided experiences. Oenophiles will receive special discounts on bottles and are allowed to visit up to four wineries daily. With participating estates scattered throughout popular weekend destinations like Fredericksburg, Johnson City, and New Braunfels, it’s a chance to explore the Hill Country and soak in those autumn vibes.

Industry leaders like Becker Vineyards, Messina Hof, and Pedernales Cellars are part of the informal crawl, as are many lesser-known discoveries. Passholders can jaunt to Boerne to sip a low-intervention Petite Syrah at Boerne’s Saint Tryphon Farm & Vineyards or walk amongst the vines at Spicewood’s Stone House.

It’s all broken up by territory, with an accompanying downloadable map to make plotting a trip easier. Make sure it's saved before hitting the twisty roads — cell service may not be reliable out there.

Passes are $85 for individuals and $120 per couple, so consider an accelerated cuffing season. Proceeds benefit the Texas Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Fund, which has awarded more than $55,500 to 47 Texas students pursuing viticulture, enology, or hospitality degrees.

And if October seems like a long time to wait for a glass, THCW will be hosting a Fall Winemaker Dinner on September 7. Held at Sage in Fredericksburg, the event includes a six-course feast made by chef Henry Gutkin and pairings from some of the Hill Country’s best producers.

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Airport rankings

DFW Airport ranks ‘dead last’ for ease of passenger pickup, study finds

DFW Airport

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When it comes to ease of passenger pickup, Dallas-Fort Worth is a tale of two airports.

In a new analysis of the country’s 50 largest airports, the Upgraded Points website flunks Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for ease of passenger pickup, ranking it “dead last.” On the other hand, Dallas Love Field earns the No. 7 ranking.

DFW Airport navigates turbulence
Upgraded Points slaps DFW Airport with the study’s lowest score, 34.1 out of 100, due in large part to these factors:

DFW sits 23 miles from the “combined” city center.
The two cellphone lots sit an average of 2.16 miles away from the terminals.
Arriving flights experience an average delay of 20.8 minutes.
Planes spend another 13.8 minutes taxiing to gates after landing.

The airport, dominated by Fort Worth-based American Airlines, also receives the lowest “rideshare separation score.” This measures how much rideshare vehicles and other vehicles must jockey for the same passenger-pickup space within the same terminal roadway system.

“DFW does offer designated cellphone lots and relatively inexpensive short-term parking, but those benefits were not enough to offset its longer distances and ground-movement times,” Upgraded Points says.

Construction and shifting traffic patterns at DFW in recent years have also contributed to headaches for drivers.

Dallas Love Field flies high
With a score of 75.4, Dallas Love Field soars above DFW Airport in the study. The home airport of Southwest Airlines earns high marks on several fronts:

Drivers can park for 30 minutes at no cost.
The cellphone lot is only one mile from the terminal.
The airport is six miles from downtown Dallas.
Planes spend an average of 5.5 minutes taxiing to gates.
Rideshare pickup areas are completely separated from other passenger pickup areas.

The differences between DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field illustrate “how airport layout and pickup infrastructure can matter as much as the number of travelers moving through an airport,” Upgraded Points says.

To determine where picking up an arriving passenger is easiest, Upgraded Points assessed the 50 largest U.S. airports across nine factors related to congestion, waiting options, parking costs, flight reliability, ground movement, pickup configuration, and proximity to the city center.

San Antonio airport climbs above Love Field
Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio International Airport joined Dallas Love Field among the country’s highest-rated airports, nabbing the No. 4 ranking.

Upgraded Points praises the San Antonio airport for its combination of relatively low passenger volume and short ground-movement times.

The airport handles an estimated 6,481 arriving passengers per terminal each day, the fourth-lowest total in the study. Furthermore, its cellphone lot is roughly 0.65 miles from the terminal, and planes spend an average of just 5.1 minutes taxiing to gates after landing.

“While SAT’s flight reliability metrics were closer to the middle of the pack, its lower congestion, nearby waiting area, and short taxi-in time helped it earn a score of 79.5,” says Upgraded Points.

Here’s how Texas’ three other major airports fared:

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport. Ranking: No. 18. Score: 63.6.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Ranking: No. 30. Score: 57.6.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Ranking: No. 33. Score: 54.4.

John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, tops the Upgraded Points list with a score of 85.

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