We joined the Austin MG Club on a Drive to Drippin’!

The second CCMGC drive of 2021 featured a tour of wineries around Dripping Springs, connected by the scenic back roads of the hill country. The muster point for the drive was on the southwest corner of Austin where everyone gathered and enjoyed some shade while they could. A total of eight cars (seven MGs and one GM!), sixteen people and four members of the Houston club showed up for the drive in what promised to be beautiful summer weather. We left for our first destination shortly after 10:30.

The first leg of the drive introduced the drivers to the turns and twists of hill country driving as we left the weekend shopping traffic behind and headed toward Dripping Springs. This leg of the drive featured the first two river fords, one of which enhanced the experience by having water flowing over the road. Splashing through the stream, we motored on to our first winery, Parmeson Wines, which opened early to offer the club a private tasting.

We gathered our cars in front of the tasting room to get the obligatory scenic shot together and moved into the air-conditioned comfort of the winery to make our drink selections. Trish Hardy pleased everyone’s pallet by providing a cheese and cracker tray to accompany our beverages. We enjoyed resting and chatting in the shade as we tasted the Californian cuvee.

The second leg of the drive was the longest and wound through the countryside between Dripping Springs and Wimberley. This segment featured several more river fords, including another wet one, as well as numerous cattle guards designed to test the compliance of our antique lever shock absorbers. Our cars were in their natural element in these narrow country lanes, and we had the roads pretty much to ourselves. After an hour of driving, we turned into the Wimberley Valley winery, where we again gathered under the shade of giant live oaks. This winery featured a fabulous food truck and drinks served from a double decker London bus. Several of our more parched and adventurous participants cooled off with the wine slushies they served.

After everyone ate and drank their fill, we headed off to our final destination, the Driftwood Estate winery. En route, we followed a heavily decaled 1960’s VW bug, which we figured was part of the Great Race 2021 that had stopped in San Marcos for lunch. Our hunch was confirmed when we saw a timing station further up the road. They shouted that we should join the race!

We parked in the shade and headed into the air-conditioned tasting room to cool down and choose a selection from their all-Texas wines. Gathering our drinks, we headed out to the shaded porch and enjoyed a final few laughs together. All agreed that it was a successful drive, combining great roads with good drinks, excellent food, and even better companions. To top it off, we had no mechanical failures despite the temperatures. As we drove home, we all looked forward to returning to Dripping Springs and our next club drive.

- Contributed by Scott Hardy. Photos by Scott Hardy and Gord Bard

Rick South, Carrie South and Trish Hardy
enjoy the views at Driftwood Estate Winery