Venerable Texas Hill Country Wineries Open a New Winery and Tasting Room in Burnet

The teams behind William Chris Vineyards and Lost Draw Cellars opened a new vineyard and tasting room this month. Uplift Vineyard is found in Burnet, Texas at 1411 Co Rd 119. Chris Brundrett (William Chris Vineyards), Andrew Sides (Lost Draw), and the staff will focus on estate wines (which means that the winery creates wines from grapes grown only on the Texas Hill Country AVA property) in single-varietals and blends. For the fall, it’ll showcase Bordeaux wines, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, and a Bordeaux blend. The tasting room is available by reservation from Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $50 per person. There is also a wine club. The vineyard was previously Hoover Valley, and Brundrett and Sides bought the property in 2021. Uplift is under the William Chris Vine Company, which Brundrett and Sides started in 2020.

Soccer stadium queso

Austin diner chain Kerbey Lane Cafe is now behind all of the queso at local soccer team Austin FC’s stadium Q2. The company’s classic and vegan queso will be available at the stadium starting in March. Before, the queso offerings were created by the stadium’s hospitality company, 512 Food Co.

Tracking Austin restaurant events

The Austin Parks Foundation’s It’s My Park Day — where people volunteer to beautify green spaces in the city — is happening on Saturday, March 4. To help encourage volunteers, local restaurants are offering specials to participants. This includes a free draft at Banger’s, half-off classic tastings at Blye Owl Brewing, a free beer voucher at Central Machine Works, a free coffee or cold brew from any location of Epoch, free milkshakes at any P. Terry’s, and much much more.

Westlake Thai restaurant Sway is hosting an event for the Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha on Monday, March 6. Guests are encouraged to write down what they want to let go — the theme of the holiday — and burn it in a live-fire ceremony. There will be some food specials including yellow curry, lotus congee, and stir-fried green peas, plus two nonalcoholic drinks, the Thank Your Lucky Stars with cherry lemonade, cinnamon, and star anise; and the Moon NIght’s Dream a lychee mint drink with lime and chai syrup.

Relocated truck-turned-physical restaurant within a market JNL Barbecue is celebrating its grand opening with a party on Saturday, March 4 starting at 11 a.m. Food specials include the smoked Buffalo turkey empanadas, pastrami Rueben burgers, and more. It’s now found at 2027 East Cesar Chavez.