Fredericksburg, TX February 2026

Love LOCAL

Let's love local!

February is in the air and, as the last of our cold Texas Hill Country months, we would like to warm things up a bit in this issue with our "Love Locals" theme.

At Fredericksburg City Lifestyle we are always hyper-focused on our locals each month.  This issue we look at three talented musicians found on our area stages nearly every night.  The musical talent that resides here is enormous and writer, editor Brent Burgess, also a local musician, takes time to highlight some of his favorite nearby talent. Take a look and then listen. You will not be disappointed.

We are pleased to announce another talented contributing writer to our team, Amy Tucker.  She explores all things art on a local level and this issue we have a beautiful example with artist Marcy Cook Vreeland. Vreeland is inspired by the local topography and is producing stunning abstract works centered around our area’s landscape.

Turtle Creek Vineyards is another regional estate driven winery that is rapidly growing. With new efforts in all things viticulture, ambiance and cuisine, it is truly a must visit with a tasting room in Kerrville and also an estate to visit for an afternoon getaway.

Last but not least, our cover photo features local business owners Bobby and Melissa Humphries of Ocotillo Wine and Chocolate, The Market at Elk & Main and co-owners of Six Twists Sparkling. Writer Amie Nemic gets personal about the love the two have for each other and the town of Fredericksburg where they decided to invest with creative passions that explore food, wine, champagne and chocolate.

We are very excited to share some of these local highlights with you this month and deeply thank you for supporting "local" in a myriad of ways.

Together, let’s love local!

KIMBERLY GILES, PUBLISHER @FREDERICKSBURG_CITYLIFESTYLE

February 2026

PUBLISHER

Kimberly Giles | Kimberly.Giles@citylifestyle.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Brent Burgess | brent.burgess@citylifestyle.com

STAFF WRITERS

Amie Nemec | Travelingwinelady@mac.com

Amy Tucker | amy@gurldesign.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Andre Boada | Andre@vinocadre.com

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

President Matthew Perry

COO David Stetler

CRO Jamie Pentz

CoS Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Mary Albers

LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Brandy Thomas

Proverbs 3:5-6

e v e n t s + g a t h e r i n g s

Couple

Locals

city scene

WHERE

NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN

Fredericksburg City Lifestyle partnered with Covington Cellars for their monthly launch party and an artisanal pop-up that attracted many talented locals. Non-perishable foods were collected and donated to the Fredericksburg Food Pantry. 1: Local artist Ruthie Ruggiere 2: Tori Truelove-Butler, Jared Butler and baby Georgia Butler 3: Travis and Charlie Neal and Jessica Mittel of Gastehaus Schmidt 4: Samantha Melvin, Amy Tucker and Tasha Boyer 5: Ava Snoozy and Chris Higginbotham 6: Contributing Sommelier Writer Andre Boada, Cindy Lawson and Amie Nemic of Covington Cellars 7: Jay and Heather Mallinckrodt of Fredericksburg Cast Iron

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Turtle Creek Vineyard introduces The Creekside Table

Turtle Creek Vineyard introduces a new intimate and elevated dinner series celebrating culinary discovery. Collaborating with Chef Henry Gutkin, the first dinner will be February 12, 2026. Further dates will be announced.

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Yellow Door Art Studio hosts fun events

Whether wine glass painting, drop-in pottery or fun sip and paint events, Yellow Door Art Studio always has something planned for a fun date night, evening out with friends or unique team experience. Visit theyellowdoorstudio.com for a list of upcoming events.

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One taste and you’ll see why Covington Cellars is a Hill Country favorite. Wine and food pairing flights, Nationally acclaimed wines, Unforgettable Views

Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Flight

The Harvey at Elk & Main hosts wine pairing

The Harvey, located at The Courtyard at Elk & Main, will host an elevated food and wine pairing on February 20th at 6:30 p.m. Join the Harvey for an experience guaranteed not to disappoint. Visit theharveyfbg.com for more information.

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Sparkling People

Sometimes a place conjures dreams of a new future. A town evokes the vision of a different lifestyle. Strangers eventually become friends, and a new place begins to feel like home. Fredericksburg had this effect on Melissa and Bobby Humphries.

The two met on eHarmony in 2008. A long, late-night phone call soon led to a hunt for the perfect wedding venue. As wine lovers, Fredericksburg’s rolling hills, sprawling views and scenic vineyards felt like a magical setting for their wedding. They visited to get a feel for the area and quickly fell in love with the charm, friendly locals and slower pace.

After the wedding, the Humphries lived in Montgomery, where they raised their three children who make up their blended family. Bobby had a career in oil and gas, while Melissa worked as a nutritional therapist and founded a natural skin care line. They built their forever home. Yet nearly every time there was a chance for a weekend escape, they found themselves returning to Fredericksburg, where they were making friends and a new lifestyle.

Life showed no signs of slowing down, so once the kids were out of the house, they made a change. By 2018, the next chapter of their lives began in our Texas Hill Country. Melissa

ARTICLE BY AMIE NEMEC

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENT RYAN BURGESS

continued her skin care company, while Bobby worked remotely and planned for retirement. They were shaping their future.

Once retired, Bobby became a realtor specializing in vineyard and winery properties. He explains, “I always suggested to my wine clients in real estate that they need to have a reason for the customer to choose them over the great number of other choices. Good to great wine is essential - an experience or ambience - and a personal connection.” Eventually, these words of wisdom would be the foundation for their own hospitality ventures.

During a neighborhood walk in the fall of 2021, the two discussed becoming more involved in the local small business community. Melissa stated, “We talked about creating a space with sophistication and elegance, but unpretentious. Where you walk in, tuck in on a couch, and enjoy a couple of hours over a decadent bottle.”

They envisioned a place where locals and visitors alike could feel the slower-paced quality of life that drew the couple to this town in the first place, imagining not a party bar, but a place to relax, have meaningful conversations and celebrate life. Melissa realized there was no business in town focused on Champagne and sparkling wine, so the concept of Six Twists was born.

Bobby and Melissa agree stating, “It is the people in the community who make this town special.” They shared bottles of wine with friends and had genuine conversations, ultimately helping them grow into well-respected business owners on Main Street. Over the past three years, the couple has been quite busy. They are the leading force behind the city’s first sparkling wine bar,

Twists. They have taken ownership of the fledgling Ocotillo Chocolate and Wine Bar and turned it into the town’s premier dessert destination with 24 international wines by the glass. And, most recently, they hold managing interest in the new Market at Elk and Main, inspired by the elevated deli and market concepts of other wine destinations, offering artisan sandwiches, seasonal soups and gelato, alongside specialty food and gift items.

While this dynamic couple is infusing luxury into Fredericksburg, they are goodhearted people whose true passions lie in fostering meaningful relationships and sharing wine with friends. Bobby says, “We have never felt so at home in any other place.”

12-5PM Fri 11AM-5PM Sat 11AM-7PM

Little Live Music Town

Locals enjoy a rich music culture

ARTICLE BY BRENT RYAN BURGESS

Fredericksburg is a live music town. Just a short drive from Austin, a city nationally dubbed the “live music capital of the world,” Fredericksburg would rival the nearby metro with the vibrant sounds of singing and guitars ringing throughout downtown. Here we mention three local performers sure to entertain.

Mike Blakely

Combination cowboy poet, novelist and songwriter, Mike Blakely has built himself a gathering family of fans throughout the area, regularly performing at Western Edge Kitchen & Cocktails on Tuesday nights for almost six years.

“We have a pretty loyal audience that comes out,” Blakely described. “Everybody knows each other, but then we get the tourist traffic that comes through sometimes from all over the world. That’s the way it is here in Fredericksburg.”

Blakely cut his writing teeth as a journalist turned novelist, now having published 19 fiction books. These stories add inspiration and depth to his songwriting, with a lifetime of songs recorded by Alan Jackson, Flaco Jimenez, Gary P. Nunn, Johnny Bush and others.

Catch a Blakely show and you will find yourself enjoying great cowboy-style storytelling, laughter and his famous “holler and a ‘swaller” drinking toasts.

Jake Martin

Nobody in the music scene encapsulates the culture of the Texas Hill Country more than Jake Martin, a songwriter and performer who was drawn here after visiting and experiencing the magic of nearby Luckenbach Texas.

“There’s something about the Hill Country I just fell in love with,” Martin said about his many childhood visits to the area.

After many years of sitting in the picker’s circles at Luckenbach, Martin became, and still is, the host of the Sunday evening song circles that often bring in the area’s most talented musicians.

“There’s a regular group that comes out,” Martin said of the Sunday evening tradition. “It’s a very welcoming environment and you just never know what songs you’re going to hear. It’s always a surprise and I just love that aspect of it.”

Mary Elizabeth

When asked about her involvement with the music scene of Fredericksburg, Mary Elizabeth describes that it saved her life.

Mary Elizabeth’s journey as a writer began in the mountains of the west where she recalls writing her first song surrounded by the expansive landscape of Yosemite where she grew up.

Mary Elizabeth’s journey took her the distance from the west to Florida, and an almost decade away from music. She recalls, “I kind of shelved it for ten years, but I couldn’t get away from the urge. It (music) was always there.”

That urge spurred her to move to Music City. “I had really wanted to move to Nashville,” she recalls. “So, after about six years I packed up and went to Nashville and tried my hand at songwriting.” A series of difficult circumstances brought her to Fredericksburg where she now surrounds herself with the area’s most talented songwriters.

Hosting picker’s circles at local venues such as Luckenbach and Bankersmith, Mary Elizabeth values what she describes as an exceptional local culture where musicians support and encourage each other.

Local Music

These three musicians make up a small part of an ever-growing live music culture in Fredericksburg that consists of radio-charting songwriters to vibrant up and comers. When strolling along Fredericksburg blocks, take a cozy seat and give a listen to some of the best music Texas has to offer, right here around us.

Information about Mike Blakely can be found on his website at MikeBlakely.com.

Jake Martin is online at JakeMartinSongwriter.com.

Mike Blakely, Jake Martin and Mary Elizabeth’s songs can all be found on music streaming services.

LIVE MUSIC IS COMMON IN VENUES THROUGHOUT FREDERICKSBURG.

POPULAR LIVE MUSIC SPOTS INCLUDE:

• Luckenbach Texas

• Albert Ice House

• Hondo's on Main

• Rockbox Theater

• Western Edge Kitchen and Cocktails

A calendar of live music events can be found at VisitFredericksburgTX.com.

HILL COUNTRY HUES

ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY TUCKER

HOW MARCY VREELAND BRINGS THE HILL COUNTRY TO LIFE

When artist Marcy Cook Vreeland relocated to the Texas Hill Country, she discovered a landscape that reshaped both her creative process and her connection to the Fredericksburg community.

Currently immersed in a love affair with the irises she cultivates in her artist’s garden, she continues to draw from the region’s flowers, grasses and wildflowers. These elements appear throughout her paintings, where light, texture and natural movement form a quiet celebration of place and season.

Vreeland, who holds a degree in painting from Baylor University, originally worked in floral and event design, a career that sharpened her sensitivity to color, form and arrangement. That foundation is evident in her abstract and botanical work, which captures subtle shifts in atmosphere, the suggestion of wild plants and the gentle calm of muted Hill Country afternoons. “I try to notice the small detail — a leaf’s edge, the soft bend of a stem, the way morning light filters through grasses,” she said.

Working primarily in layered acrylic and watercolor, Vreeland blends abstraction with recognizable botanical forms, creating compositions that feel both atmospheric and grounded in the natural world.

Painting also allows Vreeland to express the emotional and spiritual resonance she finds in nature. “It may be just a flower, but the way that flower makes me feel, the profoundness of seasons and the natural world, is what I'm trying to communicate in a visual language,” she explained. For Vreeland, nature is both subject and mirror, offering a way to translate internal states into color, gesture and atmosphere.

Vreeland’s work is shaped not only by the Hill Country landscape but also by a deep regard for both historical and contemporary painters. She draws inspiration from artists such as Édouard

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Vuillard, whose attention to intimate detail and restrained yet expressive brushwork echoes her own commitment to observing the subtleties of nature. Her connection to modern masters, including Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler, further informs her understanding of color, atmosphere and the emotive potential of expansive color fields.

These influences converge in her interpretation of the local environment, allowing her to express the terrain, flora and changing light of the region in a distinctly contemporary visual language. Her recent iris-focused series, developed from flowers grown in her artist's garden, reflects her ongoing exploration of intimate botanical forms and seasonal light.

Vreeland approaches each painting as an act of close listening, to the land, to memory and to the emotional residue of place. Her process begins with quiet observation, often sketching or photographing small details most people pass by. These gathered impressions form the layered, contemplative foundation of her work.

Living in Fredericksburg has also strengthened her commitment to making art accessible to the community that inspires her. While gallery representation has broadened her reach, it can create distance between artist and audience, a gap she hopes to bridge locally. Her murals at Dimona and the reimagined The Restaurant at the Albert Hotel offer immediate encounters with her work, and she values the direct relationships that grow through these efforts. Through public art and community engagement, she aims to help cultivate an art culture that feels rooted, welcoming and reflective of the region itself. Her approach centers on creating opportunities for residents and visitors to encounter art in ways that feel immediate and personal.

Beyond her studio practice, Vreeland envisions a Fredericksburg where art becomes part of everyday life — not confined to galleries, but integrated into cafés, shops and shared public environments across town. She hopes to strengthen a creative network where anyone can experience, enjoy or engage with local expression, helping the arts become a visible and valued thread in the fabric of the community.

In a region defined by live oaks, granite domes and the ever-changing rhythm of wildflowers, Vreeland’s work offers a lens tuned to softness, nuance and the quiet poetry of place. Her paintings encourage viewers to slow down — to notice the subtle sway of grass, the bloom of an iris or the shifting sky at dusk. In doing so, she reveals how the natural world can ground, inspire and connect a community.

Through her brushwork and her presence in Fredericksburg’s creative landscape, Vreeland reminds residents that a love of nature and a love of place go hand in hand. Her art becomes an invitation: To look closer, to cherish the local environment and to celebrate the artists who illuminate its beauty.

Marcy Vreeland can be found online at MarcyVreeland.com where paintings and prints are available for purchase.

Follow Marcy on Instagram @marcyvreeland

TWO Locations, ONE Beautiful Vision

A local family venture

ARTICLE BY ANDRE BOADA

There is a new fold in Kerr County winery development pushing the throttle of excellence. Once, only known as Turtle Creek Olives and Vines in downtown Kerrville, Proprietors Dan and Sue Schulse have now unleashed a new working winery built around 17 acres of pristine terraced vineyards.

THE WINERY ESTATE

Turtle Creek Vineyards, located on the edge of Kerrville, has been a work in progress since the purchase in 2015. The family vision now includes a 10,000-square-foot winery and vineyard production operation set for 2026.

Once arriving at the winery estate – or a Tenuta, the Italian name for an area offering more than just wine – you will encounter an Italian Villa, farm animals, fresh-grown produce and fruit trees intertwined with a new production operation.

The gentle flow of Turtle Creek, which runs adjacent to the Villa, gives the rippling sound and beauty enchanting tasting room visitors. Expect lavish vineyard wine dinners hosted by family members, musical guests, and even a venue for onsite weddings. That, coupled with an on-site chef, yields an exceptional experience at every turn.

The vineyards came about on a whim when Dan asked his wife, Sue, if he could plant a few vines. She thought it would be three or four. Instead, what ensued was 400 vines shipped in from a California nursery, creating a small and experimental vineyard using common Texas red varietals. This developed into an estate vineyard expansion using the expertise of Bill Blackmon, the iconic 35-year veteran vineyard specialist behind William Chris Vineyards and Blackmon Ranch Vineyard.

“Dan Schulse is a true Texan,” said Bill Blackmon, half of the William Chris empire. “Three generations deep within Houston, coupled with Texas A&M education mark his culture. He is professional and driven around great ethical business practices. Texas needs more vineyards to sustain all the new winery growth and Dan shares that vision versus buying grapes on contract from the High Plains."

Helping the family on the vineyard estate is Kyle Allen, an up-and-coming prodigy within vineyard development and wine making. He is adding new vineyards along the benchland to create a two-tiered arena.

“Turtle Creek Vineyards has finally transcended into the next phase of excellence,” Allen stated, winemaker for Turtle Creek. “We cherish the vineyards we farm and respect sustainable farming practices. It takes endless decisions to fully understand the land and wine making within, but my long tenure and new production resource have me positioned to raise the bar to a higher pedigree.”

DOWNTOWN KERRVILLE TASTING ROOM

The Turtle Creek Olives & Vines tasting room is located at downtown Kerrville, 211 Earl Garrett Street. Opened in July 2019, the tasting room is a wine bar orchestrated by Sue’s son, Carl Schulse.

The exquisitely appointed tasting room is in a two-story historic “Masonic” building founded by Corrine and Charles Schreiner in 1890. The outside framework showcases locally quarried limestone and is designed using late Italianate-style architecture. Inside is a warm and inviting parlor with sit-down service around a relaxed, elegant persona.

“Our goal in the tasting room is to make you feel like family,” claims Carl. “We focus on Texas wines from the Turtle Creek estate but also offer an international array of wines along with tapas and locally sourced, artisan products. It is an elevated experience that caters to foodies and all levels of wine connoisseurs.”

Both Turtle Creek downtown and the vineyard offer food and wine educational programs married with live music at the vineyards. They cleverly choose a theme each month and use key wine speakers and musical guests to enhance the experience.

It can be said that the ten-year progression of Turtle Creek is now reaching its quintessential plateau. That mark of development is defined by positive and negative experiences of growth. In the case of the Schulse family, their hard work and honest Texas integrity have prevailed within a two-generation family spear. It is a lovely story unfolding the future in Kerrville.

Turtle Creek

Details about Turtle Creek can be found at turtlecreekolivesandvines.com or turtlecreekvineyard.com, which also includes a list of musical guests.

Turtle Creek Olives and Vines – Downtown

211 Earl Garrett Street, Kerrville, TX. 830-896-0010

HOURS:

Tuesday - 12-8 p.m.

Wednesday - 12-8 p.m.

Thursday - 12-8 p.m

Friday - 12-8 p.m.

Saturday - 12-8 p.m.

Sunday - Closed

Monday - Closed

Turtle Creek Vineyard

183 Fall Creek Rd., Kerrville, TX. 830-777-9501

HOURS:

Monday - 12-6 p.m.

Tuesday - Closed

Wednesday - Closed

Thursday - 12-6 p.m.

Friday 12-6 p.m.

Saturday - 12-6 p.m.

Sunday 12-6 p.m.

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A SALAD REC IPE TO LOV E

A GORGEOUS, FRESH AND SIMPLE DISH

PEAR, PROSCIUTTO , Burrata Salad

INGREDIENTS

• Ripe Pear

• Prosciutto

• Burrata

• Lemon Zest

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Dried Figs

• Red Pepper Flakes

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice the ripe pear into thin slices.

2. Arrange pear slices on a plate, creating a base for the salad.

3. Nestle slices of prosciutto in-between pear slices, a perfect combo of sweet and savory.

4. Tear the burrata into bite-sized pieces and scatter them over the salad adding a velvety creaminess to the ensemble.

5. Grate fresh lemon zest over the entire salad, infusing it with citrus flavor.

6. Top with fresh basil, figs and pepper flakes.

7. Finish by generously drizzling extra virgin olive oil over the salad, creating a silky texture that ties it all together.

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