The Texas Hill Country is a very popular wine travel destination, second only to California's Napa Valley. Busy tasting rooms, seasonally themed winery road trips along Highway 290 West, and special holiday events always draw enthusiastic crowds. For example, two vineyards in the Hill Country appellation are hosting Valentine's events this weekend. Fall Creek Vineyards (1820 CR 222, near Tow, 325/379-5361, www.fcv.com) hosts a three-course Wine and Roses luncheon on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 11:30am, prepared by chef Rob McMahon of Austin Catering. It's $34 per person, all inclusive, and reservations are necessary. And Becker Vineyards (464 Becker Farms Rd., near Stonewall, 830/644-2681 x201, www.beckervineyards.com) offers a Red & White wine dinner on Saturday at 5:30pm ($85 plus tax) and a Red & White wine luncheon on Sunday at 11:30am ($75 plus tax). Both meals are prepared by My Own Chef Catering of Fredericksburg, and reservations are necessary.

The owners of another award-winning Texas winery are eager to expand their brand into the Hill Country. Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo of Messina Hof Winery & Resort near Bryan (www.messinahof.com) have broken ground on a new 10-acre resort in Gillespie County slated to open later this year. The new property will include vineyards, a wine bar, a bed & breakfast, a retail shop, and conference facilities.

An event likely to further enhance the viticultural and culinary reputation of Central Texas is the Edible Texas Food and Wine Pairing Com­petition that will be conducted during the International Association of Culinary Pro­fes­sionals annual conference, coming here in early June. The competition is open to any Central Texas restaurant (brick-and-mortar or mobile) or catering company that's a member of the Texas Department of Agriculture's Go Texan restaurant marketing program (www.gotexan.org). Each contestant must develop a three-course menu based on as many native Texas food products as possible, complete with written recipes for six to eight servings of each menu item, and each course must be paired with a different Texas wine. Entries must be received by Monday, March 15. A preliminary judging panel of Texas food and wine experts will chose five finalists from the entries, and those finalists will prepare and present their menus at a dinner at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center during the IACP conference on Friday, June 3. A panel of national food and wine celebrities, including Jacques Pépin, Francois Dionot, and Michael Bauer, will officiate at the competition. For questions about the competition, contact Marla Camp at 441-3971 or Terry Thompson-Anderson at 830/456-4393. Download contest rules and entry forms at www.edibleaustin.com.

The ongoing first anniversary celebration at Antonelli's Cheese Shop (4220 Duval St., 531-9610, www.antonellischeese.com) culminates with a raffle to win an in-shop cheese tasting party for 20 people. To enter, submit a receipt for a purchase made in the shop or from any of the businesses that feature Antonelli's cheeses between Feb. 7 and Feb. 11. The Antonellis will choose the winner at the close of the business day, 7pm, Friday, Feb. 11.