It’s Thursday evening and I’m enjoying the sunset and a glass of wine when my phone dings. I’m surprised – I thought I had no service. It’s my former boss. He always seems to know where to find me. Here’s how the conversation goes:
“Need to discuss something with you, can we chat tomorrow?”
I’m on vacation. Can we chat Monday?
Vacation – you?
Wait – you’re in California? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?
When are we getting together?
I’m in West Texas. I promised if I came to Cali I’d let you know. Tell you more Monday?
Can we do Tuesday or Wednesday?
Sure. No problem.
And so, I went back to enjoying my wine and the sunset at Buena Suerte Vineyards. Once owned by Bill and Gail Day, Farmhouse Vineyards entered into a lease-purchase agreement in 2024. Today the Day’s home at the vineyard is a lovely place to spend a weekend in nature, away from it all. Yes, including limited cell service, but amazing Wi-Fi, hence how I got the text.
But sometimes you just want to get away from work – unplug, unwind, and just unconcerned with anything but enjoying the moment.
Buena Suerte Vineyards is the place for that.
He got the full description when we talked Wednesday, so here’s the scoop for you.
The two bedroom and 2 bathroom house, with bunk room, is still perfect for a family escape, or just a nice hideaway for the two of you and maybe some friends. The decor has the usual quirks I’ve come to expect from the Farmhouse Vineyards style, but overall the environment itself is open, airy and I felt like I was staying at a friends house and they were gone for the weekend.
After a long drive it was nice to stretch my legs on the porch and enjoy the views of the vineyard and watch the sunset with a glass of wine.
Not only was a bottle of wine waiting when we arrived, so was one of their amazing charcuterie boxes.
Filled with cheese, (at least three kinds), crackers (at least three kinds), a cheese roll with salami, two kinds of cured meat, three different types of fruit and chocolate covered pecans.
You can’t see the cream cheese with their jelly spread on top (corner that the picture cut off) that is absolutely amazing with the fruit and nut crackers in the top corner of the box.
Of course, it pairs perfectly with their 2019 Jack Knife, a GSM blend, that they are running low on, so I need to order a case before its gone.
Yes, the house is dog friendly, as you can see by Rusty hiding in the picture. He loved the couch in the large combined family and dining room. The Farmhouse Vineyards website describes the lodging as “BSV features a charming 2-bedroom, 2-bath home with beautiful natural lighting on a knoll overlooking a 50-acre vineyard. It is high-fenced, providing opportunities for weekends of bird hunting, private tastings, and unmatched High Plains getaways for your club members and ours.”
There’s plenty of seating both in the dining room and the living area. And in case you can’t stand the quiet, the house is equipped with Sonos speakers and a TV (and the complete set of MASH, should you need a marathon to go with your wine).
The inside of the house gets great sunshine, but at night you almost don’t need the blackout curtains in the bedrooms. You can see stars, and if it weren’t for the fact that it is West Texas in the summer, I could have laid outside in the grass for hours – but I’m not terribly fond of insects.
The front bedroom is light and airy with a view to the vineyard.
And I loved waking up to the sunrise and the deer coming out of the vineyard. They emerged as I was editing the photo (above) in snapchat I was sending to all my friends to make them jealous. That one didn’t work, but the one of the deer did. I managed to sneak closer to them before the doe and two fawns disappeared into the vines again.
The second bedroom has a view out the side of the house as the vineyard wraps around toward the berm (hill) behind the house and also has a king bed. The pine floors throughout keep the house feeling cool in the summer heat.
Two very generous bathrooms are available, one with a shower with dual shower heads, and one with the traditional shower/tub combination. I think you can tell which one I liked best. But both have the most adorable accent tiles in the center.
We didn’t have much need to cook as we were out to dinner each night beyond the first, but the kitchen is amazing and I’ve already had friend who have seen pictures say they want to visit and cook Spaghetti Bolognese.
I think we can find a wine to pair with it – a Montepulciano, Sangiovese or maybe my favorite GSM.
The house truly is an amazing place to get away from it all, and has everything you could need for a weekend getaway, including space for the kids (but if its a getaway….) The back porch has great seating around the firepit, and that black line on the picture is the side of the garage which shelters the back porch from the west sun, so it’s perfect for dining al fresco, or taking your morning coffee.
Of course you cannot forget the vineyard since its outside practically every window. Here are only a few of the hundreds of photographs I took in the vineyard. I loved walking through the rows, stumbling upon deer, bunnies and dove. If it weren’t for the red dirt, you could almost pretend you were in California, but why would you? (Check out the young buck hiding in the first picture – he was laying down in between rows.)
Some the grapes grown in the vineyard are: Carignan, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Petite Syrah, Primativo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Trebbiano, Viognier. There are also four different varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon (I liked Harmony best, but Freedom came in a close second). I have pictures of almost everything out there with leaves and clusters – so I’ll be making flash cards soon. It will be interesting to see if the Mourvèdre and the Mourvèdre Own Root are different visually.
Final Thoughts
A word to the wise – leave the sports car at home, the country road the house is off of is very easily covered in dirt after rains, so it can be a bit bumpy for anything low to the ground. You’re less than 10 minutes to Brownfield, and only 30 minutes outside of Lubbock. So send the boys to the game at Texas Tech and hang out like I did, reading in the window. Or when the deer population has replenished itself, come out for a weekend of hunting – though I’s prefer if you use only your camera, personally.
The above picture is a panorama of the house and vineyard from the top of the berm behind the house. You can see part of the production facility to the left and the sun has just finished rising to the right.
I did also tell my former boss, that Buena Suerte was a shorter drive than California and perhaps he needed to come to Texas.
In the spirit of transparency, I was gifted a weekend at Buena Suerte in exchange for this write-up. All opinions are my own, but I did truly enjoy the stay. I look forward to heading back out with friends for another (paid) weekend.
Learn how to stay at Buena Suerte Vineyards here: https://www.farmhousevineyards.com/buena-suerte-lodging/
I can see how this might become one of my annual travel destinations during the year when I need to get away from the city and see stars.
WOW, Elizabeth. This is just absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. I love the pictures, what you wrote and this blog in its entirety.
Thanks Nino! Hopefully one day you can visit.