Texas is huge! It is a land mass of over 262 thousand acres that is over 800 miles north to south and 733 miles from east to west. Guadalupe Peak at 8,749 feet is the highest point and the Gulf coast sea level the lowest. You can travel any where in Texas because it has a nation leading 305,951 miles of road. The state divides into four wine growing areas: Northeast Texas, East Central Texas, Southeast Texas and Western Texas. Texas has a long history of wine production starting near El Paso in the 1650′s. If you drew a line from Corpus Christi west to San Antonio, north to Wichita Falls, and follow the Texas state boundary east and south back to Corpus Christi, you would have a polygon containing most of the wine production. There are important but scattered wine growing areas in west Texas near the key cities of El Paso, Fredericksburg and Lubbock.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are by far the key wines grown in Texas. Syrah, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Viognier and Pinot Gris are also leading grape varieties. A total of 3,200 acres is currently under production. Nearly 2 million gallons of wine were produced in Texas in 2005, making this state the fifth largest producer in the United States. The University of Texas System is the largest wine producer with nearly 1/3 of all acres currently under cultivation in the entire state. The advent of Prohibition (1920-1933) in the U. S. virtually eliminated the Texas wine industry until a modern time revival in the 1970′s. The wine industry in the state still feels the effects of Prohibition with a quarter of the counties still having “dry laws” on the books.

The Texas Hill Country has become a major wine tour destination that is only rivaled by California’s Napa Valley. The area is characterized by rolling hills, small quaint towns, rambling old farmhouses, and scattered vineyards with up-and-coming tasting rooms. A great location to start an adventure in this area is Fredericksburg. You could do a drive-yourself tour or gather a group and take a luxury bus tour. Letting someone else drive, which allows you to have fun and try mostly all wine you come across, makes a lot of sense. Many communities have their own wine festivals and people are attending them in ever-increasing numbers.

Many of us have danced the Texas Two-step. I found another Texas tradition, the Texas Two-sip. The Texas Two-sip is a challenging, blind taste test of a collection of in state and out of state wines. The goal is to use your taste buds to find the best. There are special rules and forms to fill out, but no specific rules on what food you can eat. Sounds like a party to me. The only caution I have is I did not find out the rule when you get to take your blindfold off. Be careful where you step.

When I was in the military traveling home on leave, I had car trouble in Fredericksburg. The people took me in, fed me and housed me, while the resident mechanic repaired my heap. When I was getting ready to leave, they gave me the gift of a thank you for my service and covered all my bills. Because of the wine growing there, I now have another reason to take a pause there. Look out Highway 290 here we come.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2010

Go Texan wine. Texas Two-Sip Tele-tasting part 1 of 5. Award-winning sommeliers Devon Broglie and Craig Collins guide you through a Texas Two-Sip blind tasting. Theyve paired one Texas wine with a comparable non-Texas wine from regions around the world. Www. Gotexanwine. Org

A trip down Highway 290 West not only offers rustic Texas landscapes with it’s own kind of beauty, but also several vineyards along the way. Johnson City has the Texas Hills Vineyard, with soil considered to be like the coveted Tuscan countryside in Italy. Becker Vineyards in Stonewall boasts 46 acres of grapevines and three acres of lavender, which blooms in May and June. Also in Stonewall is the Grape Creek Vineyard with the only completely underground wine cellar in Texas. Continuing west on Highway 290, Fredericksburg has a number of vineyards, including Bell Mountain Wine Cellars in business for 33 years and Chisholm Trail Winery.

If taking in lake views while tasting Texas wines sounds nice, head north on Highway 281 to the family owned Spicewoods Vineyard in Marble Falls. Fall Creek Vineyards on the shores of Lake Buchanan is composed of 65 acres of vineyards making award wining wines in the “French tradition and California technology. ” Take in any Lake Travis views at Lago Vista’s Flat Creek Estate Vineyard and Winery.

Heading south a wine lover can find the Sister Creek Vineyards in Boerne, which is housed in a historic cotton gin. Or, in New Braunfels try the Dry Comal Creek Vineyards and one might as well stop in Gruene Hall while in that area.

Most these wineries offer tours and tastings and visitors are encouraged to taste the lesser known wine varieties that Texas is gaining a reputation for producing. Ever heard of a sangiovese or malbec? How about a syrah? Texas soil is better suited to any of these more obscure wine varieties. During times when one can certainly find a Texas chardonnay, a viognier made in Texas may taste better. The Austin-American Statesman recently picked any favorite local wines like the Becker Vineyards Malbec 2006 or the Tuscan-style red Flat Creek Estates Super Texan 2006.

If wine tasting without the driving sounds a little more appealing, there are a number of local wine bars that offer a unique tasting experience. From the trendy to the cozy to the ostentatious wall of wines, Austin-American Statesman’s XLent section recently highlighted any local spots for a good glass of wine. Cork & Co. on South Congress was described as cozy while Cru: A Wine Bar has a “plush ambiance. ” There is also Taste on Cesar Chavez Street and Uncorked Tasting Room and Wine Bar on East Seventh. An impressive wall of wine can be seen at Vino Vino on Guadalupe Street.

Whether hopping in the car to head downtown for the evening or driving west for the day, Austin and the surrounding Hill Country can offer something from the mildly curious wine-drinker to the passionate oenologist.

Highlights from the 2011 North Texas Wine Opener benefiting Cystic Fibrosis

This is the second in a series of eight videos on Texas Wine trails. This episode features the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail in the heart of Central Texas. The group of 24 wineries stretches from Lampasas to New Braunfels, creating the second most desired wine destination in the country, second only to Napa/Sonoma. Visit gotexanwine. Org for more info.

More recently, when the state’s wineries began modern production, unappreciative outsiders labeled the Texas wine and wineries “Chateau Bubba” as a derision.

Although this probably had any truth to it in the past, it hides much of the reality. The very same Spanish priests who introduced vineyards and wine to California, also cultivated grapes in Texas by the 18th century. Although little is known about the quality of the mission wines, there is evidence that any later European settlers (particularly Germans and Czechs) were accomplished vintners. They developed ways to make good wine from native mustang grapes, and they passed their knowledge to several generations up to the present.

At the turn of the century, these same poor wild grapes actually played a large part in turning around and saving the French wine industry from disaster. When a plant louse epidemic named phylioxera attacked vineyards everywhere, a Texas vintner named T. V. Munson found a solution by grafting French vines onto the more disease-resistant Texas grape vines. Munson is still a hero in France and the Napa Valley of California.

Before Prohibition started in 1920, there were at least 16 commercial wineries in Texas. The only one to survive Prohibition was Val Verde in Del Rio. They closed until the end of Prohibition in 1933, but rep-opened after it was repealed. Val Verde remained the only commercial winery in Texas, until the 1970′s, when a national wine boom started a revival of production in the state.

The very first bottles from these new commercial wineries may not have been very good, but they improved at a rapid pace. Starting in the 1980′s, Texas wines were and continue to be regular winners in wine competitions throughout the country, taking metals in many categories.

Some of the larger wineries of Texas today include Llano Estacado, Pheasant Ridge, Sainte Genevieve, Fall Creek, Sister Creek, Messina Hof, Moyer, Slaughter Leftwich, Grape Creek, and a growing number of other wine producers.

Texas wine today is truly an international treasure, and is no longer labeled as the “Chateau Bubba” of wine making. It can now stand up with the great wines of the rest of the world, and continues to grow in quality and reputation.

Go Texan wine. Texas Two-Sip Tele-tasting part 1 of 5. Award-winning sommeliers Devon Broglie and Craig Collins guide you through a Texas Two-Sip blind tasting. Theyve paired one Texas wine with a comparable non-Texas wine from regions around the world. Www. Gotexanwine. Org

Texas is very famous for its wineries and vineyards. The Texas wine industry is booming for last few decades. According to Texas wine directories, there are 250 vineyards and around 70 wineries with same numbers of test rooms in Texas. It is the fifth-ranked wine yielding region of America.

Texas wines have already won numerous national and international awards and applause from several wine lovers’ fraternity. Some popular Texas wines are Sangiovese, Viognier, Tempranillo and Syrah; Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Sauvignon Blanc, Fume Blanc and Ruby Cabernet and lots more. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-based wines from Texas are the prhyme competitors of Bordeaux, France.

The winemaking heritage of Texas started around hundreds of years back. The wineries are emerging continuously. In 1990, the amount of production per annum was 700,000 gallons and its around 1,500,000 gallons per annum now.

Almost all of the vineyards are located in West Texas areas, especially in Lubbock, and the wineries are widely located in the Hill Country of North Texas areas.

For the last few years Texas wine industry has grown remarkably, the number of wineries reached 90 in a very short period of time. Almost 100,000 people are involved in the Texas wine industry with a common aim to produce and market great Texas wines.

The main reason behind the popularity of Texas wine is in its making procedures. The Texas wines are aged in 23 litre oak barrels after fermentation.

For the inhabitants of Texas, they don’t take it just as a wine. They consider wine and wine production as their daily routine that makes it more familiar and simpler than other wine producing regions like Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley. Texas Hill Country joined hands with other wine yielding regions like Paso Robles and Long Island to deliver delicate wine experiences blended with regional wine making techniques.

The visitors are always welcome in Texas Hill Country either for weekend or long vacations. They can experience amazing fun and zeal here. Tourists can have a never-ending supply of wineries and fine food here with some extraordinary experiences like bike and limo tours. These can reduce the stress and depression of their daily life activities.

When the Germans settles in Texas over a hundred years ago, they brought the grape along with them and found that they took to the land well. As a result the vineyards, and Texas wine tours, were born. However, there are a number of vineyards in the region that specialize in Italian and French wines as well as the German ones that gave rise to the wineries and trends. Texas Red is the main brand that can be seen on the supermarket shelves these days.

Texas wine tours will take you round all of the local wineries and will generally give you a great day out with a barbecue lunch thrown in for good measure. The wineries are well-rounded places that have expanded in their scope to tray and attract more individuals that may not have otherwise been interested. However, the nature of the Texas wine tours mean that more and more individuals are attracted to them every year. The tours will take you in spitting distance of the Wildseed Farm and Market Centre, which are the biggest farms in the United States at the moment and attract tourists as a result. You can therefore experience rural Texas all in one go by taking part in the Texas wine tours offered.

There are a number of companies that offer Texas wine tours so you should research them all before choosing the ones that you want to goon. You can find them readily enough on the Internet and all of the information about them will be on there waiting for you. Some wineries use imported grapes, others use homegrown ones and you can go and taste the difference between the two. There are tasting rooms, cellars, vineyards and wineries. Whatever you are looking for, I guarantee that you can find it when you look at Texas wine tours.

Whichever Texas wine tours you go on, you should take the time to visit Fredericksburg when you are in the area. The wineries there are simply awesome. You can take part in tasting sessions as well as sample the town’s culture and beautiful eateries. Fredericksburg was actually founded by the Germans settling in the area and specialises in Riesling wine. You can sample all of the varieties they have to offer though at a number of places. A trip here will put a different spin on your Texas wine tour and make it all the more memorable for the right reasons!

Risk assessment is a critical consideration. Significant crop losses, and sometimes vine damage or death, can occur due to freezes, frost, hail, diseases and other pests. Pierce’s Disease is a serious threat to the lifespan of a vineyard in most parts of Texas. Market risks should also be considered; winegrape supply and demand fluctuate and prices move along with them.

A market outlet for the grapes should be confirmed with one or more wineries, or if your development plans include a winery, a wine market analysis and business plan should be prepared before committing to the venture. Familiarize yourself with the Texas wine industry and investigate marketing opportunities and obstacles. Visit existing vineyards and wineries and meet the owners and managers; they mainly are quite willing to share their knowledge and experience. Develop a vineyard business plan to help you understand the economics of your operation and guide your decision-making.

Links to guidelines for developing a business plan are found on our Vineyard Business Management webpage.

There are numerous viticulture texts that offer methods and guidelines for growing grapes, but none can offer a recipe to be followed for success. Commercial grape production requires an integration of knowledge of climate, site characteristics, grape varieties, production practices, personnel management, economics, and marketing. Those are just the main categories of expertise required; numerous skills and abilities are also necessary. Seek out educational opportunities such as programs offered by Texas Cooperative Extension, the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Texas Tech University, and community colleges. Volunteer to work in a neighbor’s vineyard to learn production practices such as training and pruning. Finally, if you lack experience in grape growing, it is strongly advised that you start conservatively with only an acre or two. After a few years experience with a small vineyard you should be able to assess the feasibility and desirability of expanding the vineyard.

Educational opportunities and other events are announced on our Upcoming Events webpage.

Once a commitment has been made to develop a vineyard, many decisions must be made in developing the vineyard plan. These decisions include: selection of a suitable site for your vineyard (and winery, if applicable); choice of grape varieties, clones, and possibly rootstocks; selection of a training and trellis system, and vineyard size and design (row and vine spacing).

Landscaping Houston

Gardening Houston

The festival is concentrated in any of downtown Austin’s most revered establishments, from the posh haute cuisine of the Four Seasons, to Austin’s own Spanish tapas restaurant, Malaga. The events radiate out from this locus, including other Austin institutions such as Central Market, and spreading out into the Hill Country wineries including Fall Creek, Becker and Spicewood. The festival culminates in an all-day fair, often held in San Gabriel Park near Georgetown.

The events run the gamut from the frenetic heated battles of Iron Chef-style competitions, to Hill Country luncheons held amid the spring wildflowers at one of the participating wineries. Film and food are combined in events held at the Alamo Drafthouse, and music and food are combined in events such as Uncorked and Acoustic, featuring any of the finest talent Austin has to offer playing acoustically while participants enjoy food prepared by Austin’s finest food talents. Bat cruises, reserve tastings, winemaker dinners and much more round out the weekend’s offerings.

The premier event is the festival’s Grand Tasting. Fittingly known as Stars Across Texas, the celebrated chefs featured here are from the hottest restaurants in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, the Hill Country and beyond all bring their best to this unique event. The chefs and winemakers circulate throughout the event, giving participants the change to mingle and speak with these artisans in a unique milieu. With more restaurants, chefs, chocolatiers, pastry chefs, viticulturists and winemakers present than at any other event, this is truly the crown jewel of the festival.

The Sunday Fair is a less structured, more family-oriented event during which participants can sip and sample their way through a myriad of tents. Vendors include wineries, food artisans and restaurants from Texas and beyond, all proffering their specialties. Renowned chefs provide cooking demonstrations, discussion and panels are held on different food and wine-oriented topics, and since it is Austin, after all, you can count on any of the best live music from any of Austin’s favorite musicians.

Throughout the four days of the festival, over thirty individual events are held, highlighting the products of more than one hundred restaurants, and at least sixty wineries. Although most speakers and presenters are Texan, guests are invited from other parts of the country, and the world, to illuminate Texas’ impact on food and wine across the globe. The Festival is a affiliated with the prestigious James Beard Foundation, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program, the Texas Restaurant Association and the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas.

This is the second in a series of eight videos on Texas Wine trails. This episode features the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail in the heart of Central Texas. The group of 24 wineries stretches from Lampasas to New Braunfels, creating the second most desirable wine destination in the country, second only to Napa/Sonoma. Visit gotexanwine. Org for more info.

Many of the grapes that become a “Texas wine” are not even grown in Texas. Too many wineries in the Lone Star State import their grapes from Napa Valley. In other words, those that import their grapes are making Texas wines like George Bush (who was born in Connecticut) is a Texan. This is a real problem. Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France. Port comes from Portugal. The grapes that go into making a Texas wine should be grown in Texas.

That in itself is all the more reason to love a winery like Becker Vineyards. Located between Stonewall and Fredericksburg, the folks at Becker Vineyards grow eight different varietals on forty-six acres of sandy, Precambrian granite soil. Syrah, Petite Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot all vie for the attention of those tending the vines. This year the 2008 Viognier and the 2008 Syrah both won silver medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, an amazing feat when you consider how thin they are spreading themselves with eight different varietals, and that is the crux of the relative anonymity of Texas wines.

The Beatles did not make their mark by recording in eight different genres, and Becker Vineyards et al should learn to concentrate their efforts on at most, three or four different wines. Grow eight varietals if you must, but only make three or four different wines. Remember the old saw, “Jack of all trades, master of none?” Becker Vineyards has all of the elements in place to make a great wine in Texas: terroir, passion, and love for the industry. Now they just need to focus.

Go Texan wine. Texas Two-Sip Tele-tasting part 1 of 5. Award-winning sommeliers Devon Broglie and Craig Collins guide you through a Texas Two-Sip blind tasting. Theyve paired one Texas wine with a comparable non-Texas wine from regions around the world. Www. Gotexanwine. Org

No doubt, wine has a great impact on Texans life because it generates revenue and employment. During the year 2004, the wine industry generated $200 million along with 1,898 jobs for Texans. And, now due to new legislation, you as a wine lover can enjoy wine direct from the winery of Texas. Most of these wineries and vineyards encourage visitors to visit their vineyards and taste different wines before purchase in tasting rooms. Not only this, but you can also buy different Texas wine gifts for your family or friends while visiting or tasting wines at their wineries and vineyards.

The Overall Scenario Is Fast Changing and Promising

Although, earlier there were many restrictions in the past, but during the last two decades Texas wine industry has seen a time of incredible growth. In the last few years the number of wineries has increased from 50 to 87 or even more. According to one estimate, currently there are around 20 more wineries that are pending for state approval bringing the number of wineries to 104. Nowadays customers can directly place their orders with the winery and can also visit them to taste different wines in their tasting rooms.

And, there will not be any exaggeration if we say that the day is not too far when these wineries will sell more wine over the Internet than in the tasting room in winter. Moreover, people would visit these wineries and vineyards not just to see, taste and purchase wine but to buy different wines and other related gifts for special occasions such as Xmas, New Year and Thanksgiving. Texans who visit a winery and make purchases in person can also have them shipped directly at their home. Purchases of these wines and other wine gifts can also be made by phone, fax or online for shipment to a Texas package store for pick-up or further delivery. So everything seems to be fast changing and promising especially when it comes to customer satisfaction.

This is the first in a series of eight videos on Texas Wine trails. This episode features the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, a group of wineries scattered from Brenham to Montgomery. The trail features a unique event for each season, including a Wine & Wildflowers Trail celebrating the trails namesake bloom. Visit gotexanwine. Org for more info.

When we heard there was a wine country outside of Austin, we were immediately intrigued, mostly because, well, we had never really thought about the fact that winemaking was happening in Texas.

No doubt, wine has a great impact on Texans life because it generates revenue and employment. During the year 2004, the wine industry generated $200 million along with 1,898 jobs for Texans. And, now due to new legislation, you as a wine lover can enjoy wine direct from the winery of Texas. Most of these wineries and vineyards encourage visitors to visit their vineyards and taste different wines before purchase in tasting rooms. Not only this, but you can also buy different Texas wine gifts for your family or friends while visiting or tasting wines at their wineries and vineyards.

The Overall Scenario Is Fast Changing and Promising
Although, earlier there were many restrictions in the past, but during the last two decades Texas wine industry has seen a time of incredible growth. In the last few years the number of wineries has increased from 50 to 87 or even more. According to one estimate, currently there are around 20 more wineries that are pending for state approval bringing the number of wineries to 104. Nowadays customers can directly place their orders with the winery and can also visit them to taste different wines in their tasting rooms.

And, there will not be any exaggeration if we say that the day is not too far when these wineries will sell more wine over the Internet than in the tasting room in winter. Moreover, people would visit these wineries and vineyards not just to see, taste and purchase wine but to buy different wines and other related gifts for special occasions such as Christmas, New Year and Thanksgiving. Texans who visit a winery and make purchases in person can also have them shipped directly at their home. Purchases of these wines and other wine gifts can also be made by phone, fax or online for shipment to a Texas package store for pick-up or further delivery. So everything seems to be fast changing and promising especially when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Texas and wine?

The two are not as strange of a combination as one would think. Franciscan priests grew their own vines in the 16th century. While Californians were still rushing for gold, Texans were planting grapes along the streams and rivers. Val Verde Winery in Del Rio has been operating since 1833. During the 19th century, the El Paso area was where Texans came for wine.

Flash forward to 21st century and Texas is once again becoming a premiere place for winemaking. From 2000 to 2007, the number of Texas wineries grew from 40 to 140.

Wine is a symbol of prestige and the presence of great wineries in the Texas area has led to the increase in luxury home sales in Texas. Wine cellars are a must-have in prestigious homes. The increase in wineries has led wine-lovers across the nation to consider Texas as their choice for a primary residence or a second home. A few hope to grow their own grapes and fulfill a life-long dream of making their own wine.

The homes are as unique as the communities. Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, is a vibrant community with arts, culture and a thriving business community. Austin is known for its music. And sports fans love the Dallas Cowboys-a football legend. The luxury homes in Texas are as diverse as the state. Vaulted cathedral ceilings and travertine tile accessories adorn homes offered in exclusive neighborhoods in Austin. The locales range from exclusive neighborhoods with large lots to homes located near private country clubs.

With winemaking increasing in Texas, many wine tastings are held in these luxury homes to sample the local fare. Exclusive restaurants offer residents the best samplings from area winemakers. The state of Texas has devoted a website to help residents and visitors know more about the viticulture (www. gotexanwine. org).

The Future of Winemaking

Some sources say Texas is the fifth largest producer of wine in the United States. Texas ranks sixth in the number of wineries in the state by http://www. wineamerica. org. What is not disputed is the growth of the wine industry in Texas. Growers, wine aficionados, and those who want to absorb the culture will be occupying Texas homes as a result of the growth. The viticulture in Texas is predicted by any to become as prominent as it is in California.

2007 North Texas Wine Opener Benefiting Cystic Fibrosis Volunteer Video

This is the first in a series of eight videos on Texas Wine trails. This episode features the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, a group of wineries scattered from Brenham to Montgomery. The trail features a unique event for each season, including a Wine & Wildflowers Trail celebrating the trails namesake bloom. Visit gotexanwine. Org for more info.

When we heard there was a wine country outside of Austin, we were immediately intrigued, mostly because, well, we had never really thought about the fact that winemaking was happening in Texas.