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Vintage and location are keys to understanding wine in Texas, which now produces the fifth most wine in the United States.
Texas wine growers must contend with unpredictable and extreme weather events, making each Texas vintage an adventure. Therein lies both the magic and the challenge, because weather and weather events dramatically impact each year’s Texas wine and what grapes are grown.
When late frosts or hail thin the grape crop, the crop tends to more more concentrated—often making for better wine. Heat stress can reduce sugar accumulation, which is why Texas grape growers turned to varieties that do well in the heat. Drought can stress vines and reduce yield, but Texas grape growing regions long ago adopted farming methods and irrigation technology to deal with it. Add to that vast amounts of wine-vine-friendly land and the wealth to invest in the wine lifestyle, and you have the formula for Texas success. A surprise to those whose opinion of Texas is based on inaccurate stereotypes.
More than 80% of Texas grapes are grown on the Texas High Plains, the vast flatlands of the southern portion of the Texas Panhandle, known in historic times as the Llano Estacado. The Texas High Plains AVA encompasses some 8,000,000 acres (12,500 square miles, larger than nine states) with Lubbock as the largest urban center.
The High Plains are called the “high plains” for a reason. The great, very flat plateau has elevations from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level. That puts it in the same league as high elevation vineyards in Argentina and Chile.
Long a region of cattle raising and cotton, peanuts, squash, and melon farming, the High Plains also are a place of unpredictable weather. Late spring frosts, hailstorms, torrential rains, drought, and sudden freezes are all part of the deal. Such variability means vintages can vary markedly from year to year. That’s not a bug in Texas wine, it is a feature.
The High Plains AVA provides many winegrowing advantages. The high elevations mean hotter temperatures and more UV during the day. That encourages quicker fruit ripening—some Texas harvests begin as early as late July—and thicker skins. The elevation also means cooler nights, the coveted “diurnal shift” that preserves acidity. Early harvests give Texas wines their distinctive minerality. Thicker skins make for darker, more intense red wines.
High Plains soil usually is red sandy loam or sandy clay loam. The phylloxera louse hates sandy. The winds are reliably strong, hot, and dry. Mildew and fungus hate windy, dry heat. The soils have excellent drainage characteristics. Wine vines love good drainage.
All well and good, but Texans had to figure out what grape varieties are best suited for this inviting wine vine environment. It was pretty clear from the beginning cool-climate varieties like chardonnay, riesling, and cabernet franc would only work in very limited Texas places. But tempranillo, mourvèdre, blanc du boise, chenin blanc, and viognier proved to do well.
Texas is a very big place with winegrowing spread across its vastness, so broad generalizations are inherently flawed. The Texas Hill Country AVA, for instance, is somewhat different than the High Plains AVA. While the Hill Country grows many of the same grapes that work on the High Plains, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, gewürztraminer, albariño, and roussane are a larger part of the mix in the state’s second-most important winegrowing region. The Texas Hill Country is the state’s largest AVA at 9,000 acres, more than 14,000 square miles. It is the third-largest AVA in the United States and contains two sub-AVAs.
Fredericksburg, Texas (Larry D. Moore photo)
The Hill Country AVA demonstrates the diversity of the Texas wine industry. While most Texas wine grapes are grown in the High Plains AVA, the Hill Country AVA is the Texas wine showcase. Centered around Fredericksburg, a charming Texas-German town located between San Antonio and Austin, the Hill Country AVA is the second-most visited AVA in the United States, second only to Napa.
In addition to the big two there are six other Texas AVAs:
• Fredericksburg is a sub-appellation in the Hill Country AVA. It surrounds the town of Fredericksburg.
• Bell Mountain also is a part of the Hill Country AVA; it also is near Fredericksburg.
• Escondido Valley is located in Pecos County in the Big Bend area of western Texas. “Escondido” is Spanish for “hidden.”
• Mesilla Valley primarily is located in New Mexico, with a small portion in Texas along the Rio Grande around El Paso. “Mesilla” is Spanish for “high plateau.”
• Texas Davis Mountains is located in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas surrounding Fort Davis; it is particularly a high altitude AVA with elevations of 4,500-8,300 feet above sea level.
• Texoma is located on the Texas-Oklahoma border north of Dallas. It is the newest Texas AVA.
All these factors—variable weather challenges, vast and variable land conducive to grapegrowing, discovery of grape varieties that thrive in Texas conditions, the economic power of the second-most populated state and the state with the nation’s second-highest GDP—make Texas an exciting frontier in the wine world. Watch this space.
Tasting notes
• William Chris Vineyards Purtell Vineyard Grenache, Texas High Plains 2020 is smooth, easy drinker from a top Texas winemaker and leading Texas wine grape grower. Delivers the svelte sophistication of grenache. Very approachable. Clean, fruit-forward. $21-25 Link to my review
• Becker Vineyards Prairie Cuvee, Texas High Plains 2019 is light, refreshing, full fruity flavor. This is classic Rhône blend well executed using Texas-grown grapes by a substantial player in the state’s ascendency in the wine world. $25 Link to my review
• Wedding Oak Winery Sweetheart Rosé, Texas 2021 is rosé delight with delicious fruit. Elegant and substantial. Complexity from a well-coordinated mélange of Texas red grapes that deliver fruitiness and intriguing florals. Well made Texas wine. $29 Link to my review
• Wedding Oak Winery Chenin Blanc, Texas High Plains, Phillips Vineyard 2023 delivers vivid citrus, tree fruits in clean, precise manner. No interference from oak, nice depth and complexity. $30 Link to my review
• William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre Reserve, Texas High Plains 2018 is a solid, silky presentation of mourvèdre, a grape that has found a home in Texas. Good balance of fruit, acidity, and reserved, elegant tannins. Tasty, well behaved, worthy Texas tipple. $35-38 Link to my review
• Flat Creek Estate Buttero Red Wine Blend 2018 is fruit-forward expression of classic Italian grapes—sangiovese, primitivo, montepulciano—from a quality Texas winery that specializes in Italian grapes. $35 Link to my review
Last round
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. He said his summer was pretty good, too. Wine time.
Last round bonus humor
• If you fret your microwave has been collecting data and your TV set has been spying on you, just remember your vacuum has been gathering dirt on you for years. Wine time.
• This week has been tough—constant rane, hale, gails, drissle, thundre, litnin, hy tydes, tawnaydoes, and rizzing colde. It was a really bad spell of wether. Wine time.
• Why are married women often heavier than single women?
Because single women come home, see what is in the fridge, then go to bed.
Married women come home, see what is in the bed, then go to the fridge. Wine time.
• Man asks this wife: “What would you do if I won the lottery/“
Wife: “I would take my half and leave you.”
Man: “Great. I won $12 today. Here’s your $6. Stay in touch.” Wine time.
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Links worth exploring
Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.
As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.
Dave McIntyre’s WineLine Longtime Washington Post wine columnist now on Substack. Entertaining, informative.
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