Zen and the Art of Texas Wine

More wine talk from a wine novice here. I am a wine consumer and I love to talk about Texas wine almost as much as I like to consume it. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

From what I have seen and read about Texas wine, it takes something special to have staying power in the industry. Call it moxie, chutzpah, cojones, or whatever, but it does take something extra special to stick around. Think about it. Where else on this planet would a wine industry have to encounter the weather extremes that Mother Nature throws at this great state of ours on a regular basis? Take this year for example, not only have we dealt with this enduring drought that has ebbed and flowed for the better part of the last 5 years, but a once-in-a-lifetime late season freeze dealt the Texas wine industry a kick in the pants that will affect the industry for several years to come. If that wasn't enough, a spring hailstorm damaged portions of the Texas Hill Country wine crop. Umm, yeah...only in Texas. And then there was the whole "For Sale in Texas Only" maelstrom. 

Hey look, I am as gung-ho about anything Texas as the next Texan, but the rules set by the Go Texan program benefit the Texas wine industry and should not be viewed as semantics fodder. The utterly fantastic article written by Jeff Cope is a must read primer on this subject: Messina Hof replies to For Sale in Texas Only and Go Texan. As it has been so far this year weather-wise, the "For Sale in Texas Only" label may need to be used more often than in years past because there may not be enough Texas fruit. All I know (and feel) from this spat is that the way the rules and regulations are set up, the "FSiTO" should not be a red badge of infamy, but as tool to help wineries navigate through and around the wine industry as a whole. Plus, at last check all of these wineries were still within the state of Texas, and that should be the most important takeaway in this discussion.

Jeff also touched on something that I found rather disheartening, especially since it comes from a Texas born and based company: HEB may reset their wine shelves because, to quote Messina Hof's Paul Bonarrigo, "big guys want to control and not let Texas wines expand." Mmm...why would a Texas grown company be willing to be manipulated in such a way? (I could come up with a few rea$on$ why) Of course, I think this is funny, in a non-comical way, that this comes from a company that has billboards throughout parts of Texas (saw one in San Antonio) claiming that it is the top-selling retailer of Texas wine. (!!!) 

And then there's this: a few days after a return to the Metroplex from our summer vacation, we swung by a Central Market to see their Texas wine shelves, a little dusty, apart from the rest of the wine selections, with little or no labeling saying these are Texas wines. Plus the shelving unit served more as a wall between two different sections of the store than a functioning wine display! My impression? Texas wine, an afterthought. Again, very sad coming from a home-grown company that touts its Texas wine selling prowess. Disappointing.

I wanted to finish up this post by talking about, or wishing there was a way to keep the Texas wine industry from having to depend on non-Texas fruit to make up the difference on an as needed basis, such as a severe weather event, with some sort of state-wide wine co-op. But in the midst of getting these thoughts organized, Jeff posted another great write-up, this time about this exact topic: the need for more vineyards. His article, Grower Field Day and Benefit Dinner talks about events co-sponsored by Texas Hill Country Wineries and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Viticulture and Fruit Lab that start on September 27th at William Chris Vineyards in Hye, Texas. These events are geared at educating current and future Texas Hill Country growers with varied topics and seminars related to the growing Texas viticulture. And of course, what would a wine event be without a wine tasting? There will a couple of those, too.