Sixty years ago, Texas wine was a curious microdot in the wine world. Two Texas Tech professors piddled around with a few grapevines, originally intending to make grape jelly to supplement their income.
“Doc” McPherson, a chemistry professor, and Robert Reed, a horticultural specialist, wondered if the Texas High Plains around Lubbock could diversify regional crops beyond cotton and corn. Texas Tech encouraged them. In 1969, the pair planted a vineyard with more than 140 different grape varieties to see what worked.
Texas stereotype: it is too hot and too dry for grape production. Flawed stereotype. Yes, there are hot summer days, but at elevations of 3,300-4,000 feet—that’s why it is called the “High Plains”—the diurnal shift, a significant factor in quality wine, could be 40 degrees. There was fast-draining, phylloxera-free soils. A major aquifer to provide irrigation. Relatively cheap land and Texas money to buy it.
Today, the Texas High Plains grows some 85% of Texas grapes in a wide range of varieties. The palette available to Texas grape growers is a signature feature. Heat-tolerant Mediterranean and Rhône varieties tempranillo, mourvèdre, viognier lead the way, but there are many more—likely 75. Texans are still figuring it out.
California dominates U.S. wine with 85% of the market, followed by Washington State with 5%, New York State with 3.5%, Oregon with 1.5%—closely followed by Texas and Virginia also with 1.5%.
From humble beginnings, Texas now has more than 1,000 licensed wineries, 430 full commercial operations. By comparison, Napa has 500 physical wineries. In another comparison, the Texas Hill Country AVA, centered around Fredericksburg, is the second-most visited AVA in the country, trailing only Napa. The Texas wine industry annually contributes more than $20 billion to the state’s economy, supports 75,000 jobs.
Texas is not going to challenge the West Coast wine behemoths. It does have a solid niche in Texas, where most Texas wine is sold. Wider distribution will come. Right now, Texans can kick back at a charming Fredericksburg tasting room and note the state has come a long way from curious profs planning to sell grape jelly between semesters at Texas Tech.
Tasting notes:
• William Chris Vineyards Purtell Vineyard Grenache, Texas High Plains 2020: Smooth, easy drinker from a top Texas winemaker and leading Texas wine grape grower. Delivers svelte sophistication of grenache. $21-25 Link to my review
• Wedding Oak Winery Chenin Blanc, Texas High Plains, Phillips Vineyard 2023: Vivid citrus, tree fruits in clean, precise manner. No interference from oak, nice depth, complexity. $30 Link to my review
Last round: What happens when a microscope crashes into a telescope? You have a kaleidoscope. Wine time.