Skip to main content

October is Texas Wine Month

     The history of wine in Texas starts much the same as everywhere else in the Americas. It began in the 1600’s when Spanish missionaries started cultivating grapes at the Ysleta Mission which was located in the present day El Paso area. Out of these humble beginnings grew an industry that today produces 2.4 million gallons of wine and over $1 billion dollars in revenue annually from its more than 160 wineries.

     This industry has also increased tourism with nearly a million visitors each year taking the opportunity to visit Texas Wine Country. "Texas is one of the fastest-growing wine destinations in the country," says Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. Charming winery bed and breakfasts, boutique cellars and large wineries on huge vineyards provide a diverse experience.

     The Texas Department of Agriculture has created a “Texas Winery Passport” to help you get started on your wine country adventure. This can be picked up at any Texas winery or tasting room. Track your visits by entering each one’s code on the passport and start redeeming for wine traveler’s rewards after just four stops. More information on this can be found at http://www.gotexanwine.org/.

     They also have suggestions on how to plan your trip starting with selecting one of the four regions. There are many miles involved in a complete tour of Texas’ wine country so they have broken it down into eight Texas Wine Trails. Each trail offers a unique taste of each of the different regions. Texas Wine Month is a great time to start as it has developed into a state-wide wine promotion. Sales incentives, winery tours, wine festivals, in-store tastings, restaurant pairings and many other activities will increase the fun. Be sure to consult the calendar of events to get the most from your trip.

     Texas Wine Month is celebrated each October as the harvest winds down at most Texas vineyards. Come now and see why Texas is the 5th largest producer of wine in the U.S. 
    
     No matter where you are this month, be sure to pick up a bottle of Texas’ finest and give a toast to the Lone Star State. As Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said, “The Texas Wine industry has come of age” and that is a very good reason to share a bottle of Texas wine.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 17, 2010 at 11:44 AM

    Great article. Vintage Oaks was proud to celebrate October for Texas Wine Month. We are located in New Braunfels, in the heart of Texas Hill Country. We offer exclusive vineyard living to our residents. Check out this blog about Facts of Texas Wine. http://www.vintageoakstexas.com/2010/12/15/texas-wine-facts/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading Wine Life - Houston.

Popular posts from this blog

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish.  A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...
Post a Comment
Read more

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a  Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...
5 comments
Read more