Texas celebrates its maturing wine industry

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

John King (above, left) pours vino for Madelyn Naber, owner of Flat Creek Estate Winery located in Marble Falls, at the recent 'Taste of Texas" festival in Austin which offered opportunities for sampling of Texas wines. The festival was hosted, in part, by the Texas Department of Agriculture. -- Staff photos by Taylor

October 16, 2003 -- Watch out California and move over imported wines! Texas is coming on strong in the vineyard and wine industry!

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has recognized October as Texas Wine Month, and celebrations are under way across the state, starting in Austin.

Recently, the Saveur Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, Central Market and the TDA teamed up to offer several festivals called "Taste of Texas," and guests were able to sample Texas wines from around a dozen Texas vineyards.

The first of these events was in Austin, followed by Houston, and a tasting party is being planned in the Fort Worth area.

"The Texas Department of Agriculture is proud to work with these companies promoting Texas wines in support of our viticultural industry," said Bobby Champion Jr., TDA's director for wine marketing.

In Austin, guests were greeted in a large, white tent outside of the Central Market on Lamar, complete with food, wine and music. Each paid a $25 fee to attend, and a portion of each ticket will go to the Wine and Food Foundation to award culinary scholarships.

With the recent change to the Texas constitution, Texas wineries will soon be able to send their wines to addresses across Texas. Up until this time, it has been against the law. Texas producers are looking forward to the date when the law goes into affect so they can break into the lucrative mail order business for their products.

"We're quickly gaining world-class attention. Wine Spectator magazine just named the Texas Hill Country as the top emerging wine region in the United States, and our wineries across the state have been winning more and more prestigious medals in national and international competitions," said Susan Combs, TDA commissioner, in a recent press release.

TDA's Director of Wine Marketing Bobby Champion (photo at left, far left) joined Leslie Brecken with Saveur, Pam Blanaton and Kevin Williamson, both with Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, and TDA's Terri Barber for a photo. -- Staff photos by Taylor

According to reports, there are around 3,000 acres of vineyards in Texas, with more coming on board all the time. There are several areas of Texas where the soil and climate conditions seem just what the winemaker ordered, and informational meetings are popping up over the state to help producers decide if they want to diversify their property into vineyards.

The Texas Hill Country even has their own "wine trail," complete with maps and locations of wineries. Located between the San Antonio and Austin areas, there are at least 16 wineries already producing and selling wine, including Alamosa Wine Cellars in Bend, Chisholm Trail Winery in Fredericksburg, and Comfort Cellars Winery in Comfort.

According to the new legislation recently passed, Texas wineries can now ship wine to customers within the state, and purchases can be made by phone, fax or online.

The TDA reports that "in the past two decades, Texas wine production has surged from 14,000 gallons in 1979 to a high of 1.6 million gallons in 1997."

Reports show that Texas is now the country's fifth-leading, wine-producing state and home to more than 40 wineries.

For more information concerning the wine industry in Texas, you can go to the TDA website at www.gotexanwine.org.