Blog contributed by Kelsey Kramer, Hill Country Wine Academy
Is it difficult to picture the landscape of the Texas wine industry? Well, this may be because there is no wine region of the world that Texas can be directly compared to! Factors in terrain, climate, grape varieties, winemaking, and more set our state apart from the world of wine at large, but finding those familiar points can help us get together a unique map of Texas wine. Let’s look at 10 examples of regions which have similarities to the Texas wine industry.
1. Australia – Transporting grapes over long distances
In most wine regions of the world the grape-growing is centered around the place where the wine is made. This may seem like a “no-brainer” for any wine region, but Texas does this quite differently out of need! If you are visiting several of over 100 wineries along Texas Highway 290, you’ll notice a lot of “Texas High Plains” on wine labels, which is about 400 miles away, and growing well over half of all Texas grapes! Travel to Australia and you may notice this in common.
Inland Australia and the Texas High Plains both have dry arid and semi-arid climates that are great for growing ripe grapes, but that are less suited to the delicate and temperature-controlled process of winemaking and wine storage, at least on a large scale. Wine is made in these growing regions for some producers, however, the coastal areas of Australia where much winemaking happens is just like where Texas chooses to make most of its wine – surrounded by large cities and a more temperate climate with access to both water and the people who make winemaking possible!
2. Burgundy – Separate growing sites by “terroir”
Burgundy, France may be the most famous region in the world for its well-known classified sites (called lieux-dits), which are based mostly on slight differences in terrain and soil. Every lieux-dit is said to produce wines that can be consistently identified by where they were grown, and even between neighboring vineyards!
The culture of identifying the significance of a plot of land, and how this significance is expressed through wine, is also found widely in the modern Texas wine industry. In a Texas tasting room you are likely to see a specific vineyard stated on a label, hear the word “terroir (derived from the French word for land), talk about soil, or speak to a wine producer who believes that wine “making” begins with wine “growing.” If this trend continues, select vineyard sites will become well-recognized and beloved by consumers who feel a true connection to the land.
3. Beaujolais – Harvest our finest grapes early
Cool climate regions are well-known for a long and slow growing season, and sometimes, a struggle to fully ripen grapes before winter. In warm and sunny Texas and Beaujolais, France, over-ripeness may be the concern!
Much of Texas has a sufficiently warm climate to make sweet and ripe grapes, and the northern half of Beaujolais has growing conditions that emulate this warmth through dry conditions and heat-retaining soils. For Beaujolais’ top, world-renowned wines, ripeness and concentration are achieved faster than for the simpler Beaujolais grapes that are grown in the cooler south half. The warmer northerly temperatures lead to well-concentrated, ripe grapes quickly! For Texas and Beaujolais, over-ripeness can taste uninteresting at best, and so a bit of an earlier harvest can give these grapes more liveliness, better ability to age, and top quality.
4. Austria – Irrigation for conservation
Much of the European Union restricts the use of irrigation, except where and when it is absolutely necessary, but water-conscious countries know that irrigation is not the enemy of water conservation. Viticultural improvements over time have led to conservative irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, which is common to most of Texas and the drier half of Austria where wine grapes are grown!
Grapevines don’t need much water to survive and thrive, making them a worthy crop for dry and semi-dry regions, as long as there is enough water available. Irrigation is expensive to establish, and where there is little water naturally for the vines, there is typically little water with which to use for irrigation as well! So, dedicated research-focused regions looking to strengthen their vines to handle water extremes (too much to too little water) may invest in water trials with drip irrigation, giving minimal water at just the right time for selected tolerant grape varieties. Sufficient water to establish the vineyard will eventually turn into just enough water to encourage roots to grow deep in search of buried water cavities. Research culture is likely to tie Austria and Texas is many more ways, now and in the future.
5. Provence – Make savory rosés
In the warm and windy South of France, tough grape varieties bask in the sun to create thick skins and spice notes. These varieties are typically adapted to hot and sunny regions, and over time have built up brooding aromas that complement fruitiness is wine. Spiced Grenache, peppery Syrah, smokey Mourvèdre, brambly Carignan, and meaty Cinsaut make excellent rich red wines, but when used for fruit-driven rosé’s there is a whole new element.
Provence in South France has rightly become famous for their lightly colored yet not-too-fruity pink wines, like many a Texas rosé wine made from the same grapes. These wines, based on the bold grapes commonly found in Rhône and Provence, are widely planted in Texas, where rosé wines will continue to be made with a smokey edge, an herbaceous lift, or a stoney minerality.
6. Argentina – Plant at high elevations
When asked where in the world high elevation vineyards are, the common answer is “Argentina.” Well associated with grapevines planted at the base of the slopes of the Andes, vineyards are commonly at 2,500+ feet above sea level. It is this level of elevation that moderates the warm temperatures enough to have successful commercial viticulture, especially considering the close proximity of northern Argentina to the equator. The very same is true of Texas!
Where conditions are exceptional, Texans grow grapes, and innumerous parts of the state have these conditions. The Texas High Plains may be the most recognizable elevated region of Texas at 3,000 to 4,000 feet, but the “little Rockies” in West Texas have vineyards that top even this, and the northern half of the Texas Hill Country is nothing to snuff at, with 1,500 feet and up being common. This level of elevation is not a commonality across most wine regions of the world and so sets Argentina and Texas apart from the classics.
7. Washington – Use a variety of varieties
Many wine regions of the world become well-known for just two or three grape varieties – but not here. Washington and Texas are among the regions that are just better suited to a wide variety of black and green grapes, all with different flavors, characteristics, and preferences for growing.
Both states tout 70 or more different grape varieties with no one or two grapes representing the region as a whole. Here, blends are common, and diversifying plantings is a chance at survival. In extreme growing conditions, where unpredictable weather events are common, several grape varieties may be grown in the same vineyard to maintain balance through all kinds of yearly weather patterns. This practice even allows for sustainability in years where frost or hail or drought affects some varieties and vineyards but spares others. Coupled with a thirst for experimentation and many micro-climates, Texas and Washington will likely both continue to be known for a range in their wine offerings.
8. Madeira – Cook our dessert wines
Dessert wine, fortified with extra alcohol or not, is common in any wine region as a kind of “bonus” style of wine to complement a mostly dry wine list. Over time a few key styles have become prominent enough to be replicated regularly throughout the world, for example, Port, Ice wine, and Madeira.
While all three styles are recreated in Texas, there is one that maybe makes more sense than the rest – the cooked one! Madeira wine is named for the Maderia Islands of Portugal, where these often sweet, high alcohol wines originated. The styles are essentially cooked, and in this process, turn from pale to brown with enticing aromas of dried fruit and toffee. Texas is a fantastic region to practice this same technique – we have no shortage of sun and heat! Not only is this wine in the right place to bake in a barrel under the Texas sun, but it is known for being quite friendly alongside both sweet and savory dishes. Pecan pie and barbecue are both primed to become classic pairings to Texas’ maderised wine.
9. New York – Work with hybrid varieties
Like New York, there are certain extreme conditions in the state of Texas which only grapes with American parentage can manage. Hybrid grape varieties are a result of two different grape species creating a brand-new vine variety, and with properties from both parents. When it goes right, these properties include incredible flavors alongside a certain amount of hardiness to the extremes or weather and disease pressure.
For New York these extremes include frigid temperatures, snow and ice that prevent more sensitive vines from being consistently successful. In Texas it is disease pressure that comes along with humidity along the Gulf Coast. Here is where Pierce’s Disease can ruin entire vineyards, except when planted to the favorite PD resistant grape varieties Blanc du Bois (green) and Lenoir (black). Subject to much scrutiny from those who prefer purebred species to make wine, the popularity of planting select hybrid varieties in both New York and Texas is due to necessity and with proof of quality wines produced. For these extreme parts of the states, sustainability and quality are at the front of mind for growers who would otherwise be replanting their vineyards every couple of years.
10. Uruguay – Grow Tannat
Plantings of the Tannat grape are rare from its birthplace around the Pyrénées Mountains, but it is being revived elsewhere. Uruguay in the South American continent has named Tannat its national variety! Today, it is rare to find Tannat elsewhere, and when it is, the grape makes up a small part of red wine blends. That is, of course, different for both Uruguay – and Texas! Tannat is quickly becoming a leading grape in the Texas Hill Country area where it withstands threats from humidity and likens to the warm and sunny conditions. Luckily for those who love a bold red wine, Tannat looks to be a defining grape variety that is here to stay.
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