“Roadmap to Sustainability in Texas Wine”: An overview and invitation

Blog contributed by Colleen C. Myles, Ph.D. Professor Texas State University

What is sustainability?

What is sustainability in wine?

What is sustainability in Texas wine?

These are the questions a small but dedicated group of Texas wine growers and winemakers have been asking for over a year now (and indeed man of them much longer, but not together in this fashion). Although each has their perspectives and needs as producers, they all share some common goals, namely: promoting and pursuing sustainability in Texas wine. In order to promote or pursue a thing, though, you need to understand it. So my team at I have been working closely with these sustainability stakeholders to discover what sustainability does look like, could look like, and will look like for Texas wine—and collectively we’ve been working together to try and make it happen, writing a “roadmap,” so to speak, for sustainability in Texas wine. 

Within the “Roadmap to Sustainability in Texas Wine” project, sustainability is conceptualized as tripart, encompassing environmental as well as economic and equity components. My team and I, via the Fermented Landscapes Lab, with extensive assistance and expertise from Matt Roberts, Claryce Bosson, Mik Lopez, and Nicole Anguiano in particular, have been working alongside Texas winegrowers and winemakers to conceptualize and, crucially, operationalize sustainability in their practices and process. Our current project partners include (in alphabetical order): Ab Astris Winery, Becker Vineyards, Meusebach Creek Vineyards, Michael Ros Winery, Pedernales Cellars, and William Chris Vineyards. 

We decided early on that it would be wise to establish some baseline data on current practices and outcomes in order to set appropriate, feasible, definable goals for progress. We determined the best way to do this was to conduct voluntary sustainability self-assessments. However, rather than try to draft our sustainability metrics from scratch, we turned to the dozen or so sustainability certification programs in the United States to find a set of existing guidelines to use for these baseline assessments. The “Roadmap to Sustainability” project participants selected the Sustainability In Practice (SIP) certification (managed by Vineyard Team in California) to use as their template for a baseline (self-)assessment. In Spring 2024, our partners spent hours and hours digging sifting through their policies, procedures, and records to conduct these self-assessments and my team has spent hours and hours compiling, cleaning, and analyzing the data. 

Thusly, through a massive collective effort with this small group of producers, we have been working to identify shared goals for sustainability; fostering effective collaboration across the group; and producing shared guidelines for sustainability best practices within those organizations. This work has occurred alongside outreach and education for other producers who wish to stay informed, whether for their professional or organizational development or in order to “stay in the know” so they can get involved at a later date. 

Further, while we all agreed that not all producers in Texas would necessarily want to participate in a formal wine sustainability certification were that an option, we also figured—and knew—that some might like to do so if that had the opportunity. A rigorous and effective sustainability paradigm must be based in place, so I reached out to Vineyard Team as an emissary for the group and asked if they might be open to modifying their program to accommodate Texas producers, and they were willing to consider such a proposal if we prepared it. Thus, some of our collective efforts have been targeted toward preparing a proposal of necessary adjustments to the official SIP certification to ensure the eligibility of Texas participants. That proposal is now under review. 

However, regardless of whether SIP certification becomes a real possibility for Texas wine producers, through our efforts we hope to develop guiding principles for wine sustainability in the state and foster a durable partnership for those seeking to improve their sustainability practices. Such a partnership could be valuable for sharing strategies and tools, maintaining a commitment to this challenging work, making progress clear to consumers, and celebrating successes. 

Those interested in learning more about these pioneering efforts to promote the sustainability of the Texas wine industry—inclusive of its environmental, social, and economic components—can reach me via my profile in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University. We look forward to hearing from you!