2025 in Review: A Year of Growth, Momentum, and Collective Impact for Texas Wine Growers

Blog contributed by Kelly Olson, Executive Director, Texas Wine Growers

It’s amazing how quickly a year can move when you are building something meaningful together. As we looked back on 2025 during our Annual Fall Member Meeting, one theme stood out above everything else: Growth.  Texas Wine Growers showed up for Texas agriculture across the state, through advocacy, education, partnerships, and real results that strengthen the future of 100% Texas-grown wine.

This year was not merely busy.

It was foundational.  

It was visible.  

And most importantly, it was collaborative.

Below is a look back at what we accomplished together in 2025, and where we’re headed in 2026.

Advocacy and Thought Leadership: Elevating the Voice of Texas Wine

Advocacy has always been at the heart of our mission, and in 2025 we made that voice even stronger.  

From January through June, TWG members led advocacy efforts in Farm Winery Permit hearings and dozens of legislative visits. Together, we helped policymakers deepen their understanding of what it means to produce wine rooted entirely in Texas agriculture.

We expanded our reach across the state and beyond:

• Governor’s Office: Strengthened our relationship with Economic Development and Tourism staff through ongoing discussions about the economic impact of Texas-grown wine leveraging fresh 2025 data from the WineAmerica Economic Impact Study to help quantify Texas’ growing influence. 
• Chambers, Tourism, Convention & Visitor Bureaus, and Rotary Clubs: Presented education sessions highlighting Texas grapes as an engine for local tourism and small business.  
• Growing Industry Relationships: educational opportunities with TEXSOM wine professionals and DFW area industry pros to share a deep dive into Texas-grown wine, plus creating a curated Best of Texas Wine List to share with restaurants across the state after the Texas Restaurant Show. 
• Sharing with Texas Consumers: behind the scenes education spotlight sessions with consumers at events like Texas Wine Jam, Culinaria, the Texas Mariculture Oyster Association, and new wine consumers through Texas A&M helped further our mission to educate Texas. 
• Wine Origins Alliance & OIV: Continued building relationships with global partners who champion regionally authentic wine.  And in a highlight moment for the year, we welcomed Wine Origins Alliance Executive Director Jacques-Olivier Pesme to Texas, further cementing TWG’s footprint in the international conversation around regionality. 

Membership Growth: Strengthening the Foundation of TWG

2025 marked one of our strongest years of membership growth across all categories:

+2 Winery members  

+10 Grower members  

+2 Business Partners  

+10 Advocate members

We also created a new membership category for Education Partners, including Uncork Texas Wines, Grayson College, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, Hill Country Wine Academy, Texas State University, and Texas Tech University. We’re excited to continue to partner with these great organizations that share our mission to champion Texas agriculture and teach about why origin matters in winemaking. 

Our commitment to our Grower members has continued to deepen. In 2025, our members voted to remove Grower membership fees through the end of 2027 to better support growers across the state.  In a recent TWG member survey, over 70% of our members rated TWG membership as Extremely Valuable, with a strong focus on advocacy, expanding our social media reach, and strengthening industry relationships across the state.  

Every new member strengthens our collective voice and expands our ability to influence policy, educate consumers, and create real economic opportunity for Texas agriculture.

Expanding our Reach: Sharing the Story of Texas Wine

In 2025, we continued to strengthen Texas Wine Growers visibility across the state. 

We refreshed our onsite brand presence with updated materials for events and introduced a monthly member update to keep our members informed and connected. Our social media channels saw meaningful growth as we expanded educational content and re-launched our LinkedIn page. Across platforms, we saw follower growth upwards of 20%, reflecting increased interest in Texas grown wine among consumers and industry partners.

We continued investing in targeted marketing efforts that helped us reach new audiences efficiently. Strategic partnerships with festivals, hospitality groups, educators, and wine industry organizations brought Texas Wine Growers in front of nearly 2,000 event attendees throughout 2025, helping us tell a consistent story about 100% Texas wine.

Media visibility also increased, with new coverage from statewide and national outlets and more inbound requests to TWG for information about Texas grown wine. Our mailing list grew by 30% as more people sought updates, educational resources, and information on events.

Overall, this was a year where TWG’s presence became more recognizable, more consistent, and more impactful across the state. This momentum provides a strong foundation for expanded outreach in 2026.

Looking Ahead as we turn the calendar to 2026

We’re excited about the opportunities we have this year! Here is a preview of our plans:

• Major consumer tasting on March 1 in Fredericksburg, sponsored by TDA Uncork Texas Wines and GO TEXAN, promoting our members through advertising, PR, and social media  
• Continued support for active AVA petitions and exploration of new AVA possibilities  
• Exploration of export opportunities, including an inbound trade mission from Mexico  
• Expansion of the Best of Texas Wine List and deeper collaboration with the Texas Restaurant Show  
• Promotion of Texas wine in a key international wine competition  
• Growth of Education Partners, Advocate Members, and Grower Members, with free grower membership extended through 2027  
• Expanded collaboration with tourism, economic development, CVBs, chambers and rotaries statewide  
• Sponsorships at TEXSOM Awards and Rootstock

Closing Reflections

2025 reminded us that the strength of Texas wine comes from its people: growers, winemakers, educators, business partners, tasting room teams, advocates, and consumers who believe deeply in Texas agriculture.

Thank you for showing up, advocating, and educating.

For telling the story of Texas-grown wine in your communities.  

For supporting each other.

Because of you, Texas Wine Growers enters 2026 with more clarity, unity, and momentum than ever before.

Cheers to a new year with 100% Texas-grown wine!