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| The Bell Mountain Viticultural Area Established in 1986, this appellation was the first in Texas. It covers roughly five square miles on the south and southwestern slopes of Bell Mountain in northeast Gillespie County, about 15 miles north of Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country Viticultural Area Some 110 square miles make up this appellation established in 1988 near Fredericksburg, 80 miles west of Austin. The Texas Hill Country Viticultural Area This is the second-largest Viticultural Area in the United States. Established in 1991, it covers 15,000 square miles and contains part or all of 22 counties. Escondido Valley Viticultural Area Established in 1992, this Viticultural Area covers 50 square miles along Interstate 10 in Pecos County in far West Texas. Texas High Plains Viticultural Area This 12,000 square-mile area covers much of the central and western Texas Panhandle. It was approved in 1993. Davis Mountain Viticultural Area Approved at the close of 1999, this appellation is southwest of the Escondido Valley Viticultural Area. It is the last US appellation area to be recognized in the 20th century. Mesilla Valley Viticultural Area This appellation is located at the far western tip of the Texas border north and west of El Paso. It includes a portion of New Mexico. Texoma Viticultural Area The Texoma viticultural area is in north-central Texas, and includes Montague, Cooke, Grayson and Fannin counties. The area covers approximately 3,650 square miles on the south side of Lake Texoma and the Red River, along the Texas-Oklahoma state line. |
| Nestled between the majestic Franklin Mountains and the high plains where the Rio Grande cuts a lush green valley through the desert creating the Mesilla Valley Appellation are family-owned Texas wine makers Who dat? |
| The winner is Roxanne Myers of Lone Oak Winery. The answer is Woodrose Winery |
| Portrait of Belle Starr Photo courtesy Wikipedia Belle Starr said don't touch my grapes. |
| JIM AND KAREN |
| TEXAS WINERIES & VINEYARDS |
| Although grapes have grown wild along Texas rivers for many a moon, and still do, the history of Texas wine just might begin with the Spaniards. In 1656 a pair of priests, Friar Garcia de San Francisco Y Zuniga, and Friar Gabriel de la Natividad along with ten Indian families were the among the first Spanish settlements. This mission was established in what is known today as Jaurez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso. They made the Indians cultivate the land as part of their missionary work. With cuttings that were brought from Spain, they produced sacred wines for their mass. This practice of blessing the harvest is still carried on today. This became Mission Senora de Guadalupe de los Manos del Paso del Norte. Many of the early commercial wine makers preferred the wild grapes that have always grown in abundance here and still do. I ran across one along the Trinity. The vines are huge. In 1821: Stephen F. Austin said "Nature seems to have intended Texas for a vineyard to supply America with wines." Or, Sam Houston who considered Texas wine to be a luxury and an excellent trading commodity. In 1865, a decade before the French began building our Statue of Liberty, French wine-makers did grafting experiments with American grapes. Some of these grapes carried small plant lice, and they carried a root disease. By the time the Statue of Liberty arrived, the disease had wiped out most of the vineyards in the Cognac region. The French tried every cure from urinating on the vines to planting toads among their roots. Now grapes are normally grafted on to whatever root system works best -- you don't grow them from seeds. So the solution that would work was to return to America for root stocks with a natural immunity to the disease. The problem was that most American root stocks couldn't grow in the chalk-lime soil of Cognac. In 1870 Munson was the second person to graduate from the new land-grant college that was to become the University of Kentucky. Munson's agricultural studies made one powerful impression on him. In 1876 T.V. Munson moved to Denison, Texas, and was accredited for classifying and breeding numerous grape varieties. By the time a French delegation arrived here in 1877 to seek a root stock that would survive in Cognac, Munson's search for the definitive grape had led him to Denison, in northern Texas. Denison proved to be a kind of grape heaven for him. By 1887, the French had been searching in vain for ten years, and Munson had begun publishing articles on his grape hybrids. The French team read his work and steered their long pilgrimage to Texas. And there they found their holy grape. Munson led them to the limestone country of central Texas, (known today as the Texas Hill Country) where he showed them two usable root stocks. French cognac was saved, and Munson went on to become a kind of patron saint of American grape-growing. The phylloxera is a minute six legged insect that is only just visible to the naked eye. It has two long antennae and looks a bit like a tic or a louce or even a cicada when it has wings. The animal attacks the vine from above and from below. It lays its eggs on the leaves. The eggs cause a rash. Other eggs on the roots produces nymphs that attack the fine root hairs. The roots rot away slowly and the plants dies progressively. Phylloxera spread devastatingly accross the Cognac region. Many vineyards were destroyed and land values plummeted. Before the arrival of phylloxera, a hectare (247 acres) was worth 7000 french francs. After the crisis it was not worth more than 600 french francs... For his monumental contributions to France, T. V. Munson was awarded the highest award that could be given a foreign civilian, the Chevalier du Merite Agricola and was inducted into the Legion of Honor in 1888. In 1987 the French Cognac vineyards did a 1.1 billion dollar business in fine brandies. Out of the 126,5 million bottles of cognac sold in 1996, 119 million (94,3%) were exported. The United states of America purchased the most with over 27,7 million bottles, To commemorate the award 100 years later, a Centennial Celebration was held in 1988 in both Cognac and Denison where identical plaques were presented to each city and official delegations visited in both countries. The book, Grape man of Texas gives you more detail. By 1900 there were 26 Texas wineries, and, though not widely known, their products were reported to be quite decent by those who tried them and had occasion to write about them. What could have been the beginning of a thriving industry was virtually wiped out, along with the rest of the American wine industry, when Prohibition became the law of the land in 1919. When repeal came, only one winery remained in Texas - Val Verde Winery of Del Rio, established in 1883, which had survived by selling grapes for home winemaking and to the church. It was not until the early 1970s that interest in viticulture began to re-emerge in Texas. The popularity of wine was growing rapidly in America. Texas itself was becoming more urban and offered a ready and growing market for good wines. And it was about that time that drip irrigation, the technology which had been tested principally in Israel, was discovered to be an excellent tool for grape production in the generally thirsty growing areas in Texas. It was also discovered - again - that those areas provide ideal conditions for growing grapes, similar to the wine regions of France, with sandy, well-drained soil, warm sunny days, cool nights, low humidity, and constant air movement. Drip irrigation was the ingredient that finally completed the formula for an exciting new agricultural enterprise. Research at the University of Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M universities gave impetus to the fledgling industry, which was especially encouraged by experimental plantings on U.T land near Fort Stockton in far West Texas. The Texas Grape Growers Association was formed in 1976, giving the industry an additional boost. The Texas Department of Agriculture got involved around 1983, working with the industry to develop marketing strategy and helping promote Texas wines through tastings, competitions, food and beverage shows, and other high-profile events. The Texas Wine Magazine (Texas Wine & Life was first published in 2008) The industry's growth has been phenomenal, from 50,000 gallons bottled in 1982 to more than 1 million gallons in 1991. Today there are over 140 wineries operating in the Lone Star State. And even though the industry is relatively young, it has become commonplace for Texas wines to win medals at national and international competitions. Currently Texas is making some of the best wines around. Come and try some, Also be on the lookout for the Magazine. TEXAS WINE and LIFE |
Drawing by José Cisneros of Friar Garcia de
San Francisco de Zúñiga looking at plans
for Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los
Manos del Paso del Norte with his assistant,
Friar Gabriel de la Natividad
San Francisco de Zúñiga looking at plans
for Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los
Manos del Paso del Norte with his assistant,
Friar Gabriel de la Natividad
| Lost Creek Winery By Byron Browne It may seem, to an outside observer, that the wine business in central Texas is all one large, family run operation. Vineyards across the Hill Country jut up to one another, forming, as it were, conjoined properties, one winery is within sight of another owned by a sister or brother or uncle, and if one is out of, say, bentonite, another will surely be more than willing to drive some over. This familiarity might sound strange to the observer however, if your winery’s tasting room, the lone building on the property which stored the majority of your wine, was completely washed away by a semi-tsunami last spring, this familial relationship just might be the impetus you would need to get up the next morning. You could ask David and Valerie Brinkman, of Lost Creek Vineyards, what motivations they were able to muster last year on the 28th of June because they experienced exactly the scenario described above on June 27th, 2007. The tasting room at Lost Creek vineyard was a total loss, washed away by what their website describes as a “30 foot wall of water”. Mrs. Brinkman lamented that the destruction was so incredible, “the truck was in the tree, the refrigerator was on the roof.” When I asked Mrs. Brinkman about the degree of the deluge, she smiled the fragile smile of resignation, “ I think it was about 17 inches in just a couple of hours.” The precarious proximity of the tasting room, next to the creek dividing the vineyard from the property’ s home and other buildings, was one small reason for the destruction. Although, the real culprit for the creek’s waters breaching their banks occurred farther down stream. However, Mrs. Brinkman asked that I not mention any names or assign any culpability. Suffice it to say, imagine the kitchen sink backing up because someone forgot to turn the disposal on. The wines of Lost Creek are exceptional and luckily, the few acres of vines that are on site and comprise the majority of the winery’s production abilities, were relatively unaffected by the storm last year. During the recent Austin Wine Festival, I had the opportunity to taste the “Buddy’s Blend”, a delightfully rich and multi-layered red which is a composite of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet. I was pleased to find out that, despite the winery’s injuries, this wine is still in production and we can all enjoy another harvest soon. In addition to the “Buddy’s Blend”, Lost Creek is also producing a Merlot, a Chardonnay (which had a slight oak finish and a wonderful, tawny color), and a new offering of a Blanc du Bois; a crisp white that would be ideal for Texas summers. In order to keep theses fine wines flowing, the Brinkman’s are rebuilding their tasting room. As it was initially, the new facility is centered around a late 19th century Brunswick-Balke-Collender (of pool table fame) oak bar. As the Lost Creek website will inform you, the piece was restored by David Brinkman himself and, as luck or Fate would have it, this unique fixture of Americana was the sole survivor of last year’ s devastation. Due to its immense heft, the bar was the only item not floating, literally, down the street during and immediately after the rains. Mrs. Brinkman described how the ’04 and’05 wines in the tasting room, again, the vast majority of their entire stock, were carried away on slight waves to areas far removed from the winery. She laughed recalling that, “People were grabbing bottles of wine floating down the highway!” The next morning was undoubtedly the hardest. Where do you begin after your entire inventory has been swept away? Indeed, when the facility itself is missing, where do you go to try and start over? Luckily for the Brinkmans, the camaraderie of Texas winemakers is closer to filial affection than simple collegial appreciation. After the flood, the owners of Fallcreek winery offered much in the way of logistical advice, the owners of Spicewood winery, already looking to the future, brought in shipping boxes and chemicals to clean the bottles for the next year’s production. With a bit of determination and the inherent fraternity of their neighbors, the Brinkmans are hard at work restoring the winery to its antediluvian status. The new tasting room promises to be extraordinary. Beyond the Brunswick bar’s restoration to its primary purpose, the Brinkmans are building an amphitheatre for outdoor performances and have plans to install an event center for receptions and parties. The tasting room is slated for reopening on July 4th of this year and I believe they just might make it. During the Austin Wine Festival, David Brinkman was nowhere to be seen- he was back home, working on the property, putting things to right. I have been thinking on it and, I believe in all of the wine articles I have written in the past 18 months, the weather, or rather, its foul temperament, has featured prominently in all of them. But, this is Texas and native Texans are fully aware that nature tries to keep us entertained by exhibiting all of her capabilities in as short a time period as she is able. If you’re impressed with the size of the hail just wait a few minutes, it may become snow. Some winemakers I have spoken to seem to feel that this is nature’s way of trying to shake them off. However, probably more likely, she is testing their resolve and fortitude. Clearly, the Brinkmans have passed their test. They are not only still here, they are coming back stronger than they were. The new tasting room and its accompanying fixtures are going to be fantastic. The grand re- opening on July 4th will include the culinary offerings of chef Steve Howard from Bon- Terra restaurant in Fredericksburg, the entertainment is to be provided by John Arthur Martinez, a guitarist and singer whose more recent achievements include a second place finish on the television program ‘Nashville Star’ and then, of course, there will be the Lost Creek wines. The Brinkmans have stuck around even in the face of a harsh adversity. While they had their moments of doubt, their own resolve and grit, coupled with a little help from their friends, are about to result in extraordinary products. Undoubtedly, the whole process is exhausting, risky and intimidating. However, at the heart of the matter, it is all very simple. As Mrs. Brinkman stated, “We just wanna’ get people to come on out.” |