Is Texas Wine Country? In Vino, Veritas
by Howie Doyle

“Texas is no California.” That is the sentiment, if not the actual words, that prevails among the wine cognoscenti when it comes to domestically-produced wines. But as we’ve shown the world in so many areas, it is not wise to underestimate Texas when it comes to anything. Sixty-one bonded Texas wineries, several of them located within a two-hour drive of our area, are out to prove that wines produced from Texas soil can be world-class.
     The historical significance of wine is well known and need not be rehashed in this article. Plato once noted, In vino veritas, or “in wine is truth.” As you read this article, keep that in mind. It applies to Texas wines on a number of different levels.
     The history of Texas winemaking precedes that of California by almost two hundred years. It reaches back to 1662 when two Franciscan monks and ten proseletyzed Indian families began planting and tending grape cuttings from Mexican missions at the Mission of Ysleta, located near El Paso. Wine production continued at this location through the years, not ceasing until the early 1900’s.
     In the 19th century, European settlers in Texas attempted to plant the Vitis vinifera vine, the major source of Old World wine grapes, from their native lands. These vineyards didn’t fare well in the Texas growing climate, but where there is a will there is a way, and these European transplants turned to native Mustang grape vines, which provided a readily available source of grapes for making wine. The Mustang grape was made palatable by adding large amounts of sugar during the fermentation process.
     Today, few would tout the Texas Mustang as a desirable grape for winemaking. Fortunately, vintners have become more savvy at determining which Vitis strains will thrive in Texas soil. French grapes are preferred by consumers, carrying familiar names such as Cabernet, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel. In the last few years, however, Texas wineries have begun growing Italian and Spanish grapes, promising an expanding variety of Texas wines for wine connoisseurs around the world.
     Both off-the-beaten path micro-wineries and multi-million dollar wineries have learned that sales direct to the consumer can make a critical difference on the bottom line. Some wineries sell almost all of their wines through their tasting room, others may sell as little as five percent directly. A visit to a Texas winery is a process of discovery, because the experience might resemble a trip to a retail boutique, a working farm, or a tourist mecca, depending on the winery’s operations. Some wineries grow their own grapes, others don’t. Most wineries offer tasting rooms and relaxed browsing of not only their wine offerings, but a broad array of gift items ranging from crystal flutes to wineglass charms, from corkscrews and bottle toppers to bottle racks. Some even sell T-shirts and caps on which their distinctive brand is emblazoned. Many carry other locally-grown agricultural products as well.

A Taste for Texas
“In the old days, we used to say, ‘First you taste it with your eyes, then you taste it with your nose. Only then do you taste it with your mouth,’” states Wes Marshall, author of the new book, “The Wine Roads of Texas.” There is a disciplined protocol to wine tasting, one that creates a class of “arrogant wine lover, nose in the air, waxing rhapsodic in the secret codes of the trade while swishing and swirling $100 wine in a $75 glass.” But the most important question, says Wes, is ‘did you like it?’
     “No analysis, just decide whether it’s something you’d want a second drink of,” he asserts. “If so, enjoy. If not, look for a place to dump the rest.” Marshall, himself a renowned expert who writes a wine column for the Austin Chronicle, says that few things are as annoying as an ‘expert’ who confuses personal likes and dislikes with the absolute truth.
     “It’s a bad wine,” says Wes, “is almost always an incorrect statement.”
     The nomenclature of wine descriptions is dizzying, highfalutin, and imperfect in describing the sensory experience associated with enjoyment of the grape. Wes challenges would-be wine critics to “take a pen and paper and try to write about eating an apple without using the word apple. You can discuss how it feels, tastes, looks and smells – but you can’t use the word apple. So how does an apple smell if you can’t say ‘apple-y?’ You see the point? That’s what we have to face in describing a wine.”
     Hence the lexicon: tart, oaky, grassy, crisp, green, fruity, tannic, etc. Marshall tries to say what the wine tastes, smells and looks like to him. “Some Zinfandels remind me of Dr. Pepper. What’s in Dr. Pepper? Cherry and prune juice, I think. I could say that the wine tastes like cherries and prunes, but I love to use the Dr. Pepper description.” He adds, “Especially in a roomful of wine conoisseurs. Half of them puff up and act as though I had brought an electric guitar to the opera. The other half snickers nervously and wonders if I’m being serious.”
     For the person wanting to learn more about Texas wines, there is no better way than to visit the winery. You can sample a variety of wines in the tasting room. There you will sip a little bit of each wine and decide for yourself whether you want a bottle of it sitting on your table. In a tasting room, like at a wine tasting event, you can learn much about the various wines just by their contrast with each other. By comparing and contrasting the bouquets and flavors you can form distinct and lasting impressions that cannot be established as easily just by taking a bottle home and drinking it unaccompanied.
     These impressions, which comprise your opinions of the various wines, will travel with you to future wine tastings as you begin to build a mental library of descriptive terms, preferences, and passions. Before you know it, you too will be a wine lover – if not a bona fide wine connoisseur.

Texas Wineries
Wes Marshall asks, “Do you know how to make a small fortune in the winery business?”
     Then he answers, “Start with a large one.”
     Despite the travails and pitfalls associated with operating a profitable winery, a select group of people make it work, motivated by their passion for the grape and their desire to put Texas wines on the world map. Texas is now the fifth largest wine producing state in the country.
     “I see distinct parallels between the Napa Valley in the middle of the last century and Texas as this century begins,” asserts Robert Mondavi, California winery industry leader, in the introduction to “The Wine Roads of Texas.” “First, both needed to pay attention to the grape varieties and the viticulture. Second was the need to adjust to the climate, then the need for committed pioneers and financial support to make growth happen. We realized all that then, and Texas is realizing it now.”
     Each Texas winery is as unique as its owner, and in total this group of entrepreneurs can be considered pioneers as they work toward establishing Texas as a known source of quality wines. With their success, our state may indeed be considered “wine country” some day.

Red River Winery - Old Town Spring
“We started the process of becoming a bonded winery in July of 1995,” stated Mark Woolington, who, with his wife Tina, owns and operates the Red River Winery in Old Town Spring. “It took us three months to become bonded. When that finally happened in October, we still did not have a permit to label and sell our own wines, so we were forced to look to other Texas wineries in order to have product on the shelves during the holiday season.”
     Among the wineries he reached out to was the Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, Texas. Messina Hof wines sold extremely well that year. This not only helped establish the Red River Winery, but was the foundation of a lasting relationship. Red River Winery quickly became a leading distributor of Messina Hof wines in Texas, and they still sell products from the winery in Bryan today.
     Mark’s father is a vintner, owner of Robert Bartunek Winery in Enid, Oklahoma. While he liked the idea of being in the wine business, Mark remembers the hard summers he put in at his father’s vineyards. He decided that he would buy juice from other makers and make his own wine. He chose Old Town Spring as a location because of the large amount of foot traffic.
     Red River, considered a micro-winery, buys wines from vineyards in the Lubbock area. These wines arrive in 60-gallon barrels, rough-filtered and cold stabilized to prevent crystallization. The Woolingtons then fine-filter the wine and blend it to create a wine that is both pleasing to the palate and characteristic of the offerings of Red River Winery.
     The best selling wine at Red River is their Blush. The Woolingtons have created an award-winning Ruby Cabernet, for which they are well known. It is a full-bodied wine, “with oak on the nose and a fair amount of ripe fruit,” says Wes Marshall, adding, “My favorite of their red wines.”
     Mark Woolington’s personal favorite, however, is his own Cabernet Sauvignon (or “Cab” as wine-people call it). According to Mark, “Texas grape growers do a great job of growing this particular grape. It has adapted well to the Texas climate.” In France, Cab is the major ingredient in Bordeaux. It ranges from being smooth and mellow to fruity and rich, and is used in everything from sweet reds to rose wines to French-styled clarets.
     “A wine can be called a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Pinot Noir, or a Merlot, as long as it contains at least 75 percent of that grape,” said Woolington. “That means that we can add up to 25 percent of other grape varieties into the blend to enhance its flavor and make it unique to our winery.”
     Visitors to the Red River Winery will feel as though they have stepped into a Texas wine boutique. Wines are the central element – Red River wines particularly – but there is also a large selection of home and kitchen accents and accessories to complement the wine experience. “While they set out to make a living from wine sales,” comments Wes Marshall, “they were making more from accessories. With the growth north of Houston, people seemed to have an insatiable desire for wine trinkets.” Red River winery has also increased their sales volume by offering a customized label program for corporate and personal gift-giving.

Messina Hof Winery - Bryan
In Paul Bonarrigo’s family, the first born male is always named Paul, and at the age of 16 begins the apprenticeship process for the family’s 200 year old winemaking tradition.
     When your Italian ancestors have been making fine wines since the reign of Napoleon, you are bound to pick up a thing or two. Sixth-generation vintner Paul Bonarrigo’s Messina Hof Winery, whose vines were first planted in 1977, brings those centuries of expertise to bear in their selection of award-winning wines (Messina Hof has won more international wine competition awards than any other Texas winery).
     Owned and operated by Paul and his wife Merrill, Messina Hof is named for their respective ancestral homelands (Paul’s: Messina, Sicily, and Merrill’s: Hof, Germany). It has been 20 years since Messina Hof sold their first bottle of commercial wine. That year the winery produced 1,300 gallons of wine; two decades later the winery is producing 265,000 gallons of wine a year from 30 different varietals, placing it in the top three producing wineries in the state.
     Messina Hof is the second largest tourist attraction in Brazos County, with 200,000 guests per year, and has been selected by the Houston Chronicle as “Best Day Trip.” Consisting of a winery, restaurant, and bed and breakfast, Messina Hof offers a well-rounded day of immersion in wine culture. The facilities are nestled among 40 acres of active vineyards on an estate of 100 total acres.
     The winery’s tasting room is the logical first stop for a visitor. Stocked with hundreds of bottles of red, white, and blush wines (along with a selection of dessert and specialty wines), the showroom potentially offers an hour or more of browsing pleasure before the visitor even reaches the bar. Most of the bottles stocked in the showroom are personally signed by vintner Paul Bonarrigo, but that’s not the only reason to visit the winery in person in order to procure the wines.
     The tasting bar is attended by staff members who deftly balance the jobs of making patrons feel welcome, keeping their glasses full, and educating them about the different varietals of grape available at Messina Hof. Visitors can sip and swish seven days a week, and will feel nothing but gracious hospitality during the experience.
     Behind the tasting room is a large warehouse facility in which harvested grapes enter, and emerge as one of the dozens of bottled wines Messina Hof crafts. During the grapes’ dormant months the facility is used for bottling and distribution. In the early spring it comes alive with the sights and sounds of the field, as robust grapes are crushed (often by visiting tourists) in a time-honored first seasonal rite of winemaking.
     The Villa bed and breakfast inn gives the Messina Hof compound the feel of a European estate. Situated next to a small lake that also borders the winery, it is a relatively new addition to the winery grounds. Outfitted like a four-star hotel, 10 individually themed rooms are decorated with top-flight antiques and rarities, many of them from the Bonarrigo family collection.
     As one enters the foyer they will immediately encounter the intricately-detailed Bonarrigo dining table, which dates back the the 1400’s and is a museum-quality piece.
     The Lancelot & Guinevere room has a bedroom suite that is about 400 years old. These old-world touches create a very distinctive ambience that is quite different from the more common country-antique motifs of many Texas bed and breakfast inns.
     When it’s time for lunch, visitors often make their way to the Vintage House Restaurant. The influence of the grape is to be found wherever one looks in Vintage House, as the restaurant and its sunroom look out over rolling fields of grapevines. An entire wall inside the restaurant is covered floor to ceiling with oak barrels in which Messina Hof’s Papa Paulo Port is aged. Another wall has majestic 11-foot stained glass windows dating from the 19th century. The Vintage House’s Executive Chef is Jimmy Mitchell, formerly with the prestigious Rainbow Lodge in Houston.
     Paul Bonarrigo is an apostle for the Texas wine industry, ardently supporting the success of not only his winery, but the industry. He is currently serving his third term as President of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association (TWGGA). Bonarrigo says the Texas wine industry is undergoing a genuine boom period, with 61 licensed wineries in the state (about 47 are currently producing and selling wine). When Messina Hof first planted its vines in 1977 there were only three wineries in Texas. “It’s very rewarding to see the changes that have occurred over the last 25 years,” said Bonarrigo. “We have a strong, viable industry that can grow market share, provide markets for new wineries, and help new vineyards and wineries to succeed earlier so that their success can inspire others to join the industry.”
     Messina Hof hosts weddings, receptions, corporate events and retreats, parties, and (of course) wine tastings. The impetus to serve these different areas is all about educating people about wine culture, and immersing them in the experience. In addition to the purported health benefits of wine consumption (see sidebar), to the Bonarrigos wine and winemaking are a way of life that they are passionate about.
     Paul Bonarrigo’s son, Paul, VII, has begun his apprenticeship, and someday he will be responsible for the quality and success of Messina Hof wines. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also a family tradition.

Wimberley Valley Wines - Old Town Spring
Located in the Texas county of Hayes, on 30 acres of land between Wimberley and Driftwood, Wimberley Valley Winery is nestled among century-old live oaks at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. The winery, run by the husband and wife team of Dean and Jana Valentine, has been producing its distinctive wines since 1983. At the time it was founded by partners Dean Valentine and Howard Pittman, the Texas wine industry had yet to mature. Several wineries were founded around the same time, and most of them are out of business now. In those days, Dean said, “the more we sold, the more we lost.”
     In 1992 the vintners stumbled on a discovery: a small barrel of sweet red wine that they made sold out in a single weekend. This lead Dean to the realization that they were trying to sell people wine that they didn’t want. “You have to find a niche that makes you more accessible to the public. What we’re doing is going for the 85 percent who don’t like wine and trying to bring them into the fold. It’s working.” This would seem to be a sound strategy in a beer-drinking state like Texas, where only 12 percent of the people are wine drinkers.
     Because the winery is located in a dry county, Wimberley Valley Wines’ tasting room is located in Old Town Spring, just a short walk from the Red River Winery. Most of the time Dean works at the winery, and Jana can often be found at the tasting room in Spring. Wimberley Valley buys grapes, bulk wine and concentrate from New York, California, and Texas, and creates their own blends under two different brands: Texas Country Cellars and Cellar Select. Although there are three dry wines, most of their offerings are on the sweet side.
     Dean uses some unorthodox ingredients in his blends to set Wimberley Valley wines apart. Often in his red wines he will add white grape juice to make it less harsh. Wimberley’s dulcet blends get their sweetness from straight grape juice, or even concentrate, instead of sugar. Wimberley Valley wines are not known for conforming to varietal characteristics; according to Dean, “We need to be able to sell refreshing wines that people can drink when it’s hot.”
     Texas Country Cellars Red is Wimberley Valley’s top seller. This full bodied blend has a taste reminiscent of strawberries and raspberries, and retains about four percent sugar. While that may sound like a lot to a wine conoisseur, according to wine writer Wes Marshall, “A lot of people who think they don’t like wine change their minds after tasting (Country Cellars wines).”

Haak Vineyards and Winery - Santa Fe
South of Houston, near Alvin and Hitchcock, Air Force veteran Raymond Haak has done a most improbable thing: he started a vineyard and winery. The thin layer of topsoil and foot-deep gummy clay yield a respectable grape, but Haak purchases many of his grapes from Lodi, California, and a few from the area of San Angelo, Texas.
     Wes Marshall says his favorite Haak wine is their Vintage Port, which is made primarily from Haak Vineyard Lenoir grapes. “Great depth and character,” he opined. “I wish I could taste a bottle of this that was about ten years old.”
     The best selling Haak wine is their Blanc du Bois, and they also offer a Saugivnon Blanc, Chardonnay, Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Marshall said, “As much as I intellectually understand why he’s using California grapes, this wine is so good that I wish we could see what Raymond Haak could do with some good Texas grapes.”

Piney Woods Country Wines - Orange
In the mid-1970s Alfred Flies began making fruit wines as a hobby. It became a passion that became a business when he received the 14th winery license to be issued in Texas. In 1984 he planted Muscadine grapes, because, as Alfred says, “not everyone wants Vinifera.” The Muscadine grape is popular for making jams and jellies in the South. Piney Woods’ wines “perfectly reflect what Muscadine tastes like,” commented Marshall. “It all boils down to how you feel about the musky flavor of the grape.”
     The winery’s top seller is their Blueberry Wine. Piney Woods’ Champear Sparkling Pear Wine is a sweet, bubbly concoction. They also sell a wine, Texas Pecan Mocha, in which Alfred (using a secret process) infuses coffee and pecans into the wine.
     Piney Woods’ sales of their sweet, fruity wines increases every year. Alfred comments that the grocery stores are always pushing beer or Strawberry Hill, “but once I could get (the type of wine I make) into places where they could taste it, people liked it.” Admittedly, Alfred Flies’ wines are not aimed at the educated wine aficionado, but as a consumer-friendly entry level offering, these Muscadine grape entries fill the bill respectably.

Pleasant Hill Winery - Brenham
Jeanne and Bob Cottle started making cherry wine at home in the 1970s, giving it to friends and neighbors. Everyone loved it, and according to Jeanne, “It got out of hand and so we decided we had to try to do it commercially.”
     The Cottles have two vineyards, one next to the winery near Brenham, the other near Fort Davis. Their biggest selling wine is their Rose... pronounced like the flower. Bob likes this particular wine because it gets non-wine drinkers started.
     Pleasant Hill’s Collina Bianca is an interesting success story. This is made from the Blanc du Bois grape (which is resistant to disease). Unfortunately this is not considered to be a prime grape for producing good wine, but according to Wes Marshall, Bob has conquered this grape.
     “Trials and tribulations are sometimes the winemaker’s best learning curve,” Bob said. “One year, we got so much Blanc du Bois that we ended up without enough capacity. So we had to leave the grapes out in the sun while we cleaned tanks.” This time in the sun turned the grapes slightly brown, which had an amazing effect: it reduced the bitterness while leaving the grape’s enticing aromas. “Now we always do it that way,” Bob commented. Wes thinks he is on to something innovative in this method.
     Pleasant Hill Winery makes some very good wines, but the strength of this winery is in its sense of family. “These are really nice people,” Wes commented. “Though they’re focused on wine, if you watch the family interaction you’ll notice it’s even more important to them to be facing the world together.” He says if you ask them what they are most proud of, they won’t tell you about vintage or varietals. “You’ll hear about family, cohesiveness and accomplishment.”

Supporting Texas Wineries
If you find a Texas wine – or perhaps several of them – that are pleasing to your senses, the Texas state legislature has made it easier for you to “buy local” through the passage of recent legislation. Texas vineyards are now able to sell wine directly to the consumer for off-premises consumption and, when the order is placed at the winery, ship it directly to the consumer’s home, even in dry counties. Under guidelines in Texas state law, the wineries restrict orders by fax, Internet or email for security reasons, and will ship such orders to a package store in Texas where the consumer can pick up the wine. The package store may charge a handling fee of up to $3.50 for each order of wine.
     Will Texas wines ever be the best in the world? Well, of course no group of wine drinkers will ever agree on that. But that’s beside the point. Wine drinking is a culture. It’s like a club that you join. You meet people, you attend events. You develop well thought-out opinions that you are passionate about, and you argue those opinions with fellow wine drinkers.
     Your experience in Texas wines can have roots that run deep into the soil of late 17th century El Paso. It can span the width and breadth of your home state, from the panhandle to the prairies to the piney woods; from Big Bend country through the hill country and into our Gulf Coast region.
     The Texas wine industry has a $133 million impact on our economy, and employs 1,800 Texans, yet many wine experts have said that the climate and location of vineyards in Texas are not conducive to producing wines of quality. Californian Robert Mondavi told a gathering of Texan vintners to pay no attention to the critics, advising them to grow the best grapes and make the best wine they could, and to do that in every vintage.
     In the end, it’s the wine that matters, and only you can answer the question, “Is Texas wine country?”
     In vito, veritas. CS

The author wishes to thank Wes Marshall, author of the newly published book, “The Wine Roads of Texas,” for his assistance in researching this article. Wes’ book is available at local bookstores, or online at www.amazon.com. We recommend this book, as it is truly a comprehensive and essential guide to Texas wineries.