Can Texas Make Sparkling Wine?

My latest in The Drinks Business:

“Can you make sparkling wine in Texas?”

by L.M. Archer

 

Texan sparkling might be in its infancy but it could just help to write the next chapter of the state’s wine story, writes LM Archer.

 

“Texas is the fastest growing wine state in the country for a reason,” says Dr. Akhil Reddy, CEO of Reddy Vineyards in Brownfield, Texas. His father, pioneering agronomist/viticulturist Dr. Vijay Reddy, established the family estate in 1997 upon the Texas High Plains.

“We’re reaching critical capacity for grape growing, and now a large growth rate of wineries,” Reddy says. “Sparkling is a part of that, and will continue to grow as clients prefer locally produced, small batch wines with a sound story.”

But first Texas bubble makers must battle misconceptions, microclimates, and a miscellany of grape choices.

Misconceptions

What misconceptions, exactly?  “The same misconception people have about all Texas wines – that they may not hold up to other wines of the world,” says Randy Hester, winemaker/co-owner of C.L. Butaud in Austin.

“I make wines that I’m proud to serve on the same table with wines from Napa Valley, France, Spain, or any other great wine region,” he contends.

Beyond quality misconceptions, uncertainty swirls about the Lone Star state’s ability to even fashion fine fizz.

“One of the most common misconceptions people have is “oh, you mean a pét nat?,” and we have to explain what we mean by méthode champenoise,” says winemaker/co-proprietor Elisa Jones of Elisa Christopher Wines.

“When I married Chris, his favuorite wine was sparkling – and we drink sparkling wine every week at home, so we decided we really wanted to make traditional method sparkling in Texas,” she says. Jones, a former US intelligence officer, co-founded her 43-acre (17.4 ha)  Texas Hill Country winery and estate vineyard with husband Christopher in 2022.

“I did not want to be just another winery in the Hill Country,” Jones insists. “I wanted to extend my passion for sparkling wine into making it.” READ MORE HERE.

I’m delighted to share my latest feature in The Drinks Business on Texas sparkling wine.

Read more of my work here.