It is believed that it is in Texas that the first vineyard of the North American Continent was planted. As such, the history of winemaking in Texas is believed to be dated back to the year 1662.

The wine industry in Texas started developing from the 1800s and now, there are almost 4,000 acres of vineyards in this state. Now, let’s see all about the wine industry in Texas here…

Currently, the state is having 350 wineries with ‘G’ permit as issued by TABC. In order to better understand the viticulture of Texas, we can sub-divide the whole Texan viticultural zone into three core regions as follows:

• North-Central
• South-Eastern
• Trans-Pecos

The first two can be understood by the names itself. The third core region Trans-Pecos is representing the entire viticultural region that is lying to the west of the Pecos River.

So, where can we see the finest vineyards of the state? Well, the North-Central region of the state is found to be having the finest vineyards of the state especially within the Texas High Plains.

This region is known to produce the highest quality wines in higher quantities. The vineyards of this area are found to be the densest in the whole of Texas.

American Viticultural Areas of Texas

At present, Texas has eight American Viticultural Areas, which are as follows:

Texas High Plains
As mentioned above, this AVA has the finest vineyards of Texas with most of the vineyards being planted at the heights of 3000 to 4000 feet above the sea level.

This AVA comprises more than 80% of the state’s vines and is found to be having more than 8 million acres of vineyards.

Texas Hill Country
This is the second-largest AVA in the country and is encompassing over 9 million acres of land. Within this AVA region, there are two sub-AVAs, which are:

Fredericksburg
This is covering almost 110 acres within the Texas Hill Country.

Mesilla Valley
This is located at the western corner of the state within the Texas Hill Country.

Bell Mountain
This, which is established in the year 1986, is encompassing around 5 square acres land.

Escondido Valley
This appellation was designated in the year 1992 and is covering about 50 square miles of land.

Texas Davis Mountains
This is the AVA that is located in the western part of the state and is found to be cool and wet. The vineyards here are found to be planted at the heights of 4,500 to 8,300 feet above the sea level.

Texoma
This is located in the north-central part of the state and is covering around 3,650 square miles of land.

Major Grape Varieties in Texas

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Chardonnay
• Chenin Blanc
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Pinot Noir
• Muscat Canelli
• Blanc du Bois
• Cabernet Franc
• Cynthiana
• Gewurztraminer
• Lenoir
• Malvasia Bianca
• Merlot
• Muscat Blanc
• Orange Muscat
• Petite Verdot
• Pinot Blanc
• Pinot Grigio
• Riesling
• Ruby Cabernet
• Sangiovese
• Shiraz
• Tannat
• Tempranillo
• Viognier

Wines from Texas

American Red Wine - American White Wine - American Rosé Wines

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