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I never cared much for Texas. It’s too humid along the coast. It’s too dry as you move farther north and west. It has three seasons: Hot, hotter and hotter-‘n-hell. So getting out of my home state of 22 years should have been a welcome vacation. Instead, I’ve come down with a severe case of nostalgia for things like breaking out in a sweat just by walking out the door or inhaling a chicken fried steak dinner with a side of sweet tea. And perhaps more surprisingly, I’ve felt a growing nostalgia for something I adopted not long before leaving Texas—its wine. “Texas has wine?” a friend recently asked me upon viewing a poster in the kitchen of my everything’s-smaller-outside-of-Texas apartment. It was a map of my state, detailing its wine regions and the wineries found in each. My friend’s reaction was nothing new. Few people, including Texans, have any idea how many wineries the state boasts (163 and counting) or how the Lone Star State is growing in popularity as a wine destination (No. 2 behind Napa, according to Orbitz Insider Index). But deep in the heart of Texas, excitement for local grapes is taking root. “There are great wines here,” said Bill Skrapits, a Texas wine expert. “People don’t know about them. Many of [the wineries] simply don’t have the tools or the knowledge that they need.” Enter the Austin Wine Festival. “The whole point of the festival is to create an environment where people can … learn about the wines that are out there and really combine efforts to get the word out,” Skrapits said. Held May 23-25, the festival features more than 30 wineries, local food, music and seminars. The event, which spanned only a few city blocks when it started in 2007, now covers 11 acres and will draw between 8,000 and 10,000 people, according to spokeswoman Katy Jane Bothum Industry experts hope visitors will help cultivate a greater appreciation of Texas wines, which still suffer somewhat from negative images incurred in the 70s and 80s when they were viewed as jug wines. “That really put a damper on the industry,” Skrapits said. Smaller wineries, which make up the majority of Texas’ wine industry, “didn’t get the kind of respect that they would in California or New York, simply because people already had this impression,” Skrapits said. Even today, Texas lags in nationwide popularity. A 2006 survey conducted by the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute found that respondents preferred California wine to Texas wine 3 to 1. Despite this, Texas is the fifth largest wine-producing state and ranks fourth in total wine consumption. Its sales continue to grow. And while local wine remains relatively unknown elsewhere, it’s thriving in-state. 95 percent of Texas wine is sold in Texas, where producers can’t keep up with high demands. So for the time being, vintners are focusing on an audience of nearly 24 million Texans. They sell mostly from their tasting rooms or local retailers, and until these wineries grow up a little, they won’t need to look beyond state lines. “If you don’t have to sell out of state then why do it?” said Ed Hellman, a professor of viticulture at Texas Tech University. “It’s not that the opportunity isn’t there, it’s just it has to fit the business situation, and for a lot of wineries, doing that in a big way doesn’t make sense right now.” For it to make sense, Texas wine production will have to grow—something Texas Tech is trying to encourage by ramping up its wine and grape education program. In the fall, the university will add a degree specialization in viticulture and enology, the first of its kind in the state. Experts understand that growing the industry to full capacity will take several years. But for now, the buzz around Texas wine, like my case of nostalgia, continues to swell.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 May 2009 05:33 )
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