Texas boasts a winemaking history that dates all the way back to the 1600s, when Spanish missionaries brought up vines from what’s now Mexico to make sacramental wine. The industry further developed in the 19th century; the state’s oldest pre-Prohibition winery, Val Verde Winery, was founded in 1883 and is still in operation. Fast forward about 100 years to 1992, when the Lone Star got its first American Viticultural Area (AVA)—the Texas High Plains, where more than 85% of the state’s wine grapes are now grown.
In the following decades, the industry has experienced a rapid expansion. Many winemakers first began with plantings of popular international grapes—Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and others. But viticulturalists later discovered that lesser-known varieties, like Viognier, Roussanne, Picpoul, Tempranillo and others were more successful in Texas’s largely sunny and dry climate.
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These days, wine is Texas’s fastest-growing agricultural commodity with more than 800 wineries spread across eight AVAs. It’s certainly more difficult than ever to narrow down which wineries to add to a travel…
