Texan winemakers at loggerheads over proposed new bill
A new bill which has been proposed in Texas, stating that all wines with an appellation of Texas must be made from grapes grown in the state is dividing the winemaking community.
The proposed bill is similar to that in other states such as California where using the state appellation assures consumers that the wine is only made from grapes grown in that state.
Those who support the bill say that the proposed changes will lead to a greater transparency for the flourishing Texas wine industry, and will help to boost the state’s wine making credentials, helping it to be considered a serious wine producing region.
One of the biggest proponents of the bill is Chris Brundrett, co-owner of William Chris Vineyards in Hye. “We want to grow this industry, and want our consumers to know that if we put Texas on the label it means as much as Washington or California,” Brundrett told My Statesman.
But Texan winemakers opposed to the change, and who have the backing of the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association, argue that the state’s wine industry is insufficiently well established for this to be viable, and would create problems in supplying the state’s winemakers with enough state grown grapes. This is particularly the case in a state like Texas where the climate is not necessarily conducive to grape production.
While Brundrett concedes that growing grapes in Texas is not easy, he pointed out that new technology had made the job a little less painful. “We have windstorms, hail and late freezes, a lot of uncontrollable variables. But there is so much technology and technique that has taken us out of the dark ages at the same time. Now you’re seeing much more consistent crop levels. We’re growing an agriculture product with integrity, and we need this to take the industry to the next level.”
Messina Hof, the largest, if not the oldest winery in the state, makes approximately 60,000 cases of wine a year and tries to get as many grapes as possible from Texas. Its CEO Paul Bonarrigo thinks that more regulation of the industry would only stunt its growth so early in its development. And he added that it’s just not always possible to source 100% of grapes from Texas citing a loss of 25% loss of the vineyard’s crop last year due to hail.
At present, along with many other states, Texas follows federal labelling regulations which allow wines with an appellation of origin to be made with a minimum of 75% grapes grown in that state.
California and Washington are currently the only two US states which have laws requiring that grapes must be grown in the same state as where they are made into wine. Washington stipulates that 95% of grapes carrying the state appellation must also be grown there.