Texas Wine Region Basics

Spending a day visiting wineries may sound easy to those who have cruised Route29 through Napa Valley, but Texas is a big-ass place, and the Hill Country’s two-dozen or so wineries are spread over about 14,000 square miles west ofAustin and north of San Antonio. The Hill Country is one of the two most important wine regions in Texas (the other is the area around Lubbock). Winemaking is new enough here that vintners are still searching for the best grapes to grow, and they’ll argue at length about what "best" actually means. The result is that while they’re primarily growing traditional European grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Chardonnay and Viognier, they’re also experimenting with a lot of blends—including some unfortunate "soda pop" wines to satisfly the drive-by drinkers.

It is telling that there are almost no second-generation owners yet in the Hill Country. Wine is a very new business here, and winemakers only get one chance a year to fix mistakes. On the other hand, Texas wine is pretty good now, and it will get much better.

• 2004 Fall Creek Vineyards Meritus Texas Hill Country Red Wine
• 2003 Flat Creek Estate Travis Peak Select Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2001 Alamosa Wine Cellars El Guapo Grande Tempranillo
• 2005 Llano Estacado Winery Viviano Super Tuscan Style Red
• 2005 Stone House Vineyard Claros Red Table Wine

• The Ryder Boys’ Texas Wine & BBQ Tour
  Chewing trough Texas Hill Country’s best barbecue and wine.
• FiveWhere to Go Next: Texas
  F&W’s list of Texas hot spots.
• 10 Best Online Wine Shops
  These e-merchants stand above the rest for ease of use and selection.
• Niche Wine Blogs
  Here, five wine blogs that have carved out smart and focused niches in the wine Web.

• Texas Hill Country Wineries
  A useful hub for the Texas wine world.
• Wine Society of Texas
  Texas’s wine advocates.
• Hill Country Guide
  A guide to Texas Hill Country from The Austin Chronicle.