The Texas wine scene is growing by leaps and bounds, and Hill Country as a destination continues its growth at a record pace. In this episode, we change up our format to introduce you to some of the leaders of the Texas wine industry. You’ll meet the Executive Director of the Hill Country Wineries Association, Cliff Bingham of Bingham Vineyards, and Michael McClendon, a winemaker/owner at the custom crush facility, Sage’s Vintage.
Check out our guests and some other great links at:
* Texas Hill Country Wineries: https://texaswinetrail.com/
* Bingham Family Vineyards: https://binghamfamilyvineyards.com/
* Michael McClendon and Sage’s Vintage: https://www.sagesvintage.com/
* Texas Winemakers Docu-Series: https://www.youtube.com/c/TexasWinemakers
* Shelley Wilfong’s “This is Texas Wine” Podcast:
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Visit Bellangelo Winery and Missick Cellars at www.Bellangelo.com and www.MissickCellars.com.
My first taste of wine from Texas, was actually a little more than seven years ago. One of the things many people don’t know, is the Finger Lakes international wine competition is largely a fundraiser for a place called Camp Good Days and Special Times, which serves as a retreat for children that are fighting cancer. An additional fundraising stream for Camp Good Days through the competition, is a large banquet that follows the end of the competition. A component of that banquet is a silent auction of many of the remaining wines. In 2015, I was invited by Scott and Ruth Osborne, owners of Fox Run Winery, to be their guest for the dinner. Scott, if you recall from our first show, the subject of our very first viticulture interview nearly a year ago, has been called the Robert Mondavi of the Finger Lakes.
The Finger Lakes International Wine Competition is one of the largest in the country, and entrants come from all over the world. Texas wines have done well in that competition, and one of the lots I had bid on was a case of Gold medal winning reds. Fortunately for me, many of them came from Texas producers. Within this box were several Texas producers, one of which I had heard of at the time, but many of which were still new names for me. The Pedernales Tempranillo was a wine I had some vague acquaintance within my mind, probably from reading about it in a magazine or seeing something online.
In the weeks after winning that auction in 2015, I tasted two of the Texas wines that were in that lot. I enjoyed them, and at the time, if I recall correctly, they were of the 2013 and 2014 vintage, and I remember thinking that these wines simply needed a bit more time. Periodically, throughout the years, I would enjoy a bottle or two, to see how they had come along and each time I was impressed. It was sometime around Thanksgiving in 2021, that I discovered a YouTube series called Texas winemakers. This 11 part series of shorts was impressively produced, and followed a handful of Texas producers from throughout the state as they tended their vineyards, made their wines, and discussed their philosophy and their tasting room experiences. The docu-series, produced in 2020-21, captures what was a very difficult period for the Texas wine industry. Inclement weather including freezes, a pandemic, and a difficult business environment throughout the entire country was a headwind. Despite the challenges, the community of Texas winemakers seemed optimistic, tight-knit, and focused on making Texas one of the premier wine states in this country. Between the high quality of production of the series, and the larger than life characters that were featured, there was a sense that there is a momentum and energy to Texas wine that reminded me of what I first felt in the Finger Lakes in 2009. It convinced me that I needed to visit. I also headed down to my own cellar after watching the series, where I pulled out a 2013 Hye Meadow Winery Malbec. Eight years in, that wine was tasting delicious.
My trip to North Carolina, was planned sometime between Christmas and New Year’s of 2021, and before I knew it I was on a plane visiting the Yadkin Valley. I had a little bit more time when it came to planning for Texas, as I figured I would visit in the third week of January. I had contacted one of the winemakers from the Texas winemakers docu-series, Chris Brundrett of William Chris Vineyards. Within a day of telling him I was planning on visiting the region, he had responded that it was actually going to be an excellent time to visit if I wanted to meet many of the folks in the community. He told me that the Texas Hill Country Wine Symposium, an event that you’ll find in many winemaking regions around the world where local producers come together to discuss their challenges, achievements, and generally just build their local winemaking community, was scheduled to take place the first three days of my planned visit. It seemed fortuitous, and got me really energized at the opportunity to meet many of the folks behind the wines I had seen, and by this point, read so much about. For anyone who has never been to a symposium like this, it is also one of the very best opportunities to taste a wide range of wines produced. These symposiums always offer opportunities to engage in deep dive tastings, generally with between four and six wines, while the winemaker is on stage discussing everything about the vineyards, and the vinification. In addition to that, there are almost always social hours, where you have the chance to share your own wine while tasting many of the wines the members of your community have made. Since most symposiums happen at a convention center with a hotel attached, the evening social tasting is usually a great time where people don’t have to worry about driving home. Upon hearing about the symposium, and booking my ticket that day, I decided I would need to extend my trip by a few more days if I was going to enjoy the symposium, but also have a chance to see what the Texas Hill country was all about.
Before I go too far, I have to make sure that of a big shout out to Shelly Wilfong and her podcast This Is Texas Wine. With a catalog of nearly a year of shows, Shelley is meticulously documenting the Texas wine scene as it grows and develops, and does an amazing job exploring the lines and the businesses of producers in the state of Texas. I had the chance to meet her at the conference, and she is just as pleasant in person as she is on the show. You’ll learn a lot about Texas wine with every episode.
Texas is a huge state. And winemaking in Texas is not quite as simple as picking a region and understanding that the grapes that you’ll be tasting in that region or from that region. 80% of the fruit grown for fine wine making in Texas is actually grown in the High Plains, up near Lubbock Texas. The High Plains is a vast flat area, but one whose elevation helps to promote a diurnal shift in temperatures, and to grow some exceptionally good fruit.
The High Plains is far enough inland so that hurricanes from the Gulf are no longer a worry, and the range of temperatures means there is an enormous variety of different grape varietals that can be grown. In the early days, the focus was on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and in more recent times the focus has shifted to varietals that are more associated with southern France, Spain, and Portugal. That is not to say there aren’t some growers that can grow Riesling - they can. And yet others, are able to grow Rhone varietals that reach a peak of ripeness similar to the Rhone. Here, it is about elevation, and planting varietals that match the site. Unlike state like New York and California, where you go to taste wine where the grapes are grown, Texas wine tourism isn’t actually located around the core of its viticulture country. The states premier wine tourism destination is within the AVA known as the Texas Hill country. For those who think of Texas, and think of vast desert planes and tumbleweeds, this is a totally different concept of what Texas geography has to offer. Gentle Rolling hills, beautiful winding roads, lined with her insert the type of trees here, offer a rugged back country feel that reminded me i’m visiting Provence. My wife is from Toulouse, but much of her family is spread out throughout southern France. From the seaside village of La Teste de Buch, near Arcachon on the Atlantic, and clear through Provence, I’ve had the opportunity to see most of this South of France through the eyes of locals. Driving through Texas Hill country, brought was an otherworldly reminiscence of Provence.
The Texas Hill country itself is a vast AVA, with nearly 9,000,000 acres. It has a major advantage in that the Hill country starts as you exit Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south. It is a beautiful region, but has a Normas population centers just outside of its smaller towns. These populations create a massive pool of potential visitors for tasting rooms. In all, Texas Hill country has a population of nearly 28,000,000 people within about a 3 Hour Dr. of wine country. When you combine that fact, with the fiercely loyal nature of Texans to all things Texas, you have the potential for growth unlike almost any region I’ve ever visited.
With my cameras and my recording equipment in hand, I was prepared to tackle many more interviews than I was actually able to complete. I was in Texas in January, just as the omicron variant of Covid was spreading quickly throughout the country. During my last three days I felt like I was coming down with a little something, but thought that it could have just been allergies as the Hill Country cedars were in the midst of their pollination cycle. In any event, I opted to stay away from going to too many public places, and meeting with any more interviewee‘s. I had my at home test kits with me, and they continued to show I was testing negative. It wasn’t until I returned home to the Finger Lakes region, that I eventually tested positive.
What that means is, there are a lot of personalities and winemakers I didn’t have the opportunity to interview while I was visiting Hill Country. This series will be a little shorter than I had anticipated, but I have plans to make sure we hear from many of those outstanding folks in the future. Some of them will include Seth Urbanik of Wedding Oak Winery, Sam Jensen of Bingham Vineyards, Ron Yates of Spicewood and Ron Yates Winery, Regan Meador of South+Hold, the good folks at Turtle Creek, Bénédicte Rhyne at Kuhlman Estates, and so, so many others. Wineries like Lost Draw, Hye Meadow, Grape Creek, Farmhouse, Becker, Crawson, Kerrville Hills, and Bending Branch, also have so much to offer - and I haven’t even scratched the surface of wines in Texas you need to taste.
Our abbreviated Texas series will consist of two episodes and four interviews. In this first episode, we will be talking with January Wiese, Cliff Bingham, and Michael McClendon. There is a logic to this series of interviews. I wanted to spend this first episode exploring Texas Hill Country through the eyes of the executive Director of Hill Country Wineries, the member-funded marketing association in the Hill Country, headed up by January. Next, I wanted to talk with a grower, and a grower with a winery and tasting rooms throughout the entire state, including one in Fredericksburg in the heart of Hill Country. Cliff Bingham brings an amazing amount of insight to growing grapes in Texas. And finally I wanted to talk with a winemaker, and showcase the work of Michael McClendon. Michael is one of the cofounders of Sage’s Vintage, a custom crush facility that operates out of Nacogdoches in eastern Texas. Michael has built up an excellent reputation with growers throughout the state, and his custom crush operation helps new wineries get off the ground, and existing wineries maintain their current inventories. Working with fruit from all over the state, means Michael has a broad view of what is happening with Texas. He’s a great winemaker too, as I tasted many of his wines and they were absolutely delicious. As I mentioned in the interview, he may have found the secret spot in winemaking, as you get to do what you love in making wine, but can maintain relatively low overhead and not have to deal with any of the additional stresses this industry can bring.
I really can’t say enough positive things about my Hill Country experience. Although the state of Texas has a wonderful history in wine grape growing, I don’t think it is unfair or uncharitable (even to the pioneers that have been at work here for decades) to describe Hill Country as a new region. That is not to take anything away from the pioneers like Dr. Becker, at Becker Vineyards, who many decades ago witnessed Robert Mondavi tasting in his tasting room. Mondavi was effusive as to the quality of the wines, and himself realized that the future of Texas wine was incredibly bright. In fact, I think that thee still hidden aspect of Hill Country, and Texas, for those outside of the state, is a blessing for Hill Country producers.
There is just so much energy, and so many new pockets of landscape and terroir to discover. I think that we may be on the cusp of entering one of the most exciting times for this region. That is not to say that there aren’t some enormous headwinds off in the distance. I allude in my conversation with Cliff Bingham, to the major issues that are impacting vineyards in the High Plains due to the use of dicamba, an herbicide that is applied on genetically modified cotton to kill the weeds, but not the plant. They farm nearly 3 million acres of cotton in the High Plains, so you can only imagine what that impact may be.
I’m hoping to do a deeper show in the future on the topic, as I think that it is an extremely important issue in the context of discussing how we should be properly farming in this country. Out of nearly 40 shows, I’ve probably talked about my emphasis on respecting, honoring, and building soil in nearly half of them. The health of our communities from volatilized particles, and how that may harm not just our plants but ourselves and our children, can not be ignored.
As a final note, time constraints have prevented me from having the chance to edit and produce the video versions for the last few shows. For the time being, we will continue to move forward with the audio podcast, and temporarily suspend the video version of the show. We will continue to film interviews, and hopefully, when time permits, complete the editing and release them on the channel.
And now, without further delay, here’s the show.
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