First of all, Texas is bigger than France. That is an interesting fact I learned from the local phone book when I moved to Texas, and I have often quoted it to my Yankee friends and family.
Texomaland has become more like France in a significant way over in the last few decades, although many people are not aware of it. Texoma is now a well-recognized winegrowing region. Wine grapes, that is.
Actually, several parts of Texas are like several parts of France because there are now 8 officially recognized winegrowing regions, also called American Viticultural Areas (AVA). The most important features that characterize a winegrowing region are its climate, the characteristics of its typical soils, and also the topography, or lay of the land.
The 8 regions in Texas are clustered in the central Texas Hill Country and also a couple regions in West Texas, along with our Texoma AVA that includes part of Montague, Cooke, Grayson and Fannin counties. The Texoma AVA covers approximately 3,650 square miles on the Texas side of Lake Texoma and the Red River.
I have some really good friends who have a vineyard in Yukon, Oklahoma, so I don't mean to overlook Oklahoma as I'm writing this post. But my point is that the winegrowing industry recognizes Texoma as a separate region now.
Although it's a little ways south of us here in Texoma, this weekend happens to be the largest wine festival in the Southwest. It's the 27th Annual GrapeFest, celebrated September 12, 13, 14 and 15 in the heart of Historic Downtown Grapevine. Texas. The theme this year is "Discoveries," and visitors will find a variety of new wines, new vendors, new bands and more to discover and celebrate throughout the four-day festival.
Get GrapeFest info and schedules at www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/GrapeFest.
To locate restaurants that serve home-grown Texas wines and to get directions to visit Texas wineries in Texomaland and around the state, visit www.GoTexanWine.org and surf around the whole site.
GoTexanWine has an event calendar with plenty of events posted, so check it out while you're there.
And closest to home (for those of us who live and spend quality time on Lake Texoma) you will find wineries and events hosted on the Munson Wine Trail. It extends from Allen, Texas, north to the Red River, bounded by Gainesville, Texas on the west and Paris, Texas to the East, including 12 wineries.
Check out www.TexasWineAndTrail.com for up-to-date information.
Our north Texas trail is named after T.V. Munson who was truly a pioneer in cultivating and growing wine grapes in north Texas, and whose legacy lives on at Vinita, his former home and now museum, and existing vineyard in Denison.
See the all the Munson wine history at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txgrayso/Denison/businesses/munson/munson.html and then come see it in person!
What are your favorite local wineries and wines? Post below for us all to see.