Author(s):
Christi G Townsend, M.A.G.* - Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Abstract:
The Texas Hill Country appellation is territorially the second largest appellation in the United States and the largest in the state of Texas. The wine economy in Texas is largely dependent on the success of grape crops grown in this region. The wine industry in this region is relatively young as most vineyards in this appellation were planted after 1990. A variety of natural hazards periodically and sometimes unexpectedly affect wine grape production in the Texas Hill Country, including but not limited to disease, insects, hail, frost, and drought. Occasionally one or more of these hazards have been responsible for the loss of entire vintages. This research project focuses on how wine grape growers in the Texas Hill Country perceive natural hazards in their operations, which hazards they take most seriously, and which hazards have occurred at vineyards in recent years in the Texas Hill Country. Interviews with winemakers and vineyard operators at twenty vineyards in the Texas Hill Country appellation reveal that a considerable learning curve concerning natural hazards exists. Proper site selection and selection of grape varietals that tolerate the unpredictable climate in the Texas Hill Country are among the chief variables that should have been considered before planting many vineyards in this appellation.
