The word is getting out – My Winespill

I am ecstatic. I left my home state of Minnesota over 20 years ago, as a tag-along with my husband as he has built his career. Twenty years is a long time to be gone, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Minnesota. A recent example being when a new song I heard on the radio became my favorite because it mentions the Minnesota Vikings. 

After many years of moving around, the last 13 have been steadily spent in the land of Texas. Where everything may be bigger and better and maybe even a little slower, but never as cold as Minnesota. Haha, and yes, I know many people who prefer the cold, even after the brutal temperatures of last winter.  As I have made Texas my home (away from home) there is one thing I discovered that many people would be surprised about, Texas wine. What I thought was a Texas secret has been slowly slipping out of the bag. I recently read an article in none other than the St. Paul Pioneer Express, a newspaper based in Minnesota’s capital. They displayed the lone desolate area of the high plains not only good for cotton and cowpokes but alas, grapes. Grapes that are used for growing wine. This is not your Grandma’s back woods wine brew, this is, and I quote, “mighty fine Texas wine.”

They also offered facts about the region and how it is compared to both Sonoma and Napa Valley, primarily because of the climate. This is the place where up to 90% of Texas wine grapes are grown, all within a 100-mile radius of Lubbock. “That’s a bunch of grapes, so to speak, and the Lone Star State, as it turns out, is the fourth largest wine-producing state in the U.S.”

The article continues by noting specific wineries, places to eat, and things to do. Give it a read and plan your next weekend getaway to the Texas wine country near Lubbock, TX.

Are you happy or concerned that the Texas wine industry is gaining attention?