Texas winemakers say they can’t find enough of those plump, juicy, purple and golden clusters, ripened in the summer sun, ready for crushing and fermentation.
Here in Central Texas, at least two wineries are affected. Waco winemaker Ulf Westblom said they sold out of wine this spring.
“We’re running out of wine all the time. There’s not enough grapes in Texas to meet the exploding demand,” said Westblom, co-owner of Tehuacana Creek Vineyards and Winery. “The wine industry in Texas is growing very, very fast.”
Over in Lampasas, winemaker Gill Bledsoe said he wants to expand his operation, but he can’t find enough “juice.”
“We need more growers, more vineyards, more grapes, for the industry to grow,” Bledsoe said. “If we don’t get more growers, the wineries will be forced to go elsewhere” to buy grapes.
The Texas Department of Agriculture does not want those winemakers buying out-of-state grapes. They have $250,000 in grants available for grape growers to either expand or establish new vineyards.
“The Texas wine industry ranks fifth in the nation and contributes more than $1 billion annually to our state’s economy, but it is critical to expand the industry and get even more grapevines in the ground,” Todd Staples, commissioner of Texas Agriculture, said in a press release.
Deadline for application is June 6. But it is possible more grants will be available in the future, a TDA spokesman said.
It may be a drop in the bucket for now, but two budding vineyards in Salado are now producing grapes for Texas wineries.
Kathy Grisham and her husband, Roger, have about four acres of grapevines that are several years old. She said the wet summer last year caused black mold, which hurt production. She only sold about 700 pounds, delivered them in her Suburban to Tehuacana Vineyards near Waco.
Growers estimate a mature vineyard in a good year can produce up to four tons of grapes per acre. Winemakers say they generally pay about $2,000 per ton of grapes.
At first blush, that might seem like a windfall, but industry experts say growing grapes is a risky business that may take years to come to fruition. Grapevines typically need three years after planting before producing marketable grapes. The first year’s crop is usually small.
“If you’re going to do this, you need to have both patience and passion,” winemaker Westblom said. “The only way to make a small fortune in the wine industry is to start with a large fortune.”
Start-up costs are high too. Experts say a good rule of thumb is $15,000 per acre to set up a trellis, install irrigation and buy plants. Machinery can increase that number.
Up in Comanche County, Womack’s Nursery sells 30,000 1-year-old grapevines a year at about $5 each. Larry Womack said most of his customers start with small plots, typically about a half acre, and mostly make jelly. For winemaking, he said beware of Pierce’s Disease, a fungus that can cause significant damage. He sells three types that are tolerant of Pierce’s, but emphasizes they are not “resistant.” His advice is simple.
“Be careful, start small, learn it, study it, find a winery that’s willing to buy your grapes,” said the third-generation nurseryman. “You need to produce what those guys want.”
Back in Salado, June Ritterbusch has followed that advice. In spring 2005, her one-acre vineyard south of Salado began the day as the UPS driver pulled up and unloaded six cardboard boxes filled with “baby sticks” from California. Despite battling a spring freeze, herbicide drift, mockingbirds, raccoons and mildew, she has grown a healthy vineyard that produces four types of grapes.
She sold grapes last year to wineries in Central and North Texas, but hopes to use her grapes to make her own wine and sell it from a hilltop winery visible from Interstate 35.
For now, she sells wine from her store, Salado Wine Seller, specializing in Texas wines. Always laughing, her enthusiasm bubbles up like an uncorked bottle of champagne.
“I am having a lot of fun. I sell wine.”
For information on the Texas Department of Agriculture grant, go to www.tda.state.tx.us.
