So far, the only thing that differentiates the year 2020 from this New Year are the loud fireworks. The pandemic and restrictions continue, but there are some optimistic re-openings scheduled in the months ahead. With this optimism comes a resolve to do better. I am a very proud Texan! I support all thing Texas, including our values and agricultural products. I am especially proud of our Texas wines which have evolved from a mere 50 wineries to over 600 wineries today. The quality of Texas wines has also increased to the point where Texas wines are earning about the same number of Double Gold Medals in International Wine Competitions as California! By the way, California has over 3,600 wineries which is six time more than the number of Texas wineries.
I am a BIG supporter of Texas wines and have several New Year’s Resolutions to share with you to help support our growing Texas Wine Industry. I hope you will implement these Resolutions in your daily lives.
• Until the Governor allows Texas Wineries to fully open, resolve to buy more Texas Wines at HEB, Kroger’s and SPEC’S. The Wine Stewards at these stores will guide you to the wines made in Texas that will suite the tastes you relate to the store’s Wine Steward.
• Resolve to support Texas wines when dining out by ordering Texas wines. More and more restaurants are putting Texas wines on their wine lists. If you dine at a restaurant that does not serve Texas wines, please ask the Restaurant Manager to explain to you why they don’t serve Texas wines. Most Restaurant Managers don’t have a valid excuse so they blame it on a corporate decision. That means corporate doesn’t trust their Restaurant Managers.
• Resolve to order wines online to have them shipped to your home. Wines that you don’t find in the stores are normally made in small quantities which are normally handcrafted wines with a special uniqueness. Be courageous and get wines that you have never tried before!
• Once winery closures/restrictions have ended, resolve to visit Texas wineries for either a day or weekend trip. Until our times settle, call the wineries ahead to make reservations. During the pandemic, most wineries have greatly curtailed their tasting room hours. It does pay to plan ahead. The people in these Texas winery tasting rooms know the wines they pour and also know about other local wineries, events, and restaurants to visit. Many of these wineries are dog friendly with you and your pup served outside due to health department restrictions. In some cases, these dog friendly wineries allow their winery dogs inside so it should be fine for you and your dog(s) to come inside as long as both of you behave!
• Resolve to plan winery trips ahead of time with friends! There are many websites relating to Texas Wineries with my favorites being www.TxWines.org or www.TxWineLover.com. Facebook is also a great place to search for information about Texas Wineries. Check out Texas Wine Lovers or Texas Wine Walk on FB. The Texas Hill Country is a great place to visit with that wine region being the Number @ Wine Region most visited. Don’t forget the Houston Hill Country north and west of Houston or the East Texas region. The DFW area also has many wineries.
• Resolve to attend Wine Trail events located over most of Texas after the pandemic restrictions are lifted. There are sixteen Wine Trails in Texas which are now dormant during the pandemic. These wine trails will re-ignite once the pandemic is over and restrictions removed.
• Resolve to join several Texas Winery Wine Clubs. These Wine Clubs will provide you with outstanding boutique wines and help to support our Texas Wineries. Many Wine Clubs have special pickup parties.
• Resolve to check out local winery events like concerts, opportunities to prune grape vines at Wild Stallion Winery and Bernhardt Winery, and harvest grapes at Wild Stallion and Bernhardt Wineries. You can even witness a CRUSHING of the grapes at Bernhardt Winery.
These Resolutions can be starters to have more fun with Texas wines and also be a help for our pandemic-plagued Texas wine industry!