Texas Grape Harvest and Labor Day
This is my favorite time to be at a winery! The grapes are coming into the wineries with the winery smells overwhelmingly sweet with incoming grapes. Grapes coming to wineries have about three times the sweetness as those purchased in grocery stores. With this sweetness comes yellow jackets looking for a sugar high with winery crush pad workers not concerned about getting bitten. The wineries have a unique sense of smell and visitors during harvest on the crush pad! I have more reports from wineries. Jeremy Wilson with Adega Vinho Winery told me, “The 2026 vintage for Adega Vinho has been absolutely spectacular so far! Despite the growing season starting off with a spring freeze, and heavy rains ushering in the harvest season, things have worked out just beautifully! Chemistries are spot on and the fruit quality overall is superb. We feel this may be our best vintage yet in regard to fruit quality. We’re definitely stoked about the wines that will coming from this year’s harvest. Cheers, and drink more Texas wine!”
The word from Ab Astris Winery in the Texas Hill Country is “Due to a hot January and late freeze on March 17th, our Estate vineyard harvest is very late except for our Montepulciano, which has later bud break. While quantities are way down, the fruit looks nice.”
These reports are consistent with prior reports on the Texas grape crop. Grape quality is excellent since grape quantity is reduced due to freezes last Spring. This means that Texas wineries will be earning lots of Double Gold and Gold Medals with this Texas grape crop of 2026!
Labor Day is this next weekend which normally means we are transitioning into cooler weather. This past week is far from being cooler, but cooler weather is coming. When that cooler weather arrives, we would transition to heavier clothes and heavier foods and hence heavier wines. That means the red wines should be in your glass with the white wines, roses’, and iced wine coolers becoming rarer. Texas does produce some outstanding red wines from grape varietals like Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah, Granche, Mouvedere, Charbono, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sagrantino. You probably never heard of some of these grape varietals, but they are definitely worth trying. Varietals like Charbono and Sagrantino are only found at the winery since not enough of these grapes are produced to make enough wines to be sold in the stores. Although disheartening, this is a great reason to go visit Texas wineries to get these wines! Messina Hoff Winery grows more Sagrantino grapes than anyone else out of Italy. Bending Branch Winery west of San Antonio is the only winery I know that makes wine from Texas-grown Charbono grapes.
If you want a chance to develop and expand your palette, get your ticket for the Platinum Wine Vault as Wine and Food Week continues its “Going Places” journey around the globe with a focus on Greece. Inspired by the sun-drenched beauty, timeless hospitality, and vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, the Platinum Wine Vault Luxury Tasting invites guests to indulge in an extraordinary evening of world-class wines, chef-inspired cuisine, a special Greek experience and live music on Friday, September 18, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Bayway Cadillac of The Woodlands. Tickets are $150 and available in limited supply at wineandfoodweek.com.