Texas Vineyards Start Bud Break in March
In order to make great wines, you must have outstanding grapes. If your grapes are not of good quality, then you cannot make award winning wines. By the way, quality grapes are not produced in large quantities per acre. Grape growers throughout Texas are seeing bud break in their vineyards with high hopes of producing more award winning wines. Here are what Texas winemakers and vineyard owners/managers saying.
• Katy Jane Seaton at Farmhouse Vineyards: Bud Break is alive and bursting forth at Farmhouse Vineyards. Now’s the magical time of precise decisions and skilled cuts that determine these little buds become cultivated, curated, hand crafted Texas Wines.
• We don’t have much to report in the vineyards due to we are barely into bud break at Becker Vineyards. “Budding out is less than 2 inches here at our estate vineyard (in the Texas Hill Country). We are not far enough along to see what this year’s harvest holds. In the Texas High Plains, bud break has not begun, said Jon Leahy, Becker Vineyards Winemaker.
• Jennifer Cernosek, general manager, Bending Branch Winery Bud break is just starting to happen at our Texas Hill Country and Texas High Plains vineyards that we work with. For example, the Cabernet Sauvignon block at Y Knot Vineyards, an organic vineyard in Seagraves, Texas (Texas High Plains), has started bud break. This will be the 11th leaf year for the Cabernet. We are also excited about the Graciano (going into 4th leaf) planted at Y Knot. For the first time, Y Knot is using sheep for cover crop management as part of the family’s full farm ecosystem and commitment to organic growing.
• David Kuhlken, co-owner, Pedernales Cellars We have bud break on pretty much everything, though Mourvèdre is just coming out. Since everything was planted from 2021 to 2024 in the vineyard we are still expecting a partial crop for most blocks, but with last year’s plantings we now have:
Tempranillo
Grenache
Graciano
Touriga Nacional
Tinta Amarella
Mourvèdre
Petite Sirah
Alicante Bouschet
Teroldego
Sangiovese
Our crew has finished pruning, cordon training and getting hail nets in place. In this stage they have shifted to fixing and running irrigation and managing spring weeds. We have so far just seen very limited winter damage from freezes back in February, and we also dodged the Crabapple Fire which came within roughly 1,500 feet of the vineyard as it burned a path along our south fence line. Given the timing, that won’t have any impact on this vintage from smoke or otherwise. The goal this year will be that we can do an estate rosé from younger blocks, and ideally then make a 2025 Kuhlken Vineyard Reserve as well as an Estate Tempranillo from some of the vines entering 4th and 5th leaf.
• Dave Reilly, winemaker, Duchman Family Winery This year will be my 20th vintage at Duchman Family Winery and this time of year is always exciting. I am grateful for my long-term grower relationships; their commitment to quality year after year is one of the many things that makes my job so rewarding. The Oswald Vineyards family team has been busy with pruning. The Roussanne at Oswald has started bud break; the Montepulciano and Aglianico buds are still tight. Bingham Family Vineyards is 75% through pruning and seeing about 10% bud break.
Texas Vineyards are off to a fine start. Here is hoping that there will be no late frosts to impact the vineyards followed by wonderful Texas weather leading to a great harvest starting in August.
