The Texas wine grape harvest for 2022 has proven to be a very promising year, according to grape growers and winery owners across the state. Some unusual weather patterns that this vintage endured included a late cold spell, which delayed the expected time of bud break on the vines; high winds in the spring, which caused a loss of flowers; and followed by an excessively hot and dry summer, which quickly sped up the ripening process. All of these factors led to concern about what the yields would be in the state for the year.

At Fall Creek Vineyards, one of the oldest and most acclaimed wineries in the Lone Star state, Sergio Cuadra, director of winemaking, detailed his findings: “The 2022 growing season got off to a slow start. Bud-break in the vineyards was later than usual because cold temperatures lasted into mid-March. That kept the plants from moving to bud break until April, which is unusual in Texas and similar to timing for the West Coast. However, the grapes matured very quickly this year.”

The Texas Hill Country harvest started in mid-July and was almost completed by the first week of August, which is about two weeks ahead of typical. While Cuadra reported lower yields, he was pleased with the quality.

“My take from the reds is that they will have well-developed tannins, and perhaps more structure than previous years. Our extraction strategy has been adjusted to manage the greater tannins,” Cuadra said.

“We’re reducing skin contact and doing gentle pump overs to keep the silky texture. The grapes look fantastic this year.”

Kerrville Hills Winery owner and winemaker John Rivenburgh is also upbeat about this year’s harvest. “We work closely with high quality farmers throughout the entire year to assist with vineyard management and growing decisions,” Rivenburgh said.

“Because of this tight collaboration, our fruit is phenomenal.” He felt fortunate that the 2022 harvest produced enough tonnage to fulfill all his needs.

“This season, we have harvested 57 tons, with 35 tons coming from vineyards in the Hill Country, and 22 tons from our growers in the Texas High Plains. We have brought in 15 different varieties, from 10 vineyards in the Hill Country, and three vineyards in the High Plains.”

Ron Yates of Ron Yates Wines and Spicewood Vineyards said he expects this year to be one of the best in the Texas wine industry’s recent history.

“Each growing season presents its own unique challenges in the vineyard. 2022 is no exception,” Yates said.

“This year, we experienced a later than usual bud break because of an extended cold season, a gusty spring, and a searingly hot summer all wrapped up in a drawn-out dry spell. All of that made for a shortened growing season for our grapevines both in the Hill Country and in the High Plains.”

Yates, in particular, noted the strong winds in spring blew away grape flowers causing many of the vineyards to have small crops. “The best-managed vineyards in Texas will have a smaller than usual crop, but with stellar quality,” he said.

“We think this will be one of the best vintages in recent history and maybe even better than the wines made in 2017.”

Susan Johnson, co-founder of the Texas Heritage Winery in Fredericksburg, added that “Mother Nature is working overtime in Texas Vineyards. Our excessive heat and total lack of rainfall has resulted in higher Brix numbers.” Brix indicates the level of natural sugar.

“With bud-break in March being a full two- to three weeks late this year, growers expected that harvest would be pushed back by an equal number of weeks.”

At Texas Heritage estate vineyard, she noted the Viognier had achieved a Brix level of 22 by early-July so hand-harvesting began on July 12 in the early morning to avoid heat damage. The red grape varieties were also ready much sooner than typical years.

“The quality of the wine made from these grapes is yet unknown, but we believe it will be more intense because of the high heat and concentrated growth season,” Johnson said.

Seth Urbanek, winemaker at Wedding Oak Winery in San Saba, had more than grapes on his mind this season.

“We are almost finished with our 2022 wine grape harvest, and just like last year and the year before, we have unique challenges and opportunities,” Urbanek said.

“The intense heat this summer means that harvest is happening fast and furiously. The upside is that, hopefully, we’ll have all of the fruit processed before our son is due in mid-October.”

He, too, commented on the wind damage during flowering. “Those self-pollinating flowers are really delicate and susceptible to adverse weather. While we have healthy vines and canopy, we have less fruit.”

As the grapevines came out of dormancy later, a later harvest had also been expected but the searing heat greatly accelerated the lifecycle. He was particularly pleased with the natural acidity that had been maintained in the grapes through careful vineyard management and thoughtful irrigation.

The later Hill Country harvest meant that they were picking both there and in the High Plains simultaneously, which he said was a first for Wedding Oak Winery.

Similarities that all the sources noted were the overall high-quality fruit, particularly for all the red grape varieties. Tempranillo is considered way above average for this year.

Despite the weather challenges and limited yields, the consensus is that 2022 will be considered one of the best vintages recently seen in Texas.

Cheers to that, y’all, and raise a glass this October to toast Texas Wine Month