It has been a tough year, no matter how you look at it. Aside from the coronavirus pandemic and all the unrest in the country, when you get to the heartland of the country, it is tougher still.
Terry County has had virtually no rainfall to speak of this growing season. What has come has been spotty, at best. Daily, you drive past fields that should be green and growing with cotton beginning to put on bolls. But, instead, we drive past fields that are brown and barren.
The grape growers have fared no better. An early freeze in October of last year, when the grapes were still being harvested wiped out many vines in the county. For a myriad of reasons, tonnage was way down this year for grapes in Terry County. There were a few vineyards that seemed to be able to hold their own, but for the most part, growers were disappointed with their yield.
The good side to this is that, from all reports, the quality is excellent. This seems to be the case often. When quantity is down, quality is up. But the grape harvest has just about come to an end for one more year.
Texas Wine Company has seen lots of grapes come through this year. They too have seen the lack of tonnage and they know this is not good for the grape grower. But, as is the mantra of all of agriculture, “There is always next year.”
On the day that TownTalk Radio was at Texas Wine Company, the Phillips Vineyard was bringing in their moscato variety. Frank Garza was overseeing the whole venture with the help of Wine Maker Tim Drake, Nikki Timmins, and Juan Trevino III.
