GRAPEVINE -- Ten years ago, father and son Gary and Evan McKibben decided to grow grapes on their land in Meridian, 90 miles southwest of here in Bosque County.
Not long after, they abandoned plans to sell their fruit to vintners and instead learned how to make their own wine.The McKibbens now run Red Caboose, an organic and sustainable winery that sells 4,000 to 5,000 cases a year and attracts tourists to the small town north of Waco.Texas wineries such as the Red Caboose are thriving, thanks in part to Spanish grapes bred to grow well in hot, dry climates. Texas now ranks fifth in wine production in the country, according to the Wine and Grape Growers Association, and the state is home to more than 200 wineries.Vintners provided samples of their wines Saturday at the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic, the largest consumer-judged wine competition in the country and a signature event of the annual GrapeFest. Throughout the four-day event, more than 7,000 people tasted 146 wines from 40 Texas wineries."It's amazing how far we've come," Evan McKibben said. "We had to learn that we can't grow California wines in Texas. We need to grow Texas wines in Texas."Red Caboose relies mostly on fast-ripening Spanish grapes, such as tempranillos, which can be harvested before the worst of the Texas heat arrives. One of Red Caboose's wines, called Range Rider, earned the nickname "Texas in a bottle" for its dry, smoky flavor.Woodrose Winery in Stonewall opened in 1998 and sold about 500 cases a year early on. Now, the Hill Country venture averages 2,500 cases annually and one year sold 5,300."More people are recognizing and appreciating Texas wines," said Joel Keys, one of the owners. "Texas wines are on the map."The winery also attracts tourists to the Hill Country. Winery-related tourism has exploded in recent years, bringing tourists to rural areas and helping boost small, local economies, said Darrell Dean, regional field representative for the Texas Department of Agriculture.Texas wines contribute roughly $1.7 billion annually to the state's economy, much of that through tourism, according to the Wine and Grape Growers Association.Vintners say Grapefest is proof of the growing popularity of their regional wines. Now the largest wine festival in the Southwest, it began 26 years ago when a couple of hundred people spent a Saturday afternoon in a park. More than 260,000 are expected to attend the festival this year.When Messina Hof Winery opened in Bryan in 1977, it was one of only three wineries in the state, said Paul Bonarrigo, one of the owners and a sixth-generation winemaker.Sarah Bahari, 817-390-7056Twitter: @sarahbfwHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
