The annual wine festival is run over 4 days, shutting down the main street in Grapevine, Texas.
When thinking wine, most people would throw around the likes of New Zealand, Australia, France, Spain, Italy. Not Texas.
Even Americans themselves struggle to make the connection.
Landing in the US after a lengthy flight, the customs officer gives me a sideways glance.
“Texas?” he responds, when I mention the wine festival I’m going to.
The sentiment is even shared by many who live in Grapevine itself - a small town close to Dallas Fort Worth - with most chuckling when I bring the topic up. Texas is more renowned for barbecues and rodeos.
Local Grapevine growers - and drinkers - accept that they can’t do a sharp, tart sauvignon blanc like New Zealand or an oaky, dry chardonnay like the Australians, but the wine they do produce is good.
Silver Dollar Winery bottles at the Annual Grapefest festival in the town of Grapevine, Texas. Photo / Belinda Feek
Texas is home to more than 400 wineries and is America’s fifth-largest wine-producing state, contributing more than $13 billion to the state’s economy. Given that production, it’s no wonder the state is the fourth-largest consumer of wine.
Grapevine has built its town’s livelihood off its name and its wine festival, Grapefest, every September for the past 36 years. The festival relies on locals to help fill the 6000 shifts over the four days, which in turn sees them get in for free.
Grapefest committee member Mark Terpening agrees Texas’s wine reputation is understated but says as soon as people try their wine, they love it.
“Naturally with the name, we realise that’s a real nice draw. We curate our wineries so that we bring in people who have an appreciation of wine but can discover that ‘oh, Texas does have good wines’.
“They always think if you see those ‘Texas’ and ‘wine” on a label to run the other way, but in fact, [the region has produced] some really good wines.”
Terpening says one Texan winery, Llano, was so keen to produce good sauvignon blanc, they sent their winemaker to New Zealand to learn how to do it.
Grapefest founder committee executive Pete ‘PW’ Williams says each state, or country, has to start somewhere, including New Zealand.
“Thirty-five years ago, they didn’t reconcile New Zealand with wine. So you see, it takes time.”
Main Street in Grapevine, Texas, a wine region with more than 450 wineries close by. Photo / Supplied
Checklist
GRAPEVINE TEXAS
GETTING THERE
American Airlines flies a seasonal direct service from Auckland to Dallas Fort Worth between November and March. Off-season, travel with United Airlines via San Francisco, or Air New Zealand via Houston.
