Texas wine-grape vineyards were seeing below-average yields and above-average quality following a challenging 2022 growing season, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
Drought and extreme heat impacted yields in every Texas region, but the arid conditions provided some positives, especially in areas that historically experience more fungal disease pressure due to rainfall and high humidity.
AgriLife Extension viticulturists Fran Pontasch, Bryan-College Station; Brianna Crowley, Fredericksburg; Michael Cook, Denton, and Daniel Hillin, Lubbock, provided a general snapshot of the season for their respective regions.
Cook said North Texas growers experienced similar weather conditions, including the late start and early finish amid drought and high temperatures. Fruit sets and sizes were slightly below normal, but he said high winds contributed to early losses.
The region experienced far more days with 40 mile per hour winds or greater during April and May than normal, Cook said.
“There was no loss to a late spring frost, but the high winds contributed to fruit sets that were 10%30% below normal, depending on variety,” he said. “Quality has been nice, and we did get some critical rains earlier in the season that helped.”
Dry conditions also helped fruit avoid disease, Cook said. But there were some issues with blanc du bois and tempranillo vines that were damaged by Winter Storm Uri, especially in vineyards where retraining the vines was an issue.
Blanc du bois vines were retrained from the ground while the grafted tempranillo vines were stubbed back to a foot and retrained from suckers this way, he said. The process of retraining can take multiple seasons for fruit yields to recover.
Drought exacerbated the stress on damaged plants, and it showed this summer, Cook said.
“There were challenges, but the quality has been phenomenal, and I think many of the producers and wineries seem to have bounced back from the pandemic-related issues and many are currently in the fermentation process,” he said. “So, 2022 should be a great vintage for North Texas.”
Crowley agreed that Texas vineyards are likely producing a good vintage despite recent challenges.
Demand for Texas wine grapes remains strong, and quality will drive prices for growers, Crowley said. Any price increases that consumers may see will likely be related to processing and logistical costs, including labor, bottles and shipping.
“Texas growers are tenacious because they grow in a very hostile environment,” she said. “Vines face constant stress in a normal year, but this year was particularly difficult because of compound stressors. But even after all the challenges, I think the 2022 season should produce a nice vintage.”
—Texas AgriLife