Texas Viticulture & Enology

09/04/2026

It's here. Check out our September statewide newsletter.

09/02/2026

What a day! Over 175 in our community attended the TV Munson Vineyard Rededication at Grayson College. Under the leadership of Dr. Amit Dhingra, the Texas A&M University Department of Horticultural Sciences and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have partnered with Grayson College and the TV Munson Center to ensure the Munson legacy not only is preserved but is situated front and center of what we are doing to serve our constituents here and now. Of particular excitement is the recent initiation of four high impact research projects ongoing with the TV Munson program in the vineyard. We look forward to continuing to work closely together with Grayson College, the TV Munson Center and the WB Munson Foundation to serve the needs of our students, agents, commercial industry, and Texas public. Munson's legacy is not just an interesting relic of the past, it is an integral part of our future and we are dedicated to this great responsibility. Cheers to many more years of successful partnership and congratulations to Robin Bogue for her vision and tenacious passion for TV Munson.

09/01/2026

Las uvas retiradas durante el aclareo de racimos no siempre tienen que terminar en el suelo. Pueden convertirse en verjus, un jugo ácido de uvas inmaduras con usos en la cocina y la elaboración de vino.

Descubriendo la versatilidad del verjus: más que uvas inmaduras te ayuda a evaluar esta opción para tu viñedo o bodega. La publicación explica cómo se elabora y cómo puede usarse para acidificar vino o venderse como producto independiente.

También presenta los beneficios, costos y retos que pueden influir en tus resultados. Así podrás decidir con más claridad si la producción de verjus encaja con tu operación.

https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/descubriendo-la-versatilidad-del-verjus-m%C3%A1s-que-uvas-inmaduras/01tQn00000ISiOjIAL

08/29/2026

08/28/2026

A large number of our viticulture and enology team with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in the Texas A&M University Department of Horticultural Sciences were able to participate in the American Society for Enology and Viticulture Joint Conference (National and Eastern Section) held this past July in Boise, ID. It is here where we learn, on a national level, about current research and hot topics, network with colleagues and industry, and work together on new initiatives and research projects that will benefit our stakeholders, This year in particular was exciting as Texas had significant involvement, for example Michael Cook moderated the Understanding and Managing Water Stress Session, Dr. Andreea Botezatu presented her work "Positioning Texas-Grown Quercus alba Among American White Oaks: Volatile and Sensory Perspectives", and Dr. Justin Scheiner moderated the Advances in Pest Management Session. We also congratulate PhD student in the Department of Horticultural Sciences, Gabriel Olson, who received an ASEV scholarship.

And to top it all off, our very own Dr. Justin Scheiner was elected incoming Chair of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture - Eastern Section. This group includes all of the US states East of the Rocky Mountains and parts of Canada. He is the first Texan and Aggie to hold this office, and we are incredibly proud of his achievements. We look forward to his leadership in 2027 within the society.

08/26/2026

Happening tomorrow. Click on the link to join.
https://tamu.zoom.us/j/98681305409

Join me on August 27th for another Ask the Extension Enologist forum.

https://tamu.zoom.us/j/98681305409

08/25/2026

Last month we were honored to host a team of Italian Viticulture Research Scientists with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture in their efforts to study the endophytic relationships found
in the vascular tissue of wine grape varieties and Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s Disease. We tested susceptible, tolerant, and resistant cultivars.

Italy is particularly interested in Texas as they now have PD in Southern Italian vineyards. The hope is that with our collaborative partnership we may explore possible solutions including a control product of which they are already finding exciting success with in greenhouse preliminary studies. We hope our working together will not only expand our scientific knowledge in this fast changing area but also yield solutions that both our industries can benefit from.

We thank our Texas wine industry for welcoming the Italian team with open arms. We collected over 130 samples in vineyards and “in the wild” across the state. We look forward to continued partnership with our new Italian friends. After their Texas visit they flew to UC-Davis to analyze the samples collected out of the Cantu Lab. We will share our findings once the paper is published.

08/25/2026

Thomas Jefferson knew his Bordeaux, traveled through European wine regions taking meticulous notes, ordered Château Lafite directly from the source, and spent years trying - mostly unsuccessfully - to grow European grapes at Monticello. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we follow Jefferson from the vineyards of France and Italy to his own stubbornly uncooperative vines in Virginia. Along the way, we explore his surprisingly modern ideas about wine provenance, his legendary presidential cellar, wine as a tool of diplomacy, and why calling him the “father of American wine” may be giving him a little too much credit.

Thomas Jefferson knew his Bordeaux, traveled through European wine regions taking meticulous notes, ordered Château Lafite directly from the source, and spent years trying - mostly unsuccessfully - to grow European grapes at Monticello. In this ep...

08/18/2026

New publication from our Enology lab.

Authors: Julia (Belz) Blackstone and Dr. Andreea Botezatu

Thank you Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo for your continued support of our graduate students!

Background and goals Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a secondary fermentation process that converts l-malic acid to l-lactic acid, thereby softening acidity and contributing to microbial stability and sensory complexity in wine. Although MLF is beneficial in cool-climate winemaking, its effects in....