Howdy, Texas wine fans! Our quarterly Texas Wine News Roundup digs up five stories that you might have missed in the third quarter of 2025. Check the bottom of this post for sources and links to the full articles.
Since fall is harvest time, we’ll start with a report on this year’s crop of grapes:
Story #1: The 2025 Texas vintage report: It’s good!
Despite low demand for wine (that’s happening everywhere) and iffy weather (that happens almost every season), Texas grape growers have something to celebrate this year: A healthy, successful vintage.
The Texas High Plains AVA produces more than 80% of Texas’s wine grapes and supplies them to wineries around the state. As the state’s coolest region, it also finishes harvest the latest, sometimes stretching into October.
The 2025 picking season is now at an end, and growers have reported average yields and very good to excellent quality, according to a report by Texas A&M viticulture specialist Justin Scheiner, Ph.D. We’re looking forward to drinking the 2025 vintage in the next year and beyond.
Story #2: The Texas Hill Country region makes its Wine Folly debut.
Yee-haw, mama–Texas wine is famous now! Wine Folly, the wine education juggernaut, has released a new guide focused on Texas wine. Specifically, the Texas Hill Country AVA.
Texas Hill Country Wineries, a trade association representing 69 Central Texas wineries, announced a strategic partnership with Wine Folly this past summer. The dynamic digital guide is now live!
It features resources on the history and heritage of Texas wines, major varieties, and travel tips for winos wanting to explore the state’s most popular wine-tourism destination. Many pages are embellished with Wine Folly’s signature hand-drawn infographics. There’s also an extensive directory of Hill Country wineries to help you plan your next sippin’ trip.
Story #3: The State Fair of Texas brings wine drinkers and winemakers together.
Some people go for the midway rides, others enjoy the livestock shows. But for many Texans, the annual State Fair of Texas is about one thing: Stuffing our faces with the newest food and beverage creations.
After a brief absence in 2023, the Texas Wine Garden is back at the Fair–and it’s better than ever. The State Fair has re-upped its commitment to Texas wines with a locally-focused wine program that runs all 24 days of the Fair season. (To qualify as Texas wine, wineries must source at least 75% of their grapes from Texas.)
Texas wineries are invited to enter three to five wines for sampling. They can also register to participate in educational activities, including a daily 6 PM “Texas Wine Hour” with winemaker chats. 2025’s speaker slots filled up completely, with a different winery featured every evening from September 26 to October 19. (5 Fifty Five Vineyard has the complete schedule on their Instagram.)
Inside the Texas Wine Garden, fair-goers can order Texas wine by the 1-ounce sample pour, glass, and bottle. In addition, 12 outstanding wines and wineries–chosen by a blind tasting panel–are highlighted as part of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s “Blue Ribbon Selection” program.
Some numbers? The State Fair of Texas welcomes about 2 million visitors each year, and the Fair estimates that 12% of attendees will stop by the Wine Garden for a glass of Texas wine. That’s a lot of grapes. Now, what type of wine pairs best with Dubai Chocolate Funnel Fries?
Story #4: It’s Texas Wine Month–get your passport stamped!
October is the perfect month to rack up some winery visits across Texas. The weather is mild, the holiday parties haven’t started up yet, and two winery associations are offering self-paced, month-long tasting packages at a great price.
Heading to the Hill Country? You can get a Texas Wine Month Passport that includes tastings and exclusive discounts at 45+ participating locations. The price is $85 per person or $120 per couple.
North Texas Wine Country has their own Fall Wine Trail pass for Texas Wine Month. The North Texas pass is $55.04 and your ticket can be redeemed for three tastes at any (or all) of 40 North Texas wineries.
Story #5: Ron Yates launches the first Texas-grown box wine.
Alternative packaging is big news as consumers seek more eco-friendly and flexible ways to drink wine. Winemaker Ron Yates (of Ron Yates Wines and Spicewood Vineyards) has launched a Texas first: A boxed wine made from 100% Texas grapes. The “Get-Together” Red Wine Blend retails for $50 and contains the equivalent of four 750-ml bottles.
We tasted it at TEXSOM and found it to be a true-to-style Texas dry red with a go-anywhere vibe. The 2023 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (49%), Merlot (49%) and Petit Verdot (2%) from select vineyards in the Texas High Plains. Depending on the success of the project, rosé and white styles may be forthcoming.
This Is Texas Wine‘s Shelly Wilfong recently interviewed Ron Yates about the benefits (and challenges) of putting premium Texas wine in a box. You can find that episode here.
Further reading:
High Plains Journal: Texas vineyards report high-quality wine grapes
Texas Hill Country Wineries: Texas Hill Country Wineries Partners with Wine Folly to Launch Dynamic Online Region Guide
State Fair of Texas: From Texas Vines to Your Wine Glasses at the Fair
Austin Monthly: Local Winemaker Ron Yates Debuts New Boxed Texas Wine
See previous Wine News stories here.
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this article. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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