“The State Fair of Texas celebrates all things Texan by promoting agriculture, education, and community involvement through quality entertainment in a family-friendly environment. As a celebration of Texas heritage, the State Fair aims to embody all aspects of Lone Star culture.” -State Fair of Texas website
Fairgoers will have to look a little harder to find Texas wine at the State Fair of Texas this year. Over the years, Texas wine has been available for purchase in the aptly named Texas Beer and Wine Garden and for sampling in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN Pavilion on selected dates. This year, the Pavilion wine tastings are still on the schedule, but the Texas Wine and Beer Garden has been rebranded as the The Grove on Nimitz: Wine from Around the World.
The Space formerly known as the Texas Wine Garden
The Texas Wine and Beer Garden has long been a central meeting spot for wine lovers to relax with a glass or a bottle of wine, or to taste through a flight of sparkling, red, white or rose´. The wine list at The Grove on Nimitz features the same general categories, plus flights from the new world, old world, or all bubbles.
Texas wine isn’t completely shut out of the list, but Texas wines only make up 13% of the options. There’s one Texas wine in each of the wine categories, and the Texas options are highlighted in red font to make them stand out. The Texas wine selections include McPherson Cellars Sparkling Brut, Reddy Vineyards Rose´, Reddy Vineyards “Petals and Clay” Sauvignon Blanc, and Locations TX by Orin Swift Texas Red. Locations TX Texas Red is also included in a flight of three new world wines.
Wine purchases for the Texas Wine Garden are made by the State Fair of Texas’ long-time concessions operator, Weiss Enterprises. Disclosure: I worked with The State Fair of Texas in both paid and unpaid consulting roles from 2020-2022 to select the Texas wines, manage communications with wineries, and write blog posts about Texas wine.
History
The State Fair of Texas Wine Garden has been through a few iterations over the years. It was created pre-2011 (anyone know the exact year?) during Bobby Champion Jr.’s tenure as coordinator for marketing at the Texas Department of Agriculture. Messina Hof co-founder Paul Bonarrigo told me that Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs was instrumental in bringing Texas wine to the State Fair.
In the early days of the Texas Wine Garden, wineries signed up to pour wine at one of three tasting windows. Ten-hour shifts during or shortly after harvest season are difficult for most wineries, and I heard few complains when this opportunity ended in favor of having the concessions staff members serve wine and collect tickets.
Entertainment was a key part of the Texas Wine Garden from 2007-2011 when Jeff Siegel (the Wine Curmudgeon) and friends conducted Wine 101 seminars from a designated stage. Fairgoers could learn about wine, hear brief interviews, and taste Texas wine during a daily 30-minute appearance. This effort was funded jointly by the Texas Department of Agriculture and the State Fair of Texas. Budgetary cuts in 2011 axed the program for 2012.
In 2018, the State Fair first made Blue Ribbon Selections, recognizing a group of 12 top Texas wines that were then sold at the Wine Garden. Concessions employees poured and sold the wine. This Blue Ribbon Selection process continued with some modifications each year through 2022. At some point, the Texas Wine Garden became the Texas Wine and Beer Garden.
When the State Fair was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Blue Ribbon Selections were still recognized and were sold in a mixed case. To promote the wines, the State Fair hosted four webinars featuring Texas winery owners and winemakers.
Last year, a whopping 22 Texas wines from 14 Texas wineries were selected as Blue Ribbon wines, providing the largest menu of Texas wines in the DFW area, albeit only for the run of the fair.
What happened?
It is hard to imagine how removing Texas wine from the wine garden is consistent with the State Fair of Texas’ mission to promote Texas agriculture. I don’t have any insider information about how the decision to demote Texas wine was made. My guess is that the concessions operator saw an opportunity to select cheaper wines and generate higher sales in the wine garden. Perhaps they hoped that familiar names like 14 Hands and La Marca would entice drinkers to purchase more.
The current wine list promotes large production wines from around the world, but they’re not all cheaper than the Texas offerings. In fact, premium offerings include J Vineyards Russian River Valley Chardonnay for 100 coupons ($100) and Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley for 130 coupons ($130). Texas selections are all 70 coupons, the same price as the Meiomi Pinot Noir and Prisoner Wine Company’s Unshackled Sauvignon Blanc.
GO TEXAN Pavilion
As in past years, the GO TEXAN Pavilion still provides an opportunity for wineries that are GO TEXAN members to pour wine samples. This program and this sampling opportunity are managed by the Texas Department of Agriculture. In addition to being members of GO TEXAN, wineries must pay a fee for the booth space and provide the wine for sampling. They cannot sell wine at the booth, but they are able to take orders for wine to be shipped.
GO TEXAN Pavilion Texas Wine Sampling Schedule as of Sept 27:
Triple N Ranch Winery: Oct 15 & 22
Hidden Hangar: Oct 5, 10, 12, 16
Red Caboose: Oct 3 & 17
The hours for tasting are 11 AM to 7 PM.
Additionally, the winners of the Texas Monthly / Texas Department of Agriculture Vintners Cup will be sampled on October 13 (12-3 pm) and 14 (12-4:30 pm). A Texas winery panel is scheduled for October 13 at 3:30 pm.
What’s next?
Messina Hof co-founder Paul Bonarrigo’s Facebook post on the lack of Texas wine at the State Fair has moved some supporters to action. Paul asks, “When will the people in the Texas wine industry step up and say how wrong it is not to have Texas wines as the only wine sold at the State Fair of Texas?” Another post asks readers to send feedback to the State Fair at info@bigtex.com.
Personally, I’m sad about the new “Wines of the World” rebranding and the new wine list. There are so many deserving Texas wines that could have been included. In private e-mails, TDA staff indicated that Texas wines may not have been able to meet the financial goals of the concessions operator, namely a low-enough wholesale price. Last year I found 22 wines that were able to meet the pricing parameters for sales in the wine garden, and I could have found many more. And what drives the non-profit State Fair of Texas - mission or concession revenue?
Here’s hoping that this year’s setback will bring some much-needed discussion about how Texas wine can reclaim its rightful place at the State Fair of Texas.
Note: The State Fair of Texas is a nonprofit 501(c)(3). 2022 Annual Report
(below, 2017 Texas Wine Garden photos, and the 2022 all-Texas wine list)
