FARMING: WEST
TEXAS WINE, PREMIUM VITICULTURE IN THE HIGH PLAINS “I think we’re a little hidden gem and you know there’s over 800 wineries now in Texas and we’ve become a force to be reckoned with,” - Leslie Sukin BY ASHTYN CARR PHOTOS BY LLANO ESTACADO
W
est Texas is notorious for its unmatched, unique climate. The clear skies are broken up by towering windmills. The dry air is sprinkled with red dirt. The flat fields are dotted with white cotton plants. Lubbock comfortably fits this mold. However, emerging from beneath the red dirt is a hidden gem that breaks West Texas out of mundane stereotype. Established in 1976, Llano Estacado was cultivated by Texas Tech professors Clinton McPherson and Bob Reed. What started as a research experiment blossomed into the largest premium winery in Texas. This successful West Texas treasure is now one of over 800 wineries in the state. The winery got its name from the land it sits on. The Llano Estacado, translated from Spanish to Staked Plains, is a region of flatlands reaching from eastern New Mexico to northwest Texas. Because of the unique climate, grade production is different for Llano Estacado than wineries in wine country in California or Washington. Greg Bruni, Vice President Executive Winemaker at Llano, knew the challenges he would be facing when he made the move to Texas in 1993. Despite the difficulties Bruni, a former California head winemaker, saw the potential for high quality Texas wine. “I kind of felt like I was part of a pioneering move towards premium Texas wine,” Bruni said. Bruni remembers the first challenge he went through at the winery. During his transition to Llano, the area was going through a drought. The weather conditions were more extreme than those he was used to. On top of that, grape production in the High Plains was unlike the production he had experience with. “One thing that kind of caught me off guard were the extreme conditions…,” Bruni said. “We knew the quality was there, but we just didn’t have the consistent production year over year.” The grapes that go into making Llano Estacado wine aren’t grown at on location. Though their is a vineyard on property, there hasn’t been a harvest from those vines. But you’re still drinking West Texas wine! The winery ships in grapes from growers throughout the Panhandle. Contracting during the spring season, Llano’s Winemaker Jason Centanni and other Llano employees keep in contact with growers while the grapes are coming to fruition. In fact, they even pay visits to the vineyards until harvest. “We actually go out there, boots on the ground, and walk PG. 4 :: SPRING 2020
around,” Centanni said. “You know, make suggestions or decisions to find the best possible way to ripen or mature those grapes based on the type of wine we want to make first.” After harvesting, grapes go into the wine making process. Though Llano has a fairly traditional winemaking process, Centanni says the winery mixes in post modern techniques during the fermentation process or immediately after. The main post modern technique they use is called micro-oxygenation. Centanni explained that this process is typically used on Llano’s red wines. Micro-oxygenation is the method of adding
