Texas Wine Facts
Texas is the site of the first vineyard established in North America by Franciscan priests circa 1662. As European settlers followed the development of mission outposts, they brought more grapevine cuttings, further developing the industry through the 1800s. Today, Texas has more than 14,000 vineyard acres and has more than 700 active winery permits.
Texas Wine Features
- Table Wine: Still wine that has less than 14% alcohol.
- Fortified Wine: A wine to which alcohol has been added, most typically brandy.
- Dessert Wine: Wines that are 14% alcohol or higher, typically sweet, served with dessert, and considered a sipping drink.
- Sparkling Wine: Wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide, making it bubbly. The carbon dioxide results from a second fermentation either in the traditional French method (méthode champenoise) in the bottle or in large tanks.
Texas Wine and Winegrape Industry Profile
- Contributes more than $24.39 billion of economic value to the State of Texas (according to the 2025 Texas Economic Impact Study Packet on American Wine Industry prepared by John Dunham & Associates).
- 136,700 full-time jobs paying $6.9 billion in wages.
- 2.64 million tourist visits to Texas wineries and $503+ million in annual tourism expenditures.
- Visit the WineAmerica website for U.S. study and state-by-state statistics.