Llano Sweet Red
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Llano began as the passion of a group of Texas investors, including a Texas Tech horticulturist and chemist who believed West Texas held the potential to become a source of quality wine grapes. In the early years after the winery's founding the main difficulty was convincing local farmers to invest in vineyards. To convince the local farmers to simply experiment, Llano Estacado's original winemaking facility was constructed. The construction of the new winery worked to encourage new grape growers, and vineyards began to dot the Texas High Plains. Llano Estacado planted its first vineyard in 1978.
The early 1980s were a period of expansion and experimentation at the winery. In 1980 production had quadrupled to 6,000 cases. In 1983 Llano Estacado replaced all its equipment installing state-of-the-art tanks, crushers and other equipment in order to continue to expand and make better wines. As Llano produced more and more wines, word got out around the state that a small, upstart winery in West Texas was producing quality wine. Texans took to the venture. By 1985 production had increased to 15,000 cases.
It was also in 1985 that Walter M. Haimann arrived at Llano Estacado. A former President of Seagram Distillers Company, Haimann would help steer the winery to entirely new heights.
It was in 1986 however that Llano made a real mark on the American wine scene when it walked away from the prestigious San Francisco Fair Wine Competition with a Double Gold award for its 1984 Chardonnay.
Between 1985 and 1993 Llano continued to increase production, quality and its visibility in the wine industry. Llano's leadership in the development of the Texas wine industry resulted in other wineries being founded. All the while however, Llano Estacado continued to win awards and accolades across the country and in Europe. With the high quality of wines and awards, Haimann struck out developing an extensive distribution system across the United States, bringing Texas wine to Texans and others everywhere. By 1993 Llano Estacado had increased its production to over 50,000 cases of wine.
The mid-1990s would mark Llano's second great leap. In 1993, Haimann, now president of the winery, convinced Greg Bruni to relocate to Lubbock, Texas and take over winemaking responsibilities as Vice President of Winemaking. Bruni, an experienced and award-winning California winemaker, jumped at the opportunity to work in an industry which he believed was on the verge of becoming a national force. The next year, Haimann brought Mark Hyman to Llano Estacado to become Vice President of Sales and Marketing. The most professional management team in the Texas wine industry had been assembled and plans began to further step-up quality and production.
In a period of three years, Llano Estacado further redefined itself and the Texas wine industry. Llano Estacado was instrumental in convincing top California Grower Dale Hampton to plant Texas Vineyards. Llano Estacado expanded its team of growers and Bruni began working closely with them, helping to expand production and quality, including the planting of the winery's own experimental vineyard. In 1997 Llano embarked on an ambitious project to expand the winery to accommodate production of 125,000 cases. The excitement of this latest evolution of Llano Estacado is best exemplified in the introduction of "Viviano," the finest wine ever produced at the winery and the State's first ultra-premium wine.
The future? More of the same...continue to lead the industry and demonstrate that Texas is a wine growing region of the first order.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Maintained by a long history of knowledgeable grape growers and a current generation of persevering winemakers, modern Texas wine production continues to flourish. Today Texas ranks fifth in production volume and boasts a number of variations in climatic conditions and terrain suitable for viticulture.
The Spanish planted the first vineyards in the state in the 1660s in Ysleta Mission near what is now El Paso. Texas is also home of the famous taxonomist, Thomas Munson, who led extensive research in the 1880s on vine breeding and is credited with saving Europe from complete phylloxera devastation. His results led to the French importation of huge amounts of American species phylloxera-resistant rootstocks, which when grafted onto their non-resistant Vitis vinifera species, prevented the spread of the disease.
Today Texas boasts over 275 bonded wineries and eight official American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Some of the main AVAs include Texas High Plains, Texas Hill Country, Bell Mountain, Escondido Valley and Fredericksburg.
After experimentation with popular California varieties yielded mixed results, many growers have turned their focus to heat and drought-resistant Mediterranean varieties. Grapes such as Syrah, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Viognier and Vermentino are well-suited to the Texas environment, especially the Texas High Plains AVA in the northwestern Panhandle of Texas where vineyards are planted at 3,000-4,000 feet. This AVA receives of plenty of sunshine and cool nighttime temperatures support acid retention.