‘Just because you can, doesn't mean you should’ and Other Stories of Pinot Noir in Texas
Colleen C. Myles
In the most recent crush report for Texas (2021), just eight acres of Pinot Noir were reported out of over 9000 acres in production. Today it seems that number has grown a bit, though not much, with the current Pinot Noir acreage estimates being closer to 25 acres. Why is there such a small presence of the grape in the state? Put simply, Texas terroir is quite unlike that of the growing regions known for Pinot Noir, namely relatively cool places with a long growing season. In Texas, vines face high temps and humidity, intense disease pressure, and a high incidence of natural hazards such as late freezes and hailstorms. None of these conditions are in alignment with the expected needs of a cool weather-loving and disease-susceptible variety like Pinot Noir. Nevertheless, Pinot Noir is being grown (in admittedly small amounts) and the grape is being made into both still (red and rosé) wines as well as (white and rosé) sparkling wine. Based on direct observation and fieldwork, in this paper, I will argue why the “hows” and “whys” of this micro-scale production is worth considering, including a discussion of which vineyards are growing Pinot Noir grapes, which wineries are making Pinot Noir wine (in which styles), and what identities those winegrape growers and winemakers are co-creating in the process.
Colleen C. Myles is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. She is a cultural geographer and political ecologist with specialties in land and environmental management; sustainability; food studies; and the geography of wine and beer. She is the editor of Fermented Landscapes: Lively Processes of Socio-Environmental Transformation and has published more than 40 pieces of peer-reviewed scholarship. Her monograph, Fermenting sustainability: Tastemaking as placemaking through the lens of wine, is slated for publication in early 2026. You can find her public-facing writing in The Conversation and at Forbes.com. She is also an amateur sommelier, accredited as a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) and Specialist of Texas Wine (STW).