Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/111102
Roxanne Myers of Lost Oak Winery is chairing the steering committee to raise private funds for the Texas wine industry. Roxanne Myers of Lost Oak Winery in Burleson, who chairs the steering committee that will start the process, said she hopes the program will help the Texas industry recover its lost momentum. "We've seen less foot traffic in our wineries, and we've seen less retail space for our wines – especially for our smaller wineries," Myers said. "They really relied on the marketing programs for exposure." FEELING THE PINCH The Texas Wine Marketing Assistance Program, overseen by Bobby Champion at the Texas Department of Agriculture, had enjoyed national recognition for its winery passport program. Enthusiastically copied in other states, the passport program awarded prizes to consumers for visiting certain numbers of wineries. The state's grape research and extension efforts, coordinated by Ed Hellman, Ph.D., who holds a joint appointment at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, had inspired Texas growers and wineries to begin the move from Bordeaux and Burgundy varieties, which had never been suited to the state's climate, to warmer-weather varieties from Spain, Italy and southern France. "Those are the things that had really contributed to our growth over the last seven and eight w w w. v w m media.com years," Hellman said. "New growers would not have started, and established growers would not have expanded, without those resources," which included three viticulturists and an enologist. "The wineries and growers relied on them to improve the quality of the grapes and the wine." All of this had been paid for by the $4.3 million, allocated over two years, which amounted to about $3 per Texan. This was not money from the general budget or a special tax, but from sales and excise taxes on wine that were returned to the industry and dedicated to marketing, extension and research. The legislative mandate was passed in 2005, and called for the money to be budgeted according to a formula that "exceeded current revenue plus average growth for reinvestment." The money – along with $500,000 from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) that FINEST QUALITY | Ed Hellman, who works jointly for Texas A&M and Texas Tech, stresses the importance of research and extension efforts in the growth of the state's wine industry. will not be eliminated under the state budget cuts – was forwarded to the agriculture department to BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE • Lead Free Crystal • Exclusive Stemware • Sheer Rim Vintage Premier 19.5oz Vintage Premier 15.5oz Vintage Premier • Innovators in Glass Decorating 12.75oz O ur family owned business has been supplying custom decorated glasses since 1983. Whether you are looking for glassware for your tasting room, festival, or special events we can recommend the right glass to fit your needs. 23780 NW Huffman Rd. Ste. 101 Hillsboro, OR 97124 M a r - A p r 2 0 13 888.284.7934 www.glasstechweb.com dfoss@glasstechweb.com | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 83