TDA's Wine Passport Program Wins Award

Guest Blogger: Kerry Neely, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Marketing

I'm proud to announce the Texas Department of Agriculture's Texas Winery Passport Program won the 2010 North American Agriculture Marketing Officials (NAAMO) Agricultural Marketing Excellence award!

The winery passport program works in new and innovative ways to offer incentives to visitors experiencing Texas wine country. Through the program, more than 1 million travelers visit Texas vineyards and wineries, while meeting the winemakers who take pride in their craft. Thanks to those winemakers, Texas is the fifth-leading wine-producing state in the nation.

When travelers redeem their passports, not only does TDA send them a reward or connect them with a reward-donating winery that offers tastings, dinners or overnight stays, the agency also receives valuable feedback about consumer interests that serves as essential market research.

NAAMO awarded TDA and Texas this honor above all other U.S. states and Canadian provinces. To learn more about the Texas Winery Passport Program, visit www.gotexanwine.org.

Congratulations again to TDA's Marketing and Promotion Division for superior strategy and excellent execution!

GO TEXAN WineCast Episode 6- Munson Wine Trail

This is the sixth in a series of eight videos on Texas wine trails. This episode features the Munson Wine Trail, 12 wineries stretching across the northeast corner of Texas. Beginning just north of Dallas, the Munson Wine Trail offers a range of events each year, such as barrel tastings and the McKinney Wine & Jazz Festival.

Watch the video here:


You can go to www.youtube.com/user/GoTexanWine to view videos on other trails located across our state and to find out more about all Texas wines and wineries have to offer.

GO TEXAN WineCast Episode 5- Dallas Wine Trail

This GO TEXAN WineCast highlights wineries in the Dallas area. A cluster of four urban wineries, this trail brings the rural winery experience to the heart of Dallas.

Watch the video here:


You can go to http://www.youtube.com/user/GoTexanWine to view videos on other trails located across our state and to find out more about all Texas wines and wineries have to offer.

GO TEXAN WineCast Episode 4

The fourth GO TEXAN WineCast featuring the Way Out Wineries Trail is now available for viewing. Nestled between the High Plains and the Texas Hill Country, these eight small-town wineries host five seasonally themed “road trips” each year.

GO TEXAN WineCast Episode 3

The third GO TEXAN WineCast is now available for viewing. The Grapevine Wine Trail
in North Texas features nine wineries. Some of the wineries host themed events such as the Murder Mystery Trail and the Valentine Wine Trail.




You can go to www.YouTube.com/user/GoTexanWine to view videos on other trails located across our state and to find out more about all Texas wines and wineries have to offer.

GO TEXAN WineCast Episode 2

The second GO TEXAN WineCast is now available for viewing. Get familiar with the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail located in the heart of Central Texas. The trail is made up of 24 wineries and is the second most popular wine destination in the country, second only to Napa/Sonoma.

Watch the video here:




You can also visit the GO TEXAN Wine YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GoTexanWine to view videos on other trails located across our state and to find out more about all Texas wines and wineries have to offer.

Tour Texas Wine Trails with New GO TEXAN WineCasts

Friendly personalities, beautiful scenery and award-winning wines characterize Texas wine trails. We're excited people all over the world can access the new GO TEXAN WineCasts to uncork the fun and welcoming experiences of our wine country.

At the Texas Department of Agriculture, we're launching a new series of Web videos highlighting eight Lone Star wine trails. Winemakers and trail representatives will share travel tips for each trail, as well as specifics about trail events, celebrations and what visitors can expect.

The series kicks off with the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, a group of eight wineries scattered from Brenham to Montgomery. Subsequent weekly episodes will cover wine trails around the state, including Cross Timbers Wine Trail, Dallas Wine Trail, Fredericksburg Wine Road 290, Grapevine Wine Trail, Munson Wine Trail, Texas Hill Country Wine Trail and Way Out Wineries. The videos will be posted on the GO TEXAN Wine YouTube Channel and featured on TDA's Texas wine site.

View our videos for a taste of what wine trails offer, but don't stop there. Pick up TDA's Texas Winery Passport, and explore Texas wine country. You'll not only enjoy your experience, you'll join the roughly 1 million visitors a year touring one of the fastest-growing sectors of Texas agriculture.


Our booming Texas wine industry, with more than 180 wineries, contributes more than $1.35 billion annually to the state's economy. Whether you're a first time visitor or a seasoned Texas wine country veteran, I'm excited to welcome you to explore the pour, taste Texas pride and GO TEXAN!

Watch Episode 1 on the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail here:

Texas Wine Industry Continues to Grow

The 2009 grape harvest season is officially underway. To mark the occasion, the Haak Family and Haak Vineyard & Winery staff in Santa Fe, Texas hosted a weekend grape harvest event and were joined by several other Texas wineries including Circle S Vineyards, Enoch's Stomp Vineyard and Winery, Flat Creek Estate, Llano Estacado Winery and Maydelle Country Wines. These participating wineries showcased some of the best wines in Texas and helped kick off and celebrate the 2009 harvest season.

The Texas wine industry truly is a growing business. In fact, an economic study spearheaded by the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association and Texas Tech University indicates this agriculture sector impacts the Texas economy to the tune of $1.35 billion dollars per year. It also draws nearly 1 million tourists and visitors to our wineries, and employs more than 9,000 Texans. Texas is the fifth-leading wine-producing state in the nation and seeing the potential of our state, I know it's only a matter of time before our ranking climbs even higher.


To learn more about the Texas Wine Industry, please visit www.gotexanwine.org.

State Fair of Texas Highlights

If you are looking for high-energy exhibits, hundreds of quality Texas products, cooking demonstrations and other exciting special events, then I recommend visiting TDA's Food and Fiber Pavilion at the Texas State Fair, presented by Borden.

The State Fair of Texas is going on until Oct. 19. Click HERE for a full calendar of events at the pavilion. Fairgoers love to experience the world of Texas agriculture firsthand. This opening week offers terrific opportunities to do just that.

Here is a look of the highlights for the first week of the fair at the pavillion:

• You'll love these animal ambassadors! Straight from the Wild Wonders Outreach Program at the Fort Worth Zoo, birds of prey, small mammals, reptiles and other outdoor friends will visit the Pavilion. Visitors will mix, mingle, meet and greet the animals. There's educational fun for all ages. Noon-2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1.

• In the mood for a great meal? Southwest Dairy Farmers and the Texas Beef Council will partner together and entertain fairgoers with exciting beef and dairy cooking demos. Noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30 and Thursday, Oct 2.

• Tap your feet, harmonize and join in as the Cabaret Sweet Adeline Quartet regales the crowd with cabaret tunes. The group consists of Patty, Pam, Donna and Holly - four women from four different states - singing for your enjoyment. Noon-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.

• Enjoy the culinary show of Molly Fowler, the Dining Diva, as she displays her GO TEXAN cooking skill with live demos. A traveling culinary instructor, television personality and cookbook author, Fowler shares her secrets with ease and flair. Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4; 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

• Stop by and say hello to fairground favorite Borden's Elsie the Cow, who returns to the Pavilion promoting the goodness of dairy products. Also, rock out with Radio Disney as it broadcasts live from the Pavilion. 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

• Kids can't get enough of the engaging musical duo The Biscuit Brothers. Their television program The Biscuit Brothers, produced in Austin, won a Lone Star Emmy for best children's programming in 2006. Come sing along to the catchy (and educational) Biscuit music in the Texas Beef Council Exhibit. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

• Country singer Haley Reynolds, the Dairy Festival Queen of Hopkins County, dazzles visitors on the Southwest Dairy Farmers Gazebo Stage. Noon-2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6.

• Toast a taste of Texas good cheer at the State Fair of Texas Wine Garden, presented by Kroger and sponsored by TDA. This week, representatives from Fall Creek Vineyards in the Hill Country, Llano Estacado Winery on the High Plains, Haak Vineyards on the Gulf Coast and Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham are just some of the people on hand in the Wine Garden to help teach the story of Texas wineries and wines. Visitors will discover and meet the people who have put the Lone Star State on the worldwide winemaking map.

See you there!