Mountains? In Texas?
Location
Located in far west Texas about 400 miles west of San Antonio and 200 miles east of El Paso near the small town of Fort Davis, the Texas Davis Mountains AVA is located around the, you guessed it, Davis Mountains.
Originally called the Limpia Mountains, the Davis Mountain range is not a range in the traditional sense of one continuous range of mountains. The Davis Mountains are more a series of individual peaks surrounded by large areas of flat land. Volcanic in origin, the mountains are composed of granitic and porphyritic soil types.
Just a short drive north of the locally famous town of Marfa, the Texas Davis Mountain AVA is extremely secluded from any major population centers, this is not a region you‘re going to just stumble across on accident.
There are approximately 270,000 acres within the AVA and the most recent information approximates that there are 50 acres under vine.
Climate
The AVA itself is surrounded on all sides by the Chihuahuan Desert and has an elevation that ranges between 4,500’ and 8,300‘ making it the highest AVA in all of Texas. To add some perspective, Napa Valley ranges from about 200’ to 2,200’ above sea level; the lowest portion of the Texas Davis Mountains AVA is twice as high as the highest elevation seen in Napa Valley. As a result of this higher elevation, the Texas Davis Mountains AVA enjoys a cooler climate than the surrounding area affording the grapes a longer growing season.
The higher elevations see the most rain with the peaks getting approximately 20” while elevations where the vineyards are located receive approximately 16”. The limited rainfall greatly reduces the potential vineyard sites to those with access to well water for irrigation.
Varieties
Due to the cooler than usual climate for Texas, Bordeaux varietals fair well here. Red Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well as the white Bordeaux variety of Sauvignon Blanc are the predominate varieties of the region. Additionally, there is some acreage dedicated to Chenin Blanc.
Producers
While there are no wineries registerd in the Texas Davis Mountains AVA, there is one winery that produces wine made solely from grapes grown in the region.
Pleasant Hill Winery - Texas
Comments