Book Signings:
Saturday, April 7th at Wildlseed Farms 11:00 to 3:00 http://www.wildseedfarms.com/
You can purchase autographed copies online at: wineslinger.net
Many people don’t realize that Texas is the site of North America’s first vineyard, established by Franciscan priests around 1662—or that Texas is one of the nation’s fastest-growing wine and grape producing states today. But if award-winning writer and blogger Russ Kane has his way, they won’t remain in the dark for long.
In his search to define Texas terroir, the sense of place manifest in wines of the Lone Star State, Kane earned the nickname “Texas Wineslinger” from an Australian wine writer after comparing the big red wines that originate from the red sand and porous limestone common to both the Texas High Plains and Australia’s Coonawarra wine region.
Kane’s reflections include explorations of Spanish missionary life and the sacramental wine made from Texas’s first vineyard as well as the later contributions by German and Italian immigrants. He also relates stories of modern-day growers and entrepreneurs who overcame the lingering effects of temperance and prohibition—forces that failed to eradicate Texas’s destiny as an emerging wine-producing region.
As longtime TWGGA member Gene Estes expresses it, “I am amazed at the progress we, as an industry, have made in producing superior quality fruit and wines. This is due in large part to the devotion of a few passionate individuals to improve our research, education and grass roots legislative acumen, and to no small extent, to the pride and devotion of Texans in general who believe that Texas can always do it better.
“Russ wrote it down just like it is here in Texas compete with the drawl, flavors, smells, and sunsets,” says Estes.
Russell D. Kane divides his time between Houston and Fredericksburg, Texas (Alamo Springs Ranch). A technical writer whose research spans three decades and has garnered two awards for writing excellence, he has covered Texas wines and cuisine since 1998.