Texoma AVA
Encyclopedia
The Texoma AVA is an American Viticultural Area
located in north central Texas
, on the south side of Lake Texoma
and the Red River
that forms the border with the state of Oklahoma
. The Texoma region is where 19th century viticulturist Thomas Volney Munson
discovered that grafting Vitis vinifera
grapevine
s onto native American varieties of vine rootstock resulted in vines that were resistant to phylloxera
. The technique saved the Europe
an wine industry when it was brought to France
, which was suffering its first phylloxera epidemic. The region was not designated an American Viticultural Area until 2005.
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
located in north central Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, on the south side of Lake Texoma
Lake Texoma
Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest Corps of Engineers lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District....
and the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
that forms the border with the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The Texoma region is where 19th century viticulturist Thomas Volney Munson
Thomas Volney Munson
Thomas Volney Munson often referred to simply as T.V. Munson, was a horticulturist and breeder of grapes in Texas.-Background:...
discovered that grafting Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grapevine
Grapevine
Grapevine is the common name for plants of the genus Vitis. Other meanings include:*Grapevine , a term often used to describe a form of communication by means of gossip or rumor, as in "heard it through the grapevine"...
s onto native American varieties of vine rootstock resulted in vines that were resistant to phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. The technique saved the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an wine industry when it was brought to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which was suffering its first phylloxera epidemic. The region was not designated an American Viticultural Area until 2005.