for having enough inventory that would allow us one in seven years of having low or no harvest. We can handle a year or so based on wine we have saved up, but we would need to build that back up over a few years to prepare for another extreme event.” 

But not every winery has the resources to hold a year’s worth of inventory back for a rainy day—or in this case, a freeze. Nor are they able to scour the state for extra grapes either because they are too small, or just too large. This year Llano Estacado Winery , one of the oldest and largest wineries in the state will be off by 85 percent in their Texas fruit projections. It means their estimate to deliver 63,000 cases of Texas Appellation wine sank to about 10,000 cases for 2013. 

“It’s hard on you when everything you’ve planned for the next three years is based on the grapes we wanted to get this year, but didn’t,” said vice president and head winemaker Greg Bruni. “So far we have about 150 tons of grapes in from our Texas vineyards and I’m really happy with the maturity and flavor ranges we’re getting, but it certainly derails our plans.” 

With projections to deliver about 70,000 cases to retail and restaurant shelves, Llano Estacado has to produce something. 

“It means we will have to produce wines with grapes from California and New Mexico. We want to use Texas fruit, but with a year like this, we have no choice,” said Bruni, who made clear that any wine made by Llano Estacado with non-Texas grapes would be clearly labeled as American Appellation wine to let consumers know it’s not from Texas. 

Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars , up near Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, is in the same boat. He anticipates seeing twenty percent of his usual grape yield in Texas. As a result, he will also source grapes from California and will make wine that clearly indicates its source on his labels. 

“You have to put the truth on the label,” said McPherson. “We’re even going to tell people exactly what happened on the back label. We suffered a tough time this year. I’ve never seen a frost like this in my life and it’s not something that will happen every year. We’re going to put out all of the Texas fruit we can, but we need people to stick with us.” 

And while it’s a grim outlook for the 2013 vintage, both winemakers and grape growers echo McPherson’s sentiment. They’re in this for the long haul. People who work in agricultural businesses understand they have to work with the reality of the roadblocks Mother Nature can put in the way.

“In farming, you have to make calculated risks. That’s just the truth of it. We probably won’t see another freeze like this for 100 years,” said Cliff Bingham. He added that there is a silver lining in this rather tumultuous farming year: “We took the direction of our vineyard consultant Bobby Cox to plant warm climate grapes like Vermentino, Dolcetto, Trebbiano, Tempranillo, which are generally late-budding grapes that escape the average spring freeze—when we don’t have an anomaly like this year. The High Plains has a collection of vineyards combined that can produce quality fruit in an average year. That’s why we’ve been bullish and plan to plant even more grapes in a year or two. We don't let anomaly determine how we move forward.” 

Perhaps the biggest take away for Bingham and many of his grape growing and winemaking colleagues is that you can’t give up. 

“I know it’s a heartbreak for a lot of Texas wineries," said Bingham. "But you can’t sake your fist at God when things like this happen. It singes your tail feathers. But we can live through this. And we will.”