{"id":6728,"date":"2026-02-24T21:29:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/?p=6728"},"modified":"2026-02-24T21:31:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:31:28","slug":"victoria-raven-on-native-grapes-2-17-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/?p=6728","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Raven on native grapes 2-17-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Lindheimer Chapter\u2019s February meeting featured Victoria Raven with Esperanza Vineyard and Esperanza Winery, speaking on native grapes.\u00a0 Located in Blanco, Texas, at 115 Main Street, the mother\/daughter owners are highly adept in their craft, using a lifetime of honed skills.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Our lecture covered the importance of native Texas grapes, which have been hybridized into rootstocks used in vineyards worldwide to prevent infestations such as (1) the Phylloxera infestation in European vineyards caused by almost microscopic, pale yellow, sap-sucking insects, or (2) Pierce\u2019s Disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa<\/em>, which is spread by xylem-feeding leafhoppers known as sharpshooters.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Native Texan grapes are important not only for us and our wildlife, but for the sustainability of the global vineyards and wine industry through the hybrid rootstock varieties in use today.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

There are 13 native grape species and 100 named varieties of\u00a0wild grapes in Texas, more than any other state.\u00a0 Here are 3 important examples:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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  1. Vitis mustangensis<\/em><\/strong><\/span> \u2013 The Mustang Grape<\/span>. In the 1800s, this was the grape used to make wine by European settlers in Texas after the European vinifera grapevine cuttings they brought with them died.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>
    1. Vitis berlandieri<\/strong><\/em><\/span> \u2013 The Winter Grape<\/span>. Growing in limestone hills and creek bottoms, it gained its name \u201cWinter Grape\u201d since the grapes can hang until a winter freeze comes and makes them sweeter.\u00a0 Vitis berlandieri<\/em> was on top of Texas grape horticulturalist Thomas Munson\u2019s list of grapes to use as rootstock in the late 1800s to solve the Phylloxera infestation in European vineyards.\u00a0\u00a0 As a result of Thomas Munson\u2019s work in the 1800s, several Texas native grape species are still used in hybridized rootstocks used in vineyards worldwide.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>
      1. Vitis aestivalis<\/strong><\/em><\/span> \u2013 The Summer Grape<\/span>. Preferring a drier, upland habitat, grapes ripen from mid- to late-summer.\u00a0 Its interspecies hybrids include the wine-producing grape species of Norton and have genetic linkage to Black Spanish (Lenior) and Blanc Du Bois grapes used in Texas for making wine.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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        Voted Best Winery in Blanco County for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, Esperanza Winery has developed important skills in grafting rootstock to obtain palatable varietals.\u00a0 Also, knowing the soil type and elevation a particular type of grape prefers is crucial for the vine to thrive.<\/strong><\/p>

        \u00a0<\/strong>Don\u2019t take my word for it.\u00a0 Tastings are available at the Blanco, Texas location at 115 Main Street.\u00a0 You are encouraged to go see for yourself!\u00a0 Explore your options at https:\/\/www.esperanzawinery.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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        Prost!!!<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The Lindheimer Chapter\u2019s February meeting featured Victoria Raven with Esperanza Vineyard and Esperanza Winery, speaking on native grapes.\u00a0 Located in Blanco, Texas, at 115 Main Street, the mother\/daughter owners are highly adept in their craft, using a lifetime of honed skills.\u00a0\u00a0 Our lecture covered the importance of native Texas grapes, which have been hybridized into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6728"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6740,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6728\/revisions\/6740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindheimerchapternpsot.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}