DRIFTWOOD, Texas -- This historic Texas drought is affecting everyone from ranchers to farmers. For many, the losses are catastrophic. However, the dry weather is helping the state's wineries reap the fruit of their labor with an uncommonly delicious crop.
In the stifling Central Texas heat, Gary Elliot and his crew at Driftwood Estate Winery are working against the clock. They must gather their grapes and press them as quickly as possible.
“What we picked here today is our Chardonnay, Vioginer, Cheni Blanc and Muscat Blanc,” Elliot said.
The parched earth and lack of rain has fruit in the field ripening faster than anyone expected.
“We're harvesting about two weeks earlier than normal, and that has to do with the drought and the heat,” said winemaker Patrick Johnson.
“We have to really move fast to get them all into the winery so they don't hang out there too long,” added Elliot.
Elliot and his crew managed to fill four bins with the small white grapes. Usually there would be four times as many containers filled with fruit, but not this year.
“There was a very small amount of each of the four varieties, so we just picked them all together,” said Elliot. “It's a trade off; better than some agriculture products that have lost their crops altogether.”
Preliminary estimates have the state losing more than $1 billion in agriculture due to the drought. Grapes seem to be the only crop doing relatively well in this heat.
For Texas grape growers, the drought is a curse and a blessing.
“It tends to reduce crop size, less quantity, but it increases the quality we have better quality fruit,” said Johnson.
Better quality fruit means a more concentrated, flavorful grape. Winemakers expect the wine from this harvest to be bolder than in years past.
“And because the red grapes are smaller this year, these skins are going to release a lot larger percentage of all those nice things that make the wine so good, and healthy for you,” said Elliot.
