, Cicada Ridge Vineyard: The Sounds of Summer

Nestled in the heart of Northeast Texas, Cicada Ridge Vineyard is another of the Texas Wine Industry’s hidden gems. Erwin Cain has been growing grapes and making wine in East Texas for over 20 years. Recognizing that East Texas has a unique environment that only favors the hardiest of grapes, he has finally found what he was searching for…grape varietals suited to East Texas that produce quality wines that are distinctive, bold, and capture the essence of Texas terroir.

Cicada Ridge Vineyard: The Sounds of Summer

When we arrived at Cicada Ridge Vineyard, Erwin met us at the tasting room and offered first a tour of the 1.5-acre vineyard. When he first started the vineyard, he planted primarily vinifera varietals that he personally enjoyed: Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec, and Mourvèdre. Over time, he lost all of these vines to the humid growing conditions in East Texas and Pierce’s disease. Determined to make unique and high-quality wines, he searched for hybrid grape varietals that were more suitable for his vineyard.

Currently, 100% of the vines in Cicada Ridge’s Vineyard are hybrid disease-resistant varietals:

Caminante Blanc (UC-Davis) Ambulo Blanc (UC-Davis) Blanc du Bois Paseante Noir (UC-Davis) Camminare Noir (UC-Davis) Champanel (TV Munson) Black Spanish

We couldn’t wait to get back to the tasting room and try the wines, many of which we had not tasted before. Cicada Ridge offers individual tastings by

This Article was originally published on Texas Wine Lover

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