Most of the vineyards in Texas are in the High Plains near Lubbock, however, there are other vineyards in the state that are growing wonderful grapes. They may not be huge vineyards, but they are an instrumental part of providing grapes for those wineries who prefer to let the growers with the expertise handle the growing while the winery handles the winemaking. One of those smaller vineyards in North Texas is Breaking Bud Vineyard owned by Rusty and Lisa Mauldin. Rusty took time during pruning to provide the answers for this month’s Grower Profile.
What did you do before growing grapes?
After graduating from UT El Paso in 1983, we lived in Garland, TX for 35 years where Rusty worked for Texas Instruments, then Raytheon as an engineer, then manager, and Lisa taught middle/high school math and earth science. Skills learned in both of these career fields have been useful in developing a vineyard!
When did you first plant your vineyard, and how many acres did you start with?
Utilizing a process learned at Grayson College, we spent two years sampling soil and water on properties across the Texoma AVA looking for just the right combination. We bought our little slice of heaven in 2018, moved on to it in 2019, and planted our first half acre “test vineyard” in 2020.
How many acres do you have today, and what grapes are planted?
We have two acres of Picpoul Blanc,
This Article was originally published on Texas Wine Lover
