Texas

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Dallas Cowboys themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Cowboys fan? Whether or not you hail from Texas, you probably know the Dallas Cowboys as "America's Team." From coast to coast, you can buy Dallas Cowboys gear at retail stores, thanks to the team's enormous national fan base. Although the Cowboys have their fair share of detractors, no one who follows professional football would dispute the claim that the Cowboys have proven that an expansion franchise can achieve legendary status. The Dallas Cowboys came to life in 1960 as the first modern NFL expansion team, although they were originally called the Dallas Steers. The name was quickly changed to Rangers, then to Cowboys when the new team's owners learned that the name "Rangers" was unexpectedly unavailable. Coach Tom Landry built the Cowboys' program year by year, taking the team to its first NFL championship game in 1966 but losing to the Green Bay Packers. The next year's NFL championship rematch against the Packers quickly became famous as the "Ice Bowl," played in freezing conditions with wind chills plunging below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The Cowboys lost Super Bowl V to the Colts in 1970, but came back the next year to win Super Bowl VI under the leadership of quarterback Roger Staubach.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Houston Astros themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Astros fan? The Houston Astros team started its Texas baseball adventure as the Houston Colt .45s, definitely an appropriate name for a team from the Lone Star State. Founded in 1962, the Colt .45s changed their name in 1965 when the team took up residency at the high-tech Houston Astrodome. Highlighting Houston's connection with the space program, the Colt .45s became the Astros. Fortunately, the team did not change its name when it moved again to newly-built Enron Field, now known as Minute Maid Park, in 2000.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Texas Rangers themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Rangers fan? If you've ever met a native Texan, you already know that residents of the Lone Star State love their state, its history, its culture and, especially, its sports teams. Although the Texas Rangers are a transplant to the Lone Star State – the team began its Major League Baseball existence as the expansion Washington Senators team in 1961 – residents of the Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington metro areas have learned to love their baseball team. Named for the world-famous Texas Ranger Division of law enforcement officers founded by Stephen F. Austin, the Rangers baseball team has transformed itself from losing transplant into a winning franchise.

Wine has been made in Texas as far back as the late 1700s when the Spanish planted the underwhelming Mission grape. Today the state is the 5th largest producer of wine in the U.S., which may surprise you; however the caveat for Texas wines is that most of it is consumed by the 25 million dedicated Texans who drink it before the rest of us can get hold of some. “There’s a pent up demand for Texas wines,” admits Grape Creek Vineyard owner Brian Heath. And let’s face facts, Texas and the rest of the U.S. have had little to drink wine-wise except for what California produces, and now, with the help of the slow food movement, and awareness of all things “local,” states want to drink what they make.

The old adage that ‘ everything is bigger in Texas ’ should be amended to include the state’s will to grow grapes and make premium wines – no matter what. In no other major wine producing American state does the tantalizing exploration of wine’s possibilities continue to embolden and elude the producers of the area.