By Hannah McCollom, FAPC Communications Student

Just like the saying, “Fine wine is better with age,” the Oklahoma wine industry is growing and the quality of wine produced in the state is improving.

 To help promote Oklahoma wines, Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is assisting the Oklahoma Grape Industry Council to identify special blends of Oklahoma wines to be used as a state wine, specifically by the Governor of Oklahoma.

 The History

“How to make good wine: Grow grapes and practice for a hundred years.”

 This saying, found on a sign at Beringer Winery in California, doesn’t exclusively apply to this winery, said Gene Clifton, OGIC president and owner of Canadian River Winery in Slaughterville, Okla. The Oklahoma wine industry is more than 100 years old—a fact most people don’t realize.

 “At the turn of the last century, from the 1800s to the 1900s, Oklahoma was the fourth largest grape growing state in the country,” said Jill Stichler, owner of Redland Juice Co. in Lexington, Okla., and OGIC member.

Many Europeans immigrated to Oklahoma during the land run. They built a house, and then planted a garden and vineyard, Stichler said.

“People grew grapes in their backyard and made wine for themselves and their families,” she said.

Oklahoma adopted prohibition with statehood in 1907, so they were unable to sale the wine produced during that time.

The industry began to make a comeback in Oklahoma during the mid-1980s, and in the year 2000, state question 688 passed allowing wineries to sample and sell wine from their tasting rooms, Stichler said.

In 2000, there were three wineries in the state. Today, there are more than 60.

“For people who say this is a young industry, we just say it is a second resurgence,” Stichler said.

The Project

The idea of having an official state wine was the “brain child” of members of the OGIC, said William McGlynn, FAPC horticultural products processing specialist.

While serving wine during a legislative session ran by the Made in Oklahoma Coalition, Clifton discussed the possibility of providing a state wine with Gov. Mary Fallin. On a trip to Virginia, Gov. Fallin told Clifton she noticed the Virginia governor only served wine produced in that state.

Clifton said the wine industry in Oklahoma is “just as old and good” and offered to bring her samples of wine that could be used specifically for governor functions.

As a result, OGIC provided several Oklahoma wines to the governor, unofficially labeled as the Oklahoma Governor’s Table Wine.

The State Wine

OGIC wanted to give all Oklahoma wineries an opportunity to participate in this project. With the help from McGlynn, FAPC and OGIC received a grant from the Oklahoma Viticulture and Enology Fund, which funded the center’s Oklahoma Wine Quality Assessment and Improvement project and allowed OGIC to participate in the 2013 Wine Forum of Oklahoma, a prestigious and well-known event held annually at OSU.

The Oklahoma Wine Quality Assessment and Improvement project aims to strengthen the quality of Oklahoma wines and help increase overall wine sales throughout the state.

“Oklahoma wineries were invited to submit samples of their wines for evaluation,” McGlynn said. “ A set of standard quality tests was run on each of the submitted wines. The tests evaluated wine properties such as acid content, sugar content, alcohol content, color and various stability characteristics.”

A sensory evaluation also was performed on all the wines using a system developed by Roy Mitchell, professor of viticulture and enology at Grayson Country College and winemaker at Homestead Winery in Ivanhoe, Texas. Mitchell assisted in developing a subjective quality rating for all the wines submitted.

“Based on the chemical tests and sensory evaluation we conducted, an overall quality rating was developed for each wine,” McGlynn said. “If specific quality issues were noted with the wine sample, possible remedies were discussed that could be applied to subsequent batches of wine.”

McGlynn said the big advantage is for wineries to know the chemistry and sensory analysis of their wines and how they compare with other wineries in the state.

In addition, a sensory test was performed on submitted Oklahoma wines to determine who would be selected to participate in the Taste of Oklahoma Terroir seminar during the Wine Forum of Oklahoma, held April 12-13, 2013.

The top wines selected were from Canadian River Winery, Plymouth Valley Cellars of Fairview, Okla., and Woods and Waters Winery of Anadarko, Okla., and are being used as the current Oklahoma Governor’s Table Wine.

The long-term goal is to create a special blend of red and white wines yearly using wineries across the state, McGlynn said.  

The Impact

Through this project and other efforts under way, it’s projected that during the next four years, Oklahoma wine sales will increase to 5 percent or more of the state’s total wine sales total, adding at least 100 new jobs and retaining 250 existing jobs in rural Oklahoma and adding an additional $558,000 in taxes to the Oklahoma economy, McGlynn said.         

“Consumers will benefit from having access to higher quality, locally produced wines,” McGlynn said. “Wineries and vineyards will benefit from higher sales volume and potentially higher-value wines to sell.”

Clifton said he hopes offering a state wine will lead to greater awareness of the Oklahoma wine industry.

“The project gives exposure to the good wines in Oklahoma,” he said. “The more people who know about your wine, the more people will buy it.”

Participation in in FAPC’s wine quality program and the Oklahoma Governor’s Table Wine program is a great opportunity for not only individual grape and wine businesses but also the grape and wine industry as a whole, Stichler said.

As the vines grow older, the quality of grapes improves, she said.

“Having wine that is produced in our state served by Gov. Fallin is a good feeling as the industry continues to grow and improve,” Stichler said. “Our wineries are doing a good job, and we are glad to showcase them in the Governor’s Mansion.”

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system of interdisciplinary programs that prepares students for success. OSU is America’s Brightest Orange. Through leadership and service, OSU is preparing students for a bright future and building a brighter world for all. As Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 245,000 students to serve Oklahoma, the nation and the world.