Texas Hill Country is an AVA of central Texas, in the southern United States of America. Covering an impressive 9.6 million acres (3.8 million ha), it is one of the largest AVAs in America, smaller only than the Ohio River Valley, the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are the key grape varieties grown here and are used to make both dry table wines and port-style fortified wines. White grapes are also grown, although to a lesser extent, largely from Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay.
The Texas Hill Country region includes two entirely independent appellations, namely Bell Mountain and Fredericksburg. Bell Mountain is a relatively tiny AVA of just 3200 acres (1300ha), while Fredericksburg is much larger at 70,400 acres (28,500ha).
As a whole, the rugged Texas Hill Country AVA covers land in 23 counties of Texas, albeit only a few in their entirety. Gillespie County, at the centre of the AVA, is home to the historic town of Fredericksburg, as well as characteristic limestone and granite outcrops such as the 'Enchanted Rock'.
The name Hill Country is entirely appropriate for this area, which is composed largely of low hills (both single and in ranges) and deep canyons. The altitude variation here is consequently significant, ranging from 425 to 2430ft (130m–740m).
The south-eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country AVA is marked by two major cities – San Antonio and Austin, the state capital. This boundary also marks the eastern end of the Edwards Plateau, a limestone-rich savanna which covers a significant proportion of west-central Texas. In places, the white stone and soils of the plateau's crust are visibly exposed.
The climate here, as in most Texan viticultural regions, is of continental type, with cold winters and hot summers. Due to the hilly topography, there is significant variability in the weather patterns, allowing marked diurnal temperature variation, particularly in the winter months. Spring frosts are a risk for local vine growers, with March temperatures sometimes falling to 14F/-10C. In complete contrast, the annual heat summation statistics (used to classify wine regions' climates) show that the Texas Hill Country receives between 2650 and 3375 degree days per year, making it a region III on the Amerine/Winkler scale.
The majority of wine produced in Texas is consumed locally, meaning that only very small quantities of Texas Hill Country wine are ever seen outside the state.
