Marfa – This Small Town in the Middle of Nowhere Has a Wine Scene: Alta Marfa

If you’re a Texas wine lover and you’re not familiar with the Davis Mountains region, it’s worth getting to know. The area is ideal for grape growing due to the arid climate, cool evenings during the peak ripening months and the availability of land. Marfa is near Fort Davis and the McDonald’s Observatory. It’s also home to the ethereal Marfa lights and spectacular sunsets. The area has become popular with stargazers, artists, and writers, mainly due to its remoteness. There’s not much there. But now there’s a winery. And it’s worth a visit.

Ricky Taylor studied chemical engineering and was in an office job for eight years in Houston, where he dreamed up his perfect job. With no winemaking or grape-growing experience, he literally googled “least hot place in Texas during the summer.” He understood that wine grapes ripen in the summer to be picked in August or September. During the hot summer months, the vines like to cool off in the evenings to rest. So that’s what he was looking for. The Davis Mountains popped up in his search, and the high desert means minimal humidity, which is also a plus for grapes. So, Ricky and his wife, Katie, purchased an undeveloped property in 2016 and spent a full year preparing the land for planting grapes.

In 2018, the couple and a group of friends put 6,000 vines in the ground. They were disheartened when the vines weren’t looking too good. They learned from the nursery that the vines were actually not alive when shipped to them, so the issues in the vineyard had nothing to do with how the vines were planted or cared for. It was disappointing, but there was still hope. The next spring, replacement vines were shipped, and the vineyard was replanted. That same year, Ricky made his first wine. It was just 10 cases of Tempranillo, and he drove all around Houston to peddle the wines to restaurants and retailers.

In 2020, Alta Marfa produced 150 cases with grapes from Texas and New Mexico. Actually, the vineyard in New Mexico was the original plantings in 1982 by Gruet Winery and is closer to Ricky than most vineyards in Texas. Ricky also planted a second vineyard site that year. The following year, production bumped to 1,000 cases, and in 2022, Ricky opened his tasting room and production facility in Marfa. The wines also found their way into distribution, making them available at retailers all over Texas, Colorado, and Canada.

With the growth of the label, Ricky and Katie are now working with ten vineyards in Texas and the one in New Mexico. This year, they are aiming for 2,300 cases of production. In these past five years, he has learned that certain grape varieties do better at different vineyard sites. And he works with vineyards that do little to no spraying for herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Being certified organic takes time and is tough to do, but following logical practices to keep the land healthy is important to Ricky.

He has also learned that being direct with details about the vineyards and the winemaking techniques helps the consumers to know what they are drinking. Transparency and intent are important to him. He wants to show what is possible from each grape at each place it is grown and help wine lovers discover the unique flavors of Texas wine. We don’t need to try to be like wine from another region.

Ricky says, “A photographer can take photos that are art, but, certainly, not all photos are art. The same is true with wine. Making wine can certainly be an act of artistic expression, but I would say that most wine simply isn’t.” He is aiming for unique wines that are interesting. And from what I’ve tasted, he is certainly achieving this goal.

If you find yourself in Marfa, you should stop by Alta Marfa for a chat with Ricky and Katie and to taste their unique wines. The tasting room is typically open Saturdays and Sundays and is situated within the working winery space. With harvest around the corner, they may not be open, so you may want to reach out before you visit to determine availability.