Texas
“Texas wine is having a moment”: North Texas winemaker breaking new ground
NORTH TEXAS — If you love wine, lean in. About an hour’s drive north of Dallas, a tree-lined, dirt and gravel road bends around a curve revealing a lush and lovely surprise, the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery. It’s 100 windswept acres along Lake Ray Roberts.
“It’s more than I thought it would be initially,” says owner Fred Cummings, “but I now know it could be more than it is.”
Dr. Cummings is the MD turned winemaker. He says he’s known since he was a child that he wanted to be a doctor, but it was his grandmother’s wisdom that planted something in his spirit about the soil.
“She had a grapevine in her backyard and a fig tree,” recalls Cummings. “She says, `Fred’- I must’ve been about nine years old…just come back from Germany. And she picked up some dirt and said, ‘God didn’t make any more of this, so get some’.” And I said, Yes, ma’am.”
And so he did, ultimately purchasing a former pig farm that became his family’s lakefront home. Then when the kids grew up and away, his wife Mary pushed him to do more with the property. So in 2010, he began to plant grapes.
“The best grape that we grow on this property is actually grenache, but we grow grenache, tempranillo, and albarino,” explains Cummings.
It took some years before he turned out a wine-worthy, award-winning harvest. Still, there was something else flourishing on those vines. Cummings says his proudest moment in his winemaking journey was, “my son coming to help me.”
That would be his son Christopher McIntosh. He’s the vineyard’s winemaker. McIntosh admits that he needed some convincing, but now loves every moment.
“It’s ours. We get to take it from fruit to glass- every bit of our work goes into each bottle. I get to share that process with- not only my father but the rest of my family. My wife works here, my daughter works here. My sister-in-law works here, my mother-in-law works here. So it really is a family operation which makes it even more special.”
McIntosh says picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child, but just between us, the grenache has become the winery’s award-winning standout.
“I like to tell everybody we trick our vines into thinking they’re in the Mediterranean with all this lakefront property,” shares McIntosh with a laugh. “So yeah… that’s our favorite grape. We use it in three different wines. We make a rosé with it, we make a younger grenache, and then we make our estate grenache reserve.”
Looking out on Lake Ray Roberts, the views are gorgeous, the tasting room polished and modern, the tasty tidbits and artisan cheeses just perfect for sampling. But the true test of a wine is in the sampling. And a tasting room full of visitors insist that the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery does not disappoint.
“So it’s very hard work,” explains McIntosh. “But again, every bottle that’s turned out is a show of success. And the biggest show of that is when somebody tastes something and they just smile in awe of what what you put in a bottle for them.”
And while the wine is smooth and the hospitality wonderful, “We need a bigger place,” admits Cummings. “And we’ve had a few struggles trying to get that done.”
Dr. Cummings can admit to navigating some bitter realities, Black winemakers are almost non-existent. According to Bloomberg, Black winemakers represent less than one percent of the industry.
When asked if race has been a barrier in his winery’s growth, Cummings responded, “A little bit.”
“It has been a little bit. And when you talk about that, I’m a guy that believes that I can do my best and it’s good enough for anyone to appreciate. And that’s how I approach my medical career. I approach wine the same way.”
And then a stray thought makes him pause and he adds with a wry smile, “Get more push back on the wine, than we have on treating people… so.”
When asked what advice he’d share with other minority entrepreneurs contemplating stepping into a space that perhaps the world suggests they do not belong, Cummings replies, “I’ve heard that so many times. I ignored it because I knew I was good enough. No one’s going to tell you that you’re good if you sit in the shadows. You’ve got to step out there.”
And the Edge of the Lake Crew looks to make even more strides. They’ve got 15 acres planted now and hope to plant as many as 60 of the lake side acres with grape vines. They’re also looking for local support to help make the area a wine destination.
“You think that you can do this and have a little small thing,” shares Cummings, “but it grows just like the vines grow, the industry grows, and the business grows and you’ve got to be able to expand with it or you kind of get squashed.”
He admits to thinking about his grandmother often as he contemplates what he’s built and how much more he’d like to see it grow. “You know, she was a small one, but really had determination. And coming out of her upbringing and slavery, if you will. And she wanted her kids and her grandkids to do something, so she was always pushing us forward.”
And Cummings believes the harvest for the entire industry can be grand.
“Texas wine is having a moment and we need to really grab hold of that and take advantage of it now, not next week, not last, but now.”
FORT WORTH, TX — When she’s not on the court, Texas forward Justice Carlton is baking cookies.
If you’re wondering if they’re good, just ask her teammates.
“They’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” senior Sarah Graves said.
What started as baking for her teammates and managers for fun has grown into a full-fledged business: J’s Rollin In Dough.
After hours of practice on the basketball court and in the weight room, Carlton spends six hours a day baking cookies to fulfill her orders – or sometimes, simply for fun.
“Anytime that I get out of practice around 5 I’m so happy because I just go home and bake,” Carlton said.
Carlton’s love for baking dates back to her childhood.
“My mom worked over the summers, so when we were out of school it was so boring,” she said. “But the Easy-Bake Oven and the cake pop machine saved my life.”
Over winter break, she and her mom began discussing the possibility of creating a business of her own. They decided she could use her NIL money to form a limited liability company and obtain her food handlers license, so she did just that.
In just three months of business, she’s received more than 100 orders and has gained nearly 1,200 followers on Instagram. She takes orders through a form linked in her Instagram bio.
“It’s funny to see athletes do other things they are passionate about because they put the same focus and intensity into it,” Graves said. “And I can tell she has that for baking.”
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Last month, Carlton baked a batch of cookies for the “College Gameday” staff in hopes of gaining some media attention. The following month, the SEC Network staff ordered a batch at the SEC tournament and tried the cookies on live TV.
“I used basketball as my platform, which (associate director of communications Jeremy Rosenthal) really helped me do,” she said. “I’ve just kind of been getting my name out there, so that’s been something that’s really fun.”
The flavors offered are chocolate chip, cookie monster, cookies n’ cream, red velvet, brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodle and her newest flavor, sugar cookie. She also takes requests.
“She made a banana pudding cookie recently,” freshman Aaliyah Crump said. “I think that one was my favorite.”
While many of her orders come from her teammates, she recently received an order from the Longhorns football team for a team party and for a neuroscience class celebration.
In the future, Carlton hopes to move her business outside of the kitchen and onto the streets.
“I’ve put all my sales money aside and I want to start a food truck,” she said. “I think I would do something like a Crumbl Cookies on wheels.”
For now, Carlton has turned the oven off while she and the Longhorns prepare to face Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on March 28.
Ansley Gavlak is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
The Texas Longhorns haven’t slowed down throughout the 2026 season as they now hold a 29-1 record and continue to push the longest winning streak in program history farther along, as the Longhorns’ winning streak now stands at 27 games.
The Longhorns have strung together consistency and dominance over the last weeks of the season, as recently the Longhorns have become the unanimous top team in the country, earning the top spot, ranking as the No. 1 team in the nation.
And now No. 1 Texas will get back to the gauntlet that is SEC play with a conference series against one of its bitter rivals in the dirt edition of the Lone Star Showdown against the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies. The Longhorns get ready to host, welcoming in the Aggies to Red and Charline McCombs Field with the first game of the series set for Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. CT.
How to Watch Texas vs. Texas A&M
Who: No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies
What: Lone Star Showdown
When: March 27-29
Where: Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin, TX
TV/Streaming: Friday on SEC Network+, Saturday on ESPN2 and Sunday on ESPN
Radio: Longhorn Radio Network
Meet the Opponent
The Aggies head into the Lone Star Showdown series with a 23-9 overall record and have found success through their two conference series of the season, with a 5-1 record in the SEC. Away from home, the Aggies have split four of their away games with a 2-2 record on the road.
With the flip of the calendar from non-conference to conference play, the Aggies find a rhythm on the field, taking their conference opener against the then No. 17-ranked LSU Tigers on the road 2-1 and followed that up with a sweep at home against the Kentucky Wildcats, outscoring the Wildcats 26-9 over the three-game series.
The Longhorns batting order will battle against an Aggies pitching staff that heads into the weekend series with a 3.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. As a whole, the Aggies pitching staff has recorded 193 strikeouts while holding their opponents to a .225 batting average.
The leader of the Aggies pitching staff is sophomore Sydney Lessentine, as her 72 innings pitched is the most by any other Aggies pitcher. In her 19 appearances this season, Lessentine tallies a 2.43 ERA and .82 WHIP along with 60 strikeouts and holds opponents to a .196 batting average.
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