TV Munson’s Vinita House at 530 W. Hanna St. in Denison (Photo by Gerald E. McLeod)

Thomas Volney “TV” Munson helped establish Texas’ reputation as a wine-growing paradise and then saved the French wine industry in the late 19th century.

Munson came to Denison in 1876, as a graduate of the University of Kentucky in chemistry. He spent his first years working in tree nurseries, where he noticed that most commercial grape varieties were susceptible to diseases that rarely affected native grape varieties.

In Texas, he found a Garden of Eden of biodiversity and began one of the first classification systems for native grapes. Much of his work focused on improving American varieties through grafting and cross-pollination.

In 1909, Munson published Basics of American winemakingwhich contained his observations and collections after traveling to 40 states over 30 years. The book became a classic and is still quoted by winegrowers. In the Denison area on the Red River, he planted 10 vineyards and experimented with improving native varieties.

In the 19th century, the European wine industry was hit by a deadly fungal infection that devastated the vineyards. Initially, Labrusca rootstocks were imported from the United States, but these were infected with phylloxera, a small aphid, which only made the situation worse.

The solution came from Denison, when Munson sent Texas rootstocks that were resistant to phylloxera and the fungus. For his role in saving the wine industry, he was named Knight of the MeRite Agricole de Francethe second American to receive this honor.

Grayson College in Denison, Munson continues to honor an outstanding winemaking education program and has added a distillation science program. The community college developed the TV Munson Memorial Vineyard near the entrance to the city’s airport. The vineyard at Munson Wine and Enology Center 65 of its original 300 varieties remain.

Munson’s home, “Vinita,” still stands at 530 W. Hanna St. in Denison. For tour information, visit www.grayson.edu.

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