by
STEVE WINSTON
(Appearing in the current issue of AAA “New Mexico Journeys”)
FROM THE MEXICAN BORDER TO THE ROCKIES, THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT HAS A SURPRISING TRAIL OF WINERIES
It all started because Garcia de Zuniga got tired of waiting.
He was a Franciscan monk in 1629 New Mexico, and he needed sacramental wine. And he was tired of waiting a year for wine to arrive from Spain via Mexico City or Los Angeles.
Father de Zuniga planted some smuggled vines on the banks of the Rio Grande, just south of Socorro. And when they blossomed, New Mexico became the first wine-producing region in the U. S. – 140 years before California.
For the next two hundred years, however, wine production was an up-and-down proposition, partially due to pueblo revolts against Spanish rule and to hard winters that killed off the grapes.
Things eventually stabilized, though. And by 1885, New Mexico was producing nearly a million gallons a year – fifth in the nation.
Then came disasters…one after the other. Flooding of the Rio Grande. A grasshopper plague. World War I. Drought. And, finally, Prohibition. Wine production plummeted to 296,000 gallons in 1890; 34,208 in 1900; and 1,684 in 1910. By 1920, the total was zero. And – although a few hardy souls did produce wine – production stayed low for the next fifty years.
But, thanks to a professor of physics at UTEP, things started turning around. In 1973, Dr. Clarence Cooper planted some experimental grapevines in his front yard in southeast New Mexico…and they blossomed. Four years later, he opened La Vina Winery (lavinawinery.com) – today owned by Kenneth and Denise Stark – in the sagebrush twenty miles west of El Paso.
Soon after, several European wine companies sent representatives here. They saw the potential. And they began buying land.
“My grandfather, Gilbert Gruet, started making Champagne in France in 1952,” says Sofian Himeur of Albuquerque’s Gruet Winery (gruetwinery.com), which specializes in sparkling wines. “He saw the potential here. And in 1984 he sent a son and a daughter here to establish a winery. It’s been hard work. But now we sell 130,000 cases a year – in 49 states, as well as places like Japan, Denmark, and Canada.”
Around the same time, a group of Swiss investors purchased part of a vineyard in Deming, and began looking for a qualified person to manage it. They found Paolo D’Andrea in Italy, and brought him over, “for a year,” to run the operation.
Paolo D’Andrea is still here. And, with his wife Sylvia, he now owns that property – now called Luna Rossa Winery (lunarossawinery.com).
“It’s a challenge to grow wine here,” Paolo D’Andrea says. “Our land has both soil and clay. We only get about eight inches of rain a year. And it can be very windy in the spring. But we’ve adapted. The cooler temperatures at night really help. So does the underground drip-irrigation system we use. And there’s a lot of talent here; the quality of New Mexico wine has really gone up since we started.”
New Mexico has also produced a home-grown group of entrepreneurs. Vivac Winery (vivacwinery.com), south of Taos, is one of the northernmost in the state…and, at 6,000 feet, one of the highest in America. It’s the brainchild of two young brothers, Jesse and Chris Padberg, who make 14 dry reds and two whites.
“The terrain and weather can be stressful for grapes here,” Jesse Padberg says. “But it turns out that this is actually a good thing. The grapes are hardier because they’ve ‘learned’ to adapt. And their flavors are stronger.”
The New Mexico Wine Growers Association (www.nmwine.com) now lists 39 wineries, from west of El Paso to south of Taos, with the heaviest concentration around Albuquerque and up to Santa Fe. Together, they produce nearly 700,000 gallons a year.
“People who try our wines for the first time are always surprised,” says Olivia DeCamp, Executive Director of the association. “Our soil is just right for growing grapes. The foliage from the vines generally protects grapes from the harsh sunlight. And we have some very talented winemakers here.”
DeCamp’s organization is working to classify the state into “wine trails,” most likely highlighting four regions: North, Central, Southwest, and Mesilla/Mimbres (Southeast/South-Central). Some of the wineries in the latter region are already calling themselves the Don Juan Onate Wine Trail, after the Spanish conquistador who came through the Mesilla and Mimbres Valleys in the 1500’s.
Northern New Mexico has higher elevation, longer winters, earlier frosts, and daytime-nighttime temperature swings of up to 40 degrees. Rieslings and Pinot Noirs do well here. Southern New Mexico has a little less rain, good drainage, and less-drastic temperature swings. Dolcettos, Tempranillos, and Cabernets flourish here.
Each of the wineries noted herein has a tasting room, where you can please your palate while expanding your knowledge. And some of them are magnificent.
John Calvin, owner at Albuquerque’s Casa Rondena, designed his property to resemble the Spanish town of Ronda. The tasting room is adobe, with a stone-tile floor. The bar is limestone, and the ceiling beams are railroad ties from an 1800’s bridge. There are Moorish archways and carved wooden doors, and traditional New Mexican furniture.
Some of the wines you’ll sample in the tasting rooms have been winning awards at prestigious competitions.
John Calvin’s 2005 Meritage Red (a blend of reds) was named No. 10 out of the 205 in the country, and it’s probably the most decorated wine in the Southwest. His 2006 Viognier, a dry white, has won several gold medals. So has his 2005 Clarion, a red blend.
Paolo D’Andrea’s Luna Rossa Winery has won sixteen medals. Gruet has won honors at the prestigious Southwest Wine Competition, as has La Vina Winery. Vivac Winery has won honors for its Cabernet Sauvignons and its Merlots. To our state’s vintners, however, awards are just the beginning.
“The future looks very bright,” says Olivia DeCamp of the Wine Growers Association. “We have the climate. We have the expertise. And we’re spreading the word: New Mexicans don’t have to leave the state to enjoy first-class wines.”
And all because of a man who got tired of waiting for his wine.
SIDEBAR: NEW MEXICO WINE FESTIVALS
New Mexico’s wine festivals are great opportunities to sample the wines, talk with the winemakers, and enjoy good food and live music.
LA UNION – La Vina Winery hosts a Harvest Festival and Grape Stomp every October, and a Blues & Jazz Festival in April. (www.lavinawinery.com)
TAOS – The Toast of Taos Wine Festival: Generally held in early-July, this week-long event is a showcase for some of New Mexico’s finest wines. (www.toastoftaos.com)
BERNALILLO – The New Mexico Wine Festival boasts of being the biggest and oldest in the state; it generally takes place over Labor Day weekend. (www.newmexicowinefestival.com)
LAS CRUCES – The Southern New Mexico Wine Festival: Generally on Memorial Day weekend, this event features a University of Wine. (www.snmwinefestval.com)
ALBUQUERQUE – Albuquerque Wine Festival: Takes place on Memorial Day at the Balloon Fiesta grounds. (www.nmwine.com)
SANTA FE – The Santa Fe Wine Festival, at historic El Rancho de las Golondrinas, generally takes place around July 4. (www.santafewinefestival.com)