FEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE of New Mexico know that the Land of Enchantment is the country’s oldest wine-producing region, which is something Christopher Goblet intends to change. As executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Wine & Grape Growers Association, he eagerly shares the state’s deep wine-making story. It starts in 1629, when monks planted vines smuggled from Spain to produce sacramental wine. They planted cuttings of Vitis vinifera, known as the mission grape, south of Socorro, on the banks of the Río Grande at Mission San Antonio de Padua. These days, those grapes still grow in New Mexico vineyards, along with more than 100 traditional European varieties and hybrids. With 55 wineries, 75 tasting rooms, and annual festivals that draw approximately 50,000 people, the state’s wine culture is thriving. New Mexico Wine plans to open a new tasting room in Old Town Albuquerque this fall that will serve as a welcome center, a retail outlet, and an education and event space.
Even the most seasoned sommelier is shocked to find out that U.S. wine growing originated in New Mexico. It’s unexpected, in the same way that people think we’re a brown desert and they come here and find mountains and trees.
Part of the mystery of New Mexico is that it’s always the unexpected that delivers the delight.
There’s nothing we can do in our vineyards to copy the stylistic way that they make wines in France or in Oregon.
The climate is so different. We’re not trying to export New Mexico wine to compete with the global trade.
We’re preserving a heritage, a tradition for people to enhance their experience while they’re here.
We have wonderful grapes, beautiful vineyards, a lovely climate. We have distinct wines, our own version of cabernet sauvignon, our own version of sparkling wine.
Gruet Winery makes sparkling wine that’s good enough to be distributed in every state and in 13 countries.
We just finished planting 200 acres of grapes. New Mexico now has 1,200 acres of grapes, which I think is the threshold for being taken seriously as a wine region.
Wine making is a multigenerational family business.
The next generation is taking over from the founders. Now comes the innovation and creativity. It’s the next round of ideas that build on the industry in new ways.
You had the Old World influence in New Mexico wine making from the first round, with winemakers like Laurent Gruet and Hervé Lescombes from France. Now the young people are coming in and taking advantage of the diversity of grapes. They’re the beneficiaries of all this planting and experimentation that came before.
At La Chiripada, former head winemaker Katie Hagan wanted to prove that one of New Mexico’s oldest wineries could still be on the cutting edge, making modern wines using ancient techniques. The process of using a clay pot, or amphora, to make wine is gaining in popularity because it is an ancient technique. The amphora brings a minerality and a freshness to the wine, allowing it to have a bit more character without it being in an oak barrel.
This year, we have our highest number of New Mexico wineries participating in the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta. Twelve out of the 90 participating wineries are New Mexico wineries.
New Mexico Wine’s annual festivals, held in Albuquerque and Las Cruces on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, are some of the country’s largest and longest-running wine festivals.
We sell 27,000 tickets for Memorial Day and 22,000 tickets for Labor Day.
Read more: An Embudo Valley hot spot, Vivác Winery redefines a traditional tasting room encounter.