When you think New Mexico, do you think skiing?  Georgia O’Keefe?  Hatch chilies?  Sunsets over red rock? John Wayne in the Rio Grande?  Or, perhaps, Tempranillo, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Riesling?  Visit a New Mexico Winery, and you just may forget Mr. Wayne, or at least, enjoy him with a refreshing Riesling.  

Franciscan monks began growing wine grapes in New Mexico around 1630, just a decade after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth a continent away.  By the late 1800’s, New Mexico had more land devoted to grape vines than New York.  However, flooding of the Rio Grande and Prohibition combined to almost wipe out the industry by the 1920’s. 

A resurgence began in the late 1970’s, and there are now over 40 wineries throughout the state, mainly in the mountainous foothills near Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Alamogordo and Las Cruces...

read complete post