Whining About New Mexico

Back in the Great White North and at last the tasting notes, scraps of paper, maps and receipts can be organized and disposed of accordingly. Hats off to Canadian Customs who so graciously permitted Sheena to cruise past the duty desk with a full case of NM wine, having only to endure a "Merry Christmas. No tax for you today".


For those readers visiting The Land of Enchantment, the NM Winery Rule of Thumb I can safely recommend is: skip the whites, respect the reds, and immerse yourself in cheap bubbly.

Three main regions include the South - around Deming, Las Cruces, Mesilla. Low elevation and about 80% of the grapes in the state grown here. Central - Albuquerque and North - Santa Fe and beyond.

The Northern tour for us included the previously-mentioned curiosity Balagna Vineyards. The whites weren't good at all, but some of the reds (priced at average $14 US/bottle) had some promise. Best of the bunch was the Petite Sirah, followed by the infamous La Bomba Grande (blend of merlot, pinot noir and a couple of others). Picked up a couple of the Amoroso Toscano, a blend of Italian red varietals, and for the life of me can't recall why. It was awful and ended up making Sangria with the bottle purchased.

Other Northern wineries of note:
Black Mesa: One of the best stops. Pleasant, knowledgeable staff, very welcoming and chatty. Provided tasting notes page and golf-course pencil without being asked. Whites again, were pretty bad, with the Sauvignon Blanc having a distinctly unpleasant sulphur nose. The reds, on the other hand, were great. Picked up one each of their two flagship red blends - the Antelope - merlot/cab sauvignon blend and the Coyote - Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, and Zinfandel blend. Port was OK. Chocolate flavoured port was a pass, but apparently it is the best seller. Go figure.

Also a fabulous $13 bubbly, forgot to note the composition, but had very pleasant creamy green apply taste that was perfectly suited to the campfire at the spa that night.

Why this place doesn't sell posters of its labels is beyond me. The owner's wife is a noted local artist and does them all. Stunningly beautiful work.



Santa Fe Vineyards: Roadside tasting room with actual winery up near Taos. Grapes from all over. Guy behind the counter was an asshole, so we breezed through the tasting experience. Mostly crap, though the Indian Market White was a yummy semi-sweet blend, heavy on the Muscat. Sheena is a bit of a muscat-hound.


Vivac Winery
Again: Why they are not selling posters of their label art kills me. The mysterious Embudo cemetary across the highway from the winery is exactly as pictured. A haunting white rock formation with a giant wooden cross on the top, and carved memorials all down the slope. Creepy even. Can't find its name or a picture on Google. Private land, so we couldn't explore further. Incredible sight.

Once again, Reds were the way to go. Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvnignon the two best. Lovely tasting room, but gravel ditch that was presented as a "road" was a little iffy. Glad it was a rental car.

La Chiripada Vineyards: Name means "a stroke of luck". Hidden in tiny and unspoiled Dixon, this winery again had very nice reds. New fact learned: Millot varietal is an early ripening hybrid, based on pinot noir that does well in the northern region and is quite yummy. Bought a "Rio Embudo Red Reserve" that was 95% Millot. (Though subsequent research has shown that the Ontario VQA standard will only permit a maximum of 15% Millot and other such hybrids. Hmmm...) Promising sign - winemaker is in New Zealand on an extended research tour.


Had hoped to do more in the Central and Southern Regions but ran out of time. Managed to find:

Anasazi Fields:
Oh my. Bit of an eccentric who makes mostly fruit wines from locally grown produce in Placitas. But hell. Where else can one find a 1997 Oak-Aged Apricot? Most pleasant of the bunch was a Plum wine, made with several different plum varities from the neighbourhood. Mercifully, from the 21st century.


Blue Teal Vineyards
Nice family owned spot, friendly lady doing our tasting.
Two main product lines: the Blue Teal series, simple drinkable reds and whites done in stainless steel for short term quaffing, and the premium DH Lescombes label for their barrel-aged and reserve wines. Part of the fun was doing a side-by-side tasting of the two so my less obsessed chaperone could see the difference between oak and no-oak with blinding obviousness. Picked up a Lescombes Cab Sauv for $20. And yet again, lovely sparkling wines, a total steal at $11.


Arena Blanca/McGinn's Winery. Yeesh. Stop in for the great local pistachios but please. I beg of you. Do NOT touch the Pistachio Wine. Now let us never speak of this again.


Tularosa Vineyards is just a bit north-east of the White Sands Missile Test range. Very pretty spot. The image of vines against a canyon backdrop never fails to take away Sheena's breath. Again, reds were lovely. Regret not picking up the Cab Sauvignon Reserve, but the bottle count was already in danger range. Tularosa is apparently banking on the wine industry to revamp its tourism, with a new multi-winery tasting room in the works for next year.

This particular winery, it so happens, is directly under the flight path towards Holloman Air Force Base. Several F117 Stealth Fighters flew overhead that afternoon, somewhat freaking us out the first time, not knowing what it was. Wonder what effect the vibration has on the ageing potential of the Barrel Selects.