New Mexico wine
Encyclopedia
New Mexico has the longest history of wine production in the United States
. In 1629, Franciscan
friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín monk named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in the Río Grande
valley of southern New Mexico
. Viticulture took hold in the valley, and by the year 1880, grapes were grown on over 3000 acres (12 km²), and wineries produced over 1000000 gallons (3,785,412 l) of wine. The wine industry in New Mexico declined in the latter decades of the nineteenth century in part due to flooding of the Río Grande. Prohibition in the United States
forced many wineries to close, while others remained operational providing sacrament
al wine to primarily Catholic
as well as other Christian
churches. The modern New Mexico wine industry received significant support in 1978 when a government-sponsored study encouraged winegrowers to plant French
hybrid grape varieties.
Annual wine festivals help promote awareness of the growing New Mexico wine industry. The industry's growth is similar to its historical growth in the 1880s. The editor of the Socorro bulletin predicted in 1880 that “We see in the present attention given to grape culture, an important and growing industry which, in a few years, will assume proportions of no ordinary nature.” New Mexico now has more than 20 wineries producing 350000 gallons (1,324,894.2 l) of wine annually. The largest vineyard in New Mexico is at Luna Rosa in Deming, New Mexico
.
colonists to the upper valleys of the Rio Grande. Franciscan monks followed the colonists to minister Christianity
to the Native Americans
. This area would later be known as “El Camino Real”. The Franciscan monks who settled there needed to hold daily mass
; central to each mass was Holy Communion, a sacrament that included the consumption of wine, representing the blood of Christ
shed for the redemptions of sinner
s. The monks needed a local source for their sacramental wine since the next nearest supply was several months' travel away. In this region of the Upper Río Grande is where grape vines were first introduced to New Mexico.
Before grapevines were planted in New Mexico, the Franciscan monks had wine shipped from Spain. The sacramental wine was light pink in color, had a sherry
-like taste, was 18% alcohol
, and 10% sugar
. The wine was transported in heavy jugs resembling those in Roman
times. The stoneware
jugs held approximately 2.6 to 3.6 gallons (9.8 to 13.6 liters) each and were sealed with a cork
or wood plug. The jugs needed to be sealed with a green glaze
, applied to the inside of the jug. This glaze would have contained lead
that leaked out into the wine during prolonged exposure to heat or to the acid in the wine.
Grapevine planting in New Mexico was initially hindered by Spanish law which in 1595 forbid the exportation of Spanish grapevines to protect the Spanish agriculture industry. At the time, Spanish wine exports provided one fourth of Spain's foreign trade revenue. Franciscan monks chose to ignore this economic law and smuggled vines out of Spain into New Mexico around 1629. Fray García de Zúñiga, a Franciscan, and Antonio de Arteaga, a Capuchín monk, planted the first vines at a Piro
pueblo
just south of modern day Socorro
. The cuttings brought by the missionaries were a vitis vinifera grape variety known as the Mission
grape. This variety is still grown in New Mexico today.
in central New Mexico and from Las Cruces
to El Paso
, Texas
in the southern part of the state. In 1850, New Mexico became a territory of the United States
. In 1868, Jesuit priests settled in New Mexico and brought their Italian wine
making techniques, founding a winery in 1872. In 1870, New Mexico produced 16000 gallons (60,566.6 l) of wine. By 1880, New Mexico produced 908000 gallons (3,437,154.1 l). The 1880 census
indicated that New Mexico had twice the grapevine area of New York
, a more developed state. New Mexico was fifth in the nation in wine production.
New Mexico State University
has long played a part in the cultivation, expansion, and education of grape growing and winemaking
in New Mexico. In 1920, at the beginning of Prohibition in the United States
, Giovanni Giorgio Rinaldi took over production of Christian Brothers Winery in Bernalillo. He enlisted the help of faculty at New Mexico A & M College, in Las Cruces, now New Mexico State University. With their help, Rinaldi improved grape production and experimented with other grape varieties and grape growing styles. Zinfandel
, in a Burgundy–style wine, was the result of experimentation with grape varieties by Rinaldi and New Mexico A & M. Rinaldi remained Christian Brother’s Winery manager until 1933 when prohibition ended.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Río Grande and its tributaries experienced extensive flooding. In 1926, the first Río Grande flood occurred that impacted the vineyards throughout the grape growing region, from Bernalillo to El Paso. Prohibition began in 1919, and only a small amount of medicinal alcohol could be legally produced and sold. Though the sale of wine was hindered, the grapevine acreage doubled between 1920 and 1930. In 1943, the largest Río Grande flood of the century destroyed vineyards throughout New Mexico. Vineyards that had been producing wine for fifty years were destroyed. What remained of the old commercial wine industry in New Mexico never recovered from these floods.
By 1978, small commercial wineries opened their doors, creating wine from mostly French-Hybrid grape varietals. These cold-hardy grapevines prospered in northern New Mexico. By the 1980s, production of wine was up and a rush on New Mexican vineyard land began, led by a group of Europe
an investors who were attracted to New Mexico’s still underdeveloped wine market and inexpensive land. Between 1982 and 1983, 2200 acres (3 sq mi) of vineyards were planted around Las Cruces. Many more vineyards and extensive acres of grapes were planted until present day.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1629, Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín monk named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in the Río Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
valley of southern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Viticulture took hold in the valley, and by the year 1880, grapes were grown on over 3000 acres (12 km²), and wineries produced over 1000000 gallons (3,785,412 l) of wine. The wine industry in New Mexico declined in the latter decades of the nineteenth century in part due to flooding of the Río Grande. Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
forced many wineries to close, while others remained operational providing sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
al wine to primarily Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
as well as other Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches. The modern New Mexico wine industry received significant support in 1978 when a government-sponsored study encouraged winegrowers to plant French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
hybrid grape varieties.
Annual wine festivals help promote awareness of the growing New Mexico wine industry. The industry's growth is similar to its historical growth in the 1880s. The editor of the Socorro bulletin predicted in 1880 that “We see in the present attention given to grape culture, an important and growing industry which, in a few years, will assume proportions of no ordinary nature.” New Mexico now has more than 20 wineries producing 350000 gallons (1,324,894.2 l) of wine annually. The largest vineyard in New Mexico is at Luna Rosa in Deming, New Mexico
Deming, New Mexico
Deming is a city in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, located 60 miles west of Las Cruces. The population was 14,116 at the 2000 census. Deming is the county seat and principal town of Luna County.-History:...
.
Origins of viticulture in New Mexico
In 1598, Don Juan de Oñate led SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
colonists to the upper valleys of the Rio Grande. Franciscan monks followed the colonists to minister Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. This area would later be known as “El Camino Real”. The Franciscan monks who settled there needed to hold daily mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
; central to each mass was Holy Communion, a sacrament that included the consumption of wine, representing the blood of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
shed for the redemptions of sinner
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
s. The monks needed a local source for their sacramental wine since the next nearest supply was several months' travel away. In this region of the Upper Río Grande is where grape vines were first introduced to New Mexico.
Before grapevines were planted in New Mexico, the Franciscan monks had wine shipped from Spain. The sacramental wine was light pink in color, had a sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
-like taste, was 18% alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, and 10% sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. The wine was transported in heavy jugs resembling those in Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times. The stoneware
Stoneware
Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...
jugs held approximately 2.6 to 3.6 gallons (9.8 to 13.6 liters) each and were sealed with a cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
or wood plug. The jugs needed to be sealed with a green glaze
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
, applied to the inside of the jug. This glaze would have contained lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
that leaked out into the wine during prolonged exposure to heat or to the acid in the wine.
Grapevine planting in New Mexico was initially hindered by Spanish law which in 1595 forbid the exportation of Spanish grapevines to protect the Spanish agriculture industry. At the time, Spanish wine exports provided one fourth of Spain's foreign trade revenue. Franciscan monks chose to ignore this economic law and smuggled vines out of Spain into New Mexico around 1629. Fray García de Zúñiga, a Franciscan, and Antonio de Arteaga, a Capuchín monk, planted the first vines at a Piro
Piro
Piro may refer to:*Piro Pueblo, one of many Native American peoples along the Rio Grande in North America*The Piro language of the Maipurean family in Brazil...
pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
just south of modern day Socorro
Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
. The cuttings brought by the missionaries were a vitis vinifera grape variety known as the Mission
Mission (grape)
Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America in the 16th century by Catholic New World missionaries for use in making sacramental, table, and fortified wines.-History:...
grape. This variety is still grown in New Mexico today.
Expansion of the wine industry in New Mexico
Between 1633 and 1800, numerous events took place which threatened the wine industry in New Mexico. Several pueblo revolts and hard winters threatened the grapes, but by the 1800s New Mexico had emerged as wine country. In 1800, vineyards were planted from Bernalillo to SocorroSocorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
in central New Mexico and from Las Cruces
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
to El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the southern part of the state. In 1850, New Mexico became a territory of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1868, Jesuit priests settled in New Mexico and brought their Italian wine
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
making techniques, founding a winery in 1872. In 1870, New Mexico produced 16000 gallons (60,566.6 l) of wine. By 1880, New Mexico produced 908000 gallons (3,437,154.1 l). The 1880 census
United States Census, 1880
The United States Census of 1880 was the tenth United States Census conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerators...
indicated that New Mexico had twice the grapevine area of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, a more developed state. New Mexico was fifth in the nation in wine production.
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
has long played a part in the cultivation, expansion, and education of grape growing and winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
in New Mexico. In 1920, at the beginning of Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, Giovanni Giorgio Rinaldi took over production of Christian Brothers Winery in Bernalillo. He enlisted the help of faculty at New Mexico A & M College, in Las Cruces, now New Mexico State University. With their help, Rinaldi improved grape production and experimented with other grape varieties and grape growing styles. Zinfandel
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
, in a Burgundy–style wine, was the result of experimentation with grape varieties by Rinaldi and New Mexico A & M. Rinaldi remained Christian Brother’s Winery manager until 1933 when prohibition ended.
Decline and rebirth
By 1978, small commercial wineries opened their doors, creating wine from mostly French-Hybrid grape varietals. These cold-hardy grapevines prospered in northern New Mexico. By the 1980s, production of wine was up and a rush on New Mexican vineyard land began, led by a group of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an investors who were attracted to New Mexico’s still underdeveloped wine market and inexpensive land. Between 1982 and 1983, 2200 acres (3 sq mi) of vineyards were planted around Las Cruces. Many more vineyards and extensive acres of grapes were planted until present day.