New Mexico wine
| Wine region | |
New Mexico's AVAs | |
| Official name | State of New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Type | U.S. State Appellation |
| Year established | 1912 |
| Years of wine industry | 397 |
| Country | United States |
| Sub-regions | Mesilla Valley AVA, Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA, Mimbres Valley AVA. |
| Total area | 78 million acres (121,298 sq mi) |
| Size of planted vineyards | 1,200 acres (490 ha) |
| Grapes produced | Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Pinot noir, Ruby Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Refosco, Barbera, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Malvasia bianca, Muscat Canelli, Pinot gris, Viognier, Riesling, Muscat of Alexandria, Orange Muscat, Sauvignon blanc, Baco noir, Chambourcin, De Chaunac, Leon Millot, Marechal Foch, Seyval blanc, Vidal blanc, Villard blanc |
| No. of wineries | Over 42 |
New Mexico is home to the oldest wine-making tradition in the United States. Its American wine production lies primarily along the Rio Grande River flowing from the capital of Santa Fe, by the city of Albuquerque with its surrounding metropolitan area, and through the Mesilla Valley. Viticulture also thrives in the Mimbres River valley. In 1629, Franciscan friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín friar named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in Santa Fe de Nuevo México, in what became the current Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA. Consequently, wineries reside in the aforementioned Middle Rio Grande Valley, as well as the Mesilla Valley AVA and the Mimbres Valley AVA.
Viticulture took hold since its 1629 introduction, in the middle Rio Grande and the surrounding area, and by the year 1880 grapes were grown on over 3,000 acres (1,214 ha), and wineries produced over 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 L) of wine. 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."
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 also forced many wineries to close, while others remained operational providing sacramental 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 grow New Mexican heritage grapes, and to work in collaboration with Italian, Spanish and French wineries to make hybrid grape varieties.
New Mexico now has more than 60 wineries producing 900,000 US gallons (3,400,000 L) of wine annually.