What we grow
Some of these grapes have strong track records in warm, dry climates. Others are deliberate experiments that almost nobody grows in New Mexico. We're actively learning which varieties and techniques perform best on this site — the descriptions below are about the grapes themselves, not promises about our future wines. Those get written when the wine is real.
Loire Valley / Bordeaux, France
A crisp, aromatic white known for bright acidity and flavors that range from citrus and green herbs to stone fruit depending on climate and picking decisions.
Why here: An early-ripening white — among the first fruit off the vine each year, picked while the acidity is still bright. Harvest timing gives us a wide stylistic range to explore.
Rías Baixas, Spain / Portugal
The signature white of Atlantic Iberia — aromatic, saline, high-acid, usually made fresh and unoaked.
Why here: A variety with a record of holding acidity in warm, sunny climates. We're watching how it behaves with high-desert days and cool nights.
Austria
Austria's flagship white — peppery, citrusy, structured, and food-friendly, from a grape that rewards careful canopy management.
Why here: Rarely planted in New Mexico, which is part of the point. We'd rather test interesting varieties here than assume only the famous ones work.
Alpine Europe (Traminer family)
An intensely aromatic pink-skinned white — lychee, rose, and spice — that performs best where nights stay cool enough to keep it fresh.
Why here: Our big day-night swings suit aromatic whites — but Gewürztraminer also buds early, putting it on the front line of our spring-freeze fight, and its picking window is short. It keeps us honest.
Burgundy, France
The most site-sensitive of the classic reds — light-bodied, perfumed, and unforgiving of sloppy farming. It shows exactly what a vineyard did all year.
Why here: Partly a challenge, honestly. If we can farm Pinot well here, it sharpens everything else we do.
Bordeaux, France
A deeply colored, tannic red that needs a long, warm season to ripen fully — historically a blending grape in Bordeaux, increasingly a standalone wine in sunnier places.
Why here: It wants sun, and Albuquerque has sun to spare — the bet is whether our fall holds long enough for this famously late ripener. A strong candidate for structure in future reds, alone or in a blend.
French-American hybrid
A resilient French-American hybrid with dark color and bright acidity, respected for disease resistance and dependable cropping where classic vinifera struggles.
Why here: Resilience matters on a working farm. Chambourcin gives us a dependable red while we learn the limits of the more delicate varieties.
Germany (modern hybrid)
A modern German hybrid bred for fungal resistance — the most widely planted of Germany's fungus-resistant reds, with good winter hardiness — making deeply colored, medium-bodied wines. A rarity in the American Southwest. Fun fact: Chambourcin, two rows over, is one of its parents.
Why here: Bred for resilience, and almost nobody grows it in New Mexico. We want to know what it can do here before anyone tells us it can't.
Pajarito Farms