Sip and savor the wines of Central New Mexico!

 

Corrales Wine Loop

Three great New Mexico wineries, one scenic trip. Tour the Corrales Wine Loop. Only 20 minutes from Downtown Albuquerque and 45 minutes from Santa Fe.

Rio Rancho/Sandoval County Wineries

There are a total of 7 wineries in the Rio Rancho/Sandoval County area with 6 of those located less than 20 minutes from central Rio Rancho. To plan a personal wine tasting tour click here for winery details and contact information or contact us for more assistance.

History - New Mexico Wine Making

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 3,000 acres, and wineries produced over 1,000,000 US gallons 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 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 plant French hybrid grape varieties. New Mexico now has more than 20 wineries producing 350,000 US gallons of wine annually.