Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery
Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery
By: Paul Dahlgren
Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau
“Red or Green?,” seems to be a fairly standard question around dinnertime here in Las Cruces, but with the abundance of area wineries in the country’s oldest wine producing state, people might also find themselves asking, “Red or White?”
Whether it’s a robust red or a whimsical white, Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery, just south of the Historic Mesilla Plaza, has a variety of tasty and unique wines for every palette.
“My father taught me how to make wine when I was 13…I’ve made wines all my life,” said Gordon Steel, owner of Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery, who started his winery about five years ago when he retired, after 34 years of service in the U. S. Air Force.
The wide assortment of wines throughout the winery have a unique blend of flavors and influences, which Steel attributed to his travels through Europe, “that showed me [Steel] the diversity of wine.” The most popular wines at the winery include the Spanish inspired wines such as the Cherry Sangria or Tempranillo.
With wines that all run under $20 Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery offers a good variety of wine without breaking the bank, and for those looking to try out all winery’s tasty varieties of wine, the winery offers tastings for $5 per person and if you decide to buy a bottle of wine, the tasting is free.
“You can make wines that are very similar, but every winemaker is going to take a different approach to finishing the wine,” said Steel, while mentioning that each winemaker has a unique style that can produce a virtually endless number of wine variations.
Steel went on to mention that along with producing an array of wonderful wines, grapes are also a very sustainable crop for the Mesilla valley, only using a small fraction of the water it takes to develop crops such as pecans. “It’s a crop we should be looking at,” said Steel while mentioning that the Las Cruces area also has ideal weather conditions for growing grapes.
“The biggest change next year will be in the signage and development of our wine trail system,” said Steel as he explained an ongoing cooperative effort by both wineries and government agencies to further expand and develop the Las Cruces wine trail.
There are about half-a-dozen different wineries located in and around the Las Cruces area, not including the numerous wineries slated to open within the next few years. “We all make wine totally different…but we work as a team…we all support each other,” said Steel and explained the strong sense of unity between area wineries that works to develop the area’s wine trail.
New Mexico began producing wines in 1629, making it the oldest wine producing state in the country.
Rio Grande Vineyards & Winery is located just four miles south of the Mesilla Plaza on Highway 28. The winery is open Friday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tours of the winery are available most Fridays or by appointment. For more information call (575) 524-3985
