Top 100 red wines of New Mexico
Discover the top 100 best red wines of New Mexico as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the red wines that are popular of New Mexico and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Discovering the wine region of New Mexico
NewMexico is a landlocked state on the southern border of the United States, flanked by Texas to the southeast and Arizona to the west. The state covers 316,000 square kilometers of high-altitude desert between latitudes 31° and 37°. The main Grape varieties used for wine production in New Mexico are Syrah, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Zinfandel. New Mexico has three American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) within its borders, all of which are located at these high altitudes: Middle Rio Grande Valley, Mimbres Valley and Mesilla Valley (which spills over into neighboring Texas).
About 40 wineries now operate in the state, producing wines from vinifera varieties and hybrids. New Mexico's continental desert Climate results in a particularly Short growing season, preventing grapes from reaching good levels of phenolic ripeness. Historically, New Mexico wines tend to be Unbalanced, with high sugar levels and low Acidity, and lack the Structure necessary for aging. Of course, there are cooler mesoclimates in New Mexico at higher elevations, and it is in these areas that the state's modern wine industry is emerging.
News from the vineyard of New Mexico
Georgia’s indigenous grapes: reviving hidden treasures
‘When I started producing wine, the wineries were all in a very bad condition,’ said Askaneli Brothers president Gocha Chkhaidze, recalling the poor state of the Georgian wine industry shortly after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. ‘There was inadequate sanitation, a lack of know-how and old-fashioned bottling lines. People were unable to make wine sustainably, vineyards were not sufficiently cared for, agronomists were unskilled and used to harvest the maximu ...
Hugh Johnson: ‘I’ve formed a bond with Grillo and flirted with Verdicchio’
I’d like to say we took advantage of the lockdown and its related commotion to do a stock-take, explore new avenues, turn over intriguing stones, widen and deepen our drinking, taking careful notes as we went. Sadly, no. I won’t say we got stuck in a rut, but we did tend to stick with comfort wines – and “comfort”, in our case, means familiar. Regular readers of this quarterly column can probably guess the labels on the resulting empties. We have a wider range of comfort foods, I’m afraid, than ...
Decanter magazine latest issue: June 2022
Inside the June 2022 issue of Decanter Magazine: FEATURES Finding value in Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits Charles Curtis MW Spätburgunder Caro Maurer MW NZ Pinot Noir: 20 premium wines Selected by Decanter’s Tina Gellie Muscadet: the crus communaux Beverley Blanning MW The language of tasting notes Chris Losh on the good – and bad LEARNING Wine wisdom Expert tips to help you on your journey through wine Read the new issue in full on the Decanter Premium app Unlimited reviews | Exclusive articles | R ...