NM wines delight at wine fest

"New Mexico wine is on the verge of fully arriving on the international wine scene,[Lori Paulson] said."

Were they also smoking marijuana at this festival? Look out, California, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Nowadays, states all over the US are developing a wine business. Prices are high and a better tasting wine from a top region can be had for much less.

It's nice to visit a local vineyard. But, the climate in NM just won't support high quality grapes.

Some guy in Fort Collins wrote:

"New Mexico wine is on the verge of fully arriving on the international wine scene,[Lori Paulson] said."
Were they also smoking marijuana at this festival? Look out, California, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Nowadays, states all over the US are developing a wine business. Prices are high and a better tasting wine from a top region can be had for much less.
It's nice to visit a local vineyard. But, the climate in NM just won't support high quality grapes.

Apparently you're not that knowledgable about NM and its terrior for wine making. The climate is actually quite brilliant for vines, with the days being hot and the nights being cool and crisp. We get the perfect amount of rainfall as well.
Also, you should take note. A NM wine, DH Lescombes Limited Release Cabernet Franc, took the top award at the LARGEST wine competition in the US this year. The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is recognized as the largest, and one of the most coveted competitions in the US, and the DH Cab Franc took Best Red of the competion.

Yeah, maybe we wont ever be as recognized as California, France, Italy, but NM will make its own waves, and why would you be so negative against that possibility?

The Sun News tends to do a poor job of head counts - can anyone verify if the total attendance was really 12,000?

The location of this festival has deterred me from attending ever since I moved here. It's not likely I will ever feel inclined to drive 15 miles each way out into the desert beside a prison and a dairy farm to attend a wine fest at the dusty fairgrounds.

Why in the world is this not held in one of the metro parks? Or close off the downtown mall and have it there - you know, in town, so people have the option of calling a friend or a taxi if they overdo it.

I love the wine festival. All the wines taste great to me and there are all sorts of interesting booths/vendors. If you don't like the drive, perhaps we should all petition for bus service; call it the "Happy Grapes Bus" or something. Then we could really get into tasting more wine, sing "100 bottles of wine on the wall...." all the way to and from the fair grounds, and hopefully sober up enough when the bus finally arrived back in las Cruces.Imagine the possibilities!

Agreed, Mary. I also love wine! It's my understanding that up until last year's event there was a shuttle van offered (at no charge, I believe), and they ended it last year because of cost. Um, so charge a fare to people who want to use it. I'd pay the five bucks or whatever if it meant I had safe and guaranteed transportation to/from the event. Who wants to go to a wine fest, pay the mandatory admission fee, and not drink? Some local hippies could have made a killing with the Happy Grapes Bus by offering a van ride at a fair price.

Still, I think the location is lame and that's the main reason I don't bother going. With all the pretty locations around LC, having this event at a dusty fairgrounds facility out in the desert next to a prison just isn't appealing.

How about Mesilla Square? Hadley Complex? The park along the river off Picacho?

Some guy in Fort Collins wrote:

"New Mexico wine is on the verge of fully arriving on the international wine scene,[Lori Paulson] said."
Were they also smoking marijuana at this festival? Look out, California, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Nowadays, states all over the US are developing a wine business. Prices are high and a better tasting wine from a top region can be had for much less.
It's nice to visit a local vineyard. But, the climate in NM just won't support high quality grapes.

Which climate? There are many climates in New Mexico. Ok, there's no coastal region.

Red Apple wrote:

having this event at a dusty fairgrounds facility out in the desert next to a prison just isn't appealing.
How about Mesilla Square? Hadley Complex? The park along the river off Picacho?

I hadn't been out to the fairgrounds in years, but where the festival was was nice, it was all grass, it wasn't huge, but it was nice. I'll agree the fairgrounds are in a crappy spot, much too far away from town. As for the wine festival, size wise it could probably easily be held in town, except for the parking.

I don't know why they would want to hold it in town, there were too many people there as it was, left around 3 on Saturday and it was packed.

I guess the purpose isn't to get a lot of people, but to get people that will appreciate and buy local wines. I went because I was dragged by the "ball and chain"(she prefers that to OLD lady) aka girlfriend. I accidentally found a wine I really liked, had a few glasses and bought a few bottles, and I'll look for it again, it was good.

Location still sucks though, fairgrounds in general, not just the wine fest, though the area they do the fest in is pretty darn nice, certainly not what I expected for the middle of the desert.