La Chiripada Winery in New Mexico

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Discover La Chiripada Winery—New Mexico’s initial winery. Located an hour north of Santa Fe, this boutique winery specializes in reds.

In a perception, La Chiripada Vineyard (slang for “a stroke of luck”)—in little Dixon, New Mexico—and I grew up jointly. Launched and owned by brothers Pat and Mike Johnson, this cozy vineyard was developed in 1981. The brothers manufactured the creating employing adobe, vigas (structural wooden beams in classic adobe architecture), and latillas (common wooden ceiling resources). I to begin with toured the area concerning Santa Fe and Taos the pursuing 12 months.

The really assets lies 50 miles north of Santa Fe and 25 miles south of Taos. Working at 6,100 toes, La Chiripada is also located at one particular of the best elevations amid industrial US wineries.

This was New Mexico’s initially winery. Pat and Mike crafted their to start with wine, a Burgundian-fashion purple from their four-year-previous rootstock, on land in nearby Cañoncito.

Introducing La Chiripada Winery

Throughout my to start with tour of the area, I didn’t go to the vineyard, but I later on sampled La Chiripada wines in a tasting area. At the time, I was a verified white wine drinker. On the other hand, I also tasted various pink wines and the port. Its sweet, sophisticated, warming character danced across my style buds.

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By the time I frequented La Chiripada Winery very last week, I experienced generally drunk red wine for additional than a decade. The sky was cobalt on that day, the air was somewhat chilly, and healthful environmentally friendly grapevines shimmered in the early afternoon sun.

Chardonnay 2021, Rio Embudo Red, and New Mexico Port 2016 are numerous latest wine offerings. Photo by Lisa Waterman Gray

The Unforgettable Flavors

Dressed in a winery-logoed T-shirt, Sam greeted me warmly at the bar as I sipped many reds. Considerably to my amazement, La Chiripada didn’t charge a unique tasting charge or restrict how many choices attendees sampled (I restricted myself for the reason that I was driving solo). But there was a very well-filled idea jar on the rustic, wood-confronted bar.

Wooden banquettes lined walls beneath broad home windows around the front of the developing. It’s a best area for Wine Club members to socialize during unique situations. Local art lined the walls and tabletops in an adjacent place.

Broad windows and wood banquets create a cozy sipping space inside the winery.

Broad windows and wooden banquets produce a cozy sipping house inside the vineyard. Image by Lisa Waterman Gray.

I experienced previously sampled many wines when a occasion of 4 joined us. As I verbally swooned in excess of the 2016 port, many of the new readers sampled my longtime favourite. I ordered a 2021 Chardonnay for a mate and a bottle of Rio Embudo Pink (Silver Medal Winner at the Fingerlakes (NY) Worldwide Wine Competitiveness) for each of us. Then I splurged on La Chiripada’s scrumptious New Mexico Port 2016.

La Chiripada Winery's tasting room is warm and welcoming.

La Chiripada Winery’s tasting home is heat and welcoming. Picture by Lisa Waterman Grey

La Chiripada Winery By Flavors & Quantities

These days, the brothers take pleasure in the similar wine-generating disorders from the starting. Their minimally processed good quality grapes usually increase at higher elevations. In this article, the norm is heat summer times and interesting nights, whilst area soil results in fertile escalating situations. And every single yr, this spouse and children-owned vineyard creates in between 2,500 and 3,000 circumstances of wine.

Through collaboration with their neighbors and homeowners of Rio Embudo Vines, Jasper and Orlina Tucker, these vineyards generate up to 30 tons of grapes all through each and every harvest season—approximately 50 percent of the amount desired for the yearly ‘crush.’

You can find a concentration on working with regional grapes and complementing vintage New Mexican cuisine. Signature Unique Reserve Riesling, Rio Embudo Pink, and Rio Embudo Purple Reserve wines incorporate grapes from the lush Rio Embudo Valley in which the winery stands.

Added grapes come from the Mimbres Valley’s decreased elevation in southern New Mexico.

An inventive display of wines at the La Chiripada Winery.

An inventive show of wines at La Chiripada. Photo by Lisa Waterman Gray

Acquiring In this article Can Be Challenging

My navigation technique (Siri) didn’t acquire me considerably adequate along NM Freeway 75 immediately after I arrived from Santa Fe. Google maps has experienced the exact same dilemma. Immediately after driving close to for much more than 10 minutes in very small Dixon, with no sight of La Chiripada, I referred to as the winery from an empty parking whole lot. I figured out I hadn’t driven significantly plenty of along Highway 75.

Preserve this details for your individual take a look at: The vineyard operates 2.5 miles west of the NM Freeway 75/NM Freeway 68 junction. You can know you’re getting closer when you have passed the Dixon Cooperative Industry on the appropriate. Then look for the winery entrance just past Zuly’s Cafe, on the remaining.

The Award-Winning Wines

Regularly voted ‘The Ideal Winery in New Mexico,’ La Chiripada’s 2016 port is far from the only varietal that has won awards. Its viognier gained a double gold medal at Fingerlakes (NY) Intercontinental Wine Comp 2016. It also gained silver medals at Fingerlakes (NY) Global Wine Comp 2017 and Texas Worldwide Wine Comp 2019.

A mixture of shiraz and ruby cabernet from the Mimbres Valley, Winemakers’ Pick out Crimson garnered silver at the Fingerlakes competitiveness. Vintners’ Reserve Pink gained silver medals at the San Francisco Worldwide Wine Competition and Texas Global Wine Competitors in 2019. It also acquired silver at the Fingerlakes (NY) International Wine Competitors 2017. White, sweet Vino de Oro also gained a bronze medal at the Texas Worldwide Wine Opposition 2019.

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When You Check out La Chiripada Winery

At any given time, La Chiripada Vineyard presents up to 20 white, red, and dessert wines for onsite sipping and/or transport (least 6 bottles). So, the future time you check out north of Santa Fe, stop by this winery where purely natural attractiveness fulfills attractive flavors. Use Wander With Speculate, an fantastic resource when preparing winetasting visits to New Mexico, California, Washington, or wherever terrific wines abound.