Grape minds: New Mexico Wine Festival comes to ABQ, Las Cruces for Memorial Day weekend

According to a recent piece published in the travel section of National Geographic, New Mexico is “the unexpected wine country you need to visit.”

Perhaps no event offers a better cross-section of the diverse offerings available in the state than the New Mexico Wine Festival, a Memorial Day weekend tradition spanning more than 30 years.

The festivities in Albuquerque and Las Cruces are hosted by New Mexico Wine, a nonprofit with the mission of promoting and protecting the wine industry in the Land of Enchantment.

“It features the best of New Mexico wine,” New Mexico Wine event director Dean Strober said. “It’s also grown and changed over the years. There’s new wineries that are popping up in New Mexico.

“I will also say that the wines that New Mexico wineries are putting out just get better and better every single year. Every year, they’re winning more and more awards in international wine competitions. So, I think that’s part of the allure.”

Over the course of the three-day weekend, approximately 15,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which also includes live music, food and an artisan market with more than 50 vendors selling everything from jewelry to candles to baked goods. There’s also a silent disco, miniature golf and a variety of other games.

“It’s quite an experience, and I think the event just provides a wonderful kickoff to summer,” Strober said. “It’s a beautiful setting, Balloon Fiesta Park. We’ve got a majestic view of the Sandia Mountains.”

Strober said that planning for each festival begins about a year in advance, with the goal of making each iteration as safe, comfortable and enjoyable as possible. That includes adding new elements each year. One recent expansion is the VIP reserve wine tent, where attendees can upgrade their ticket and enjoy a shaded seating area with additional live music where 12 wineries will have space for service and sampling.

While nmwine.com states that more than 200 wines will be available for tasting, Strober said “that’s a pretty low estimate.” What is certain is that sampling can be an all-day affair for the serious wine enthusiast.

“We’ve got 22 different winery booths, and they all have their pretty wide selections of reds, whites, bubblies, sweets (and) darks,” Strober said. “If somebody really wants to taste and have a really vast experience and explore, arrive early, spend the day.”

There will be plenty of familiar wineries on hand, but others such as San Isidore Vineyards and Mystic Ambrosia mead will be making their debuts. Additionally, the New Mexico Wine Studio — an Old Town-based tasting room run by the New Mexico Wine Association — will offer flights of wines, including options from wineries that aren’t able to attend the festival.

“We’re continually looking to increase the educational components,” Strober said. “That speaks to the Wine Studio being there, where it’s not just buying a flight of wine, but you’re going to learn about all the different types of wine that you’re being sampled and served.”

For wine festival rookies, Strober recommends bringing a hat, sunscreen and a container to refill at the free water stations throughout the venue. There’s also a discount code for Uber on nmwine.com to help ensure safe travels to and from the event.

“Nothing is more important than making sure that every attendee gets home safe so they can make it back to the next event and share the wine with their families and friends,” he said.

FOUR CENTURIES: Wine Festival organizers are already planning a little further ahead thanks to a significant milestone on the horizon. The 2029 event will mark 400 years of winemaking in New Mexico. Strober said “a pretty large party” is already in the making — even four years out.

“It’s the first winemaking region in the country,” he said. “So there’s an incredible amount of heritage that New Mexico wineries represent.”