So another great place with a winery to visit in Southern New Mexico is a place named Heart of the Desert. This great find is a store that offers free wine tastings, a wine club and a bunch of other agricultural products grown on George and Marianne’s farm, Eagle Ranch. Their pistachios are so fresh and come in a variety of seasonings and spices…not just your average salted ones.
Let me start with some history and location, and then I will tell you more about the winemaker and the wines. There are 4 locations for Heart of the Desert products and wines. The main location, whose sign you cannot miss when driving southwest on Hwy 54/70 to Las Cruces, is symbolized by a huge red heart in front of a large building. This is the main Heart of the Desert Gift shop and Eagle Ranch Pistachio Grove’s location.
There is another location in Mesilla, NM in the historic plaza, easy to find by their blue door and windows on the west side of the strip.
Yet another location resides in the main gift shop in the NM Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, Las Cruces, NM.
Lastly, there is a tasting room in Ruidoso in The Cork & Kettle, 2801 Sudderth Drive, but as of October 2019, this is the only location that does charge for a wine tasting.
So the story began in 1972 where a ranch, called Eagle Ranch was developed with the intent of cultivating over 13,000 Pistachios trees. In July of 2001, an additional 135 acres of land was purchased to start a vineyard. In May 2003, the first 12,000 vines were initially planted and things went so well, that they now have around 24,000 grapevines. Each year there are 7 grape varieties harvested: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Riesling, Malvasia Bianc, and Gewuztraminer. Recently Merlot was added to the harvest. Just as grapes grow in clusters on vines, pistachios grow in clusters on trees. The family farm/ranch is owned by George and Marianne Schweers.
Important fact: The demand for New Mexico grapes has been steadily increasing as the production of New Mexico wines increases. A required qualification for New Mexico wines is the usage of at least seventy-five percent New Mexico grown grapes in the production of the wines.
The history of Eagle Ranch is in the link below, a lovely story of hardworking farmers:
To learn more about the wines produced by Heart of the Desert vineyards, please click on this link:
Some wines that stood out for my palate were the Riesling, the Gewurztraminer and the amazing Syrah. You can’t leave without trying the Pistachio Rose, made from a blend of White Zinfandel, Chenin Blanc and pistachio extract. I can guarantee you have not tried something like this before, as you just may have to purchase it to try with some of your wine loving friends. You will get a fruity nutty flavor that will be great to pair with appetizers or just pair with some interesting conversation and history about what Heart of the Desert is all about.
