Vino in the Valley is returning to Los Ranchos, bringing new wineries to the community, the Albuquerque Journal reports.
What to expect Nov. 7
Vino in the Valley is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. at the Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center, 4920 Rio Grande Blvd. NW. General admission is free; guided tastings require separate tickets, priced at $20 for one winery session or $50 for all three. Each session is an hour, and each winery is scheduled to offer two sessions during the event, according to the Journal. Food trucks, artisan vendors and music are also planned.
JG Owen Vineyards operates in the Mimbres Valley between Silver City and Deming, while Out of Place Winery is based in Albuquerque. Corrales-based Milagro Vineyards says its vineyards were first planted in 1985 and that it has made wine from vinifera grapes since then.
A longer grape-growing history
The event sits within a much longer history of grape growing in New Mexico. A New Mexico State University guide says grape culture dates to the early Spanish settlers and that the first European grapes were probably grown on mission grounds. The same guide says vinifera grapes should be grown only in southern and southeastern New Mexico. That is general agricultural guidance, not a site-specific assessment of the wineries participating in Los Ranchos.
JG Owen’s own account traces the winery’s beginnings to Syrah vines planted in an Albuquerque backyard; the family found its Faywood property in 2008. The winery says it now offers six estate-grown wines and describes hand-pruning its vines and hand-picking its grapes on its website.
Plans beyond the November event
The November tasting is scheduled as one of two Vino in the Valley events planned for 2026, the newspaper reported.
