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La Viña Winery
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
3 reviews for La Viña Winery
I'll start this off by saying I don't know anything about wine. I know what tastes good to me and when I enjoy a particular establishment.
I first visited La Viña in May when I was visiting my brother and sister in-law who live in nearby Anthony, TX. They are frequent patrons and were very excited to take me. I understood why even before we arrived, as the scenery was really lovely. When we got there, we were one of the only groups there that day, which surprised me. At the insistence of my sister in-law, I opted for a tasting before buying a bottle. The woman running the tasting bar was very friendly and knowledgeable, and answered any questions I had. Not a fan of dry wines, I tried Oro Loco (the famorite of my siblings), White Riesling, La Dolce Viña, La Piñata, Dulcinea, and Caliente. They were all wonderful, but my favorite was La Piñata, so of course I purchased a bottle. We had a lovely afternoon and I couldn't wait to go back!
As you might imagine, my request when I visited this past weekend was to spend an afternoon at La Viña. We were happy to learn they were open on Father's Day and we made our way over mid-afternoon. This time, the patio was full and a duo, Live by Request, were performing. After we purchased a bottle of Oro Loco, we sat down at a table and chatted while we drank our wine and ate the cheese, crackers, and strawberries we brought with us. The music was interesting, but not necessarily in a bad way. The due was an older couple - he played guitar, she played the keyboard, washboard, tambourine, and washboard (yes, washboard!), and they both sang. They left on each table their songlist and encouraged the audience to yell out requests, which many people did. Their renditions of the songs were cheesy but charming and definitely pleasant. Midway through our visit, we purchased another bottle, this time the Viognier. It was delicious and surprisingly not as dry as I had expected.
I'm already planning on attending the Harvest Festival in October and hopefully a couple of times before then.
La Vina is the old guard of Mesilla Valley wineries. Forever ago, when discussing regional wines, it was the first, and possibly the only, vineyard discussed among enthusiasts.
Our group went for an afternoon tasting, and I was astounded by their varietals that are quite rare outside of northern California. I'm struggling to remember exactly, but I beleive that their tasting was a mere $3 for 6 samples. A great deal considering their enthusiastic pours.
They had about 15 selections of wine, which, if you've been to other vineyards for tastings, is an enormous selection. It was almost impossible to choose, especially since they grew so many of my favorite varietals including Semillon, Sangiovese, and Petite Syrah. I also tried the Cote de Bravo (good), Primitivo (very good), and the Rojo Loco (not my favorite). I took 2 bottles of the Sangiovese home with me to enjoy later.
La Vina is also well-known for the annual wine festival, true pioneers in this regard as an outlet for west Texas and eastern New Mexico wine zealots like our group.
I might also add that they will ship cases of 3, 6, and 12 bottles to anywhere in the country.
We went to check out the La Vina 2008 Blues and Jazz Festival. We had an awesome time where we enjoyed the live music, checking out the works of local artists and jewelry makers, and of course, tasting all that great wine. The $10 admission included a souvenier wine glass and a bracelet with 6 tickets to taste up to six wines (or you could turn in all your tickets at one time and top off your glass). Lucky for me, I used each ticket individually and the gentlemen pouring the wine gave me half a glass each time...yeah, I was feeling pretty great by the end of our day. Since moving from the Bay Area, I definitely notice a distinct difference with New Mexico wines. La Vina continues the NM tradition by capturing those pleasantly unique flavors.
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