The Mesilla Valley AVA is an
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
located primarily in the state of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, with a small area in the state of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
explorer
Don Juan de Oñate
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
* Don, Benin, a town in Benin
* Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...
arrived in the area in 1598, and named a
Native American village in the valley ''Trenquel de la Mesilla'', from which the valley as a whole became known as
Mesilla Valley
The Mesilla Valley is a geographic feature of Southern New Mexico and far West Texas. It was formed by repeated heavy spring floods of the Rio Grande.
Background
The fertile Mesilla Valley extends from Radium Springs, New Mexico, to the west ...
. Although
viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
began in nearby
El Paso
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
as early as 1650, grapes were first planted in the Mesilla Valley only in the early twentieth century, near the town of
Doña Ana. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah are the most important grape varieties planted there.
[https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-mesilla+valley+-+new+mexico?srsltid=AfmBOoq0EdfcGaPJ0RLy7K6cliz3Cmy7452FUBB_C00jrh0E7vJCvJYB] The climate in the Mesilla Valley is dry and hot.
See also
;General
*
New Mexico wine
New Mexico has a long history of wine production, within American wine, especially along the Rio Grande, from its capital Santa Fe, the city of Albuquerque with its surrounding metropolitan area, and in valleys like the Mesilla and the Mimbr ...
*
Texas wine
;Wineries
*
La Viña Winery
*
St. Clair Winery
References
American Viticultural Areas of New Mexico
American Viticultural Areas of Texas
1985 establishments in New Mexico
1985 establishments in Texas
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