For over 30 years now some of the best sparkling wine made in the U.S. has come from an unlikely source: vineyards in the high desert of Southern New Mexico. These vines produce the Chardonnay,... Read More

For over 30 years now some of the best sparkling wine made in the U.S. has come from an unlikely source: vineyards in the high desert of Southern New Mexico. These vines produce the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that go into the now iconic label of Gruet.

Though it might seem an unlikely place to make wine, in fact the high plateaus near the current border of New Mexico and Texas were planted with vineyards by the Spaniards as early as the 1600’s, and have produced wine grapes on and off ever since. In the early 1980’s Gilbert Gruet recognized the potential for these vineyards to make sparkling wines, and set about founding a winery.

He knew what he was doing, as he had been producing and selling Champagne in France under the label he founded in the 1950’s. The sandy, loam soils and dry, cool breezes helped ensure healthy fruit every vintage, with the right balance of sugar and acidity to make crisp, dry sparkling wine. By the time Gilbert passed in 1999, Gruet was selling a million bottles of bubbles a year.

Today his son Laurent oversees the winemaking operations, and other than continued growth little has changed. That includes pricing. The other benefit of making wine in New Mexico is that cost of production is significantly less than in places like California and New York, so the Gruet line remains one of the best values in Methode Champenoise bubbles out there.