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Ruidoso, New Mexico, a vacation oasis for heat-oppressed Texans and lovers of quarter horse racing, has been the home of the Southwestern Wine Competition for the past two years. This year, the wine competition with its traditional wine tastings will be combined with a music festival and a beer competition.

Pinestock, the music part of this festival, will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 9th and 10th. The Southwest Wine Competition will be held from Wednesday through Friday just prior to the festivities. The public tasting and awards portion of the wine festival will be combined with Pinestock to create a festival that will fill the town.

Winemaking in New Mexico and the southwest may seem surprising to many who only know of California, Oregon and Washington wineries. But this was actually the first region in the country to be cultivated with grapes for wine.

The introduction of vines into the Rio Grande valley took place in the earliest days of colonization by the Spanish. They were accompanied by priests and monks. They needed wine for celebration of the Catholic mass. Hence, the colonists and priests planted grapes almost as soon as they arrived in this region.

The sandy and fertile riverbank soil together with the altitude and strong sun provided an excellent climate for vines. Some of these original grape stocks remain the source of many of local vintners to this day. However, many of the grape varietals now grown in New Mexico have been brought from California and Europe specifically matched to the soil and climate of New Mexico.

During the days of prohibition the wine industry ceased and was started again in the 1980s. Most of the wineries, until recently, have been little more than a hobby. But with interest in wine growing across the country, many wineries have begun to introduce modern winemaking techniques and are not creating a vibrant industry from their passionate hobbies.

Gruet Wineries near Albuquerque, makes excellent sparkling wines and has become one of the trendy sparkling wines in New York City. It always rankes near the top of any competition. Blue Teal, Black Mesa, La Vina and Santa Fe wineries also produce excellent wines.

A similar story can be told about the wine industry in Texas and Colorado. Texas, today, has a flourishing wine industry with surprisingly excellent world-class wines. Colorado's wine industry, however, is still tiny.

In Texas, Cap Rock Wineries, near Lubbock, is one of the state's leaders. It consistently produces excellent wines that are sold, for the most part, in the Southwest. Colorado has some interesting producers, but Carlson is one of the most consistent with excellent fruit wines produced year after year.

The Southwest Wine Competition has been taking place at various venues for more than a decade. It was moved to Ruidoso two years ago and seems to have found a home. Last year more than 270 wines from New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Texas competed for awards.

Judges spend two to three days sequestered in their tasting room. They sniff, swirl, sip and then spit their wines in search of the best that the southwest has to offer. The judging panel is made up of expert winemakers, wine buyers, journalists, wine tasting organizers and cooking school directors.

The guidelines given to the judges at the competition are to judge the wines on an international basis. In other words, the goal is to select wines that could stand on their own in any international competition. Medal winners at this competition have developed an excellent reputation.

There will be a grand tasting to which the public will be invited and the awards announcements will be held on Saturday. Then, many of the local restaurants in Ruidoso create special menus that accompany special wines selected by various participating wineries at gourmet meals on Sunday.

For a different look at New Mexico and the Southwest, a stop in Ruidoso for the Southwest Wine Competition and the Pinestock Music Festival will be a pleasant surprise.

For more information and tickets contact the Southwest Wine Competition at (877) 877-9322.

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