Top 5 Santa Fe Wine Tours: Taste New Mexico

New Mexico, you know, is maybe not the first place that springs to your mind when you are picturing amazing wine destinations, yet, Santa Fe and its surroundings just might offer some pretty amazing wine experiences. With pretty high-altitude vineyards and a pretty unique terroir, the wines coming from this area just have a quality all of their own. If you are planning a trip there and you want to go sipping your way through the local vineyards, well you might want to get on a guided tour. I mean, these wine tours usually will handle the transportation stuff, plus, they will set up the tastings for you, alright making the whole experience smooth, plus fun. Here are some options to consider, that is, for making the most of the Santa Fe wine scene with minimal effort – so, allowing you to relax, plus sip! Explore some fantastic Santa Fe wine tours that promise a taste of New Mexico’s distinctive flavors.

1. Santa Fe Wine & Chile Tours

You see, Santa Fe Wine & Chile Tours seemingly blends, so, two of New Mexico’s very best offerings: wine and chile. I mean their tours will often combine vineyard visits with stops at, like, local chile farms or restaurants where you get to sample regional cuisine. Their approach is to show off just how well New Mexico flavors come together. A nice offering is their “Sip & Savor” tour, that, includes guided tastings at several award-winning wineries close to Santa Fe. The guides are locals, so, they can talk about the history of winemaking in the area as well as about the impact that chile has had on New Mexican food plus culture. They will pick you up from your hotel, which makes the whole experience stress-free – this is rather important if you are wanting to sample several wines. Secure guided wine tasting and explore the fusion of local flavors and wine.

2. Gruet Winery Tours (Technically Not a “Tour” but a Must-Do Tasting)

Okay, Gruet Winery might not have tours going out from Santa Fe – they have tasting rooms. Is that clear? – However, they are pretty much an institution in New Mexico winemaking. I mean, what started as a family-owned operation by French winemakers who moved all the way over to New Mexico is, these days, producing some quite amazing sparkling wines, using the méthode champenoise. So, a visit to one of their tasting rooms – there is one in Santa Fe – is actually something of a must-do. When you are there you can sample their sparkling wines, everything going from brut to rosé. You might find a particular style or a new release to tickle those taste buds. In fact, Gruet’s sparkling wines tend to win quite a few awards, and are poured in fancier restaurants around the country. The tasting rooms tend to be relaxed, which, allows for an intimate experience. Savor a glass of exceptional New Mexico sparkling wine and discover a rich, bubbling heritage.

3. Santa Fe Green Chile Wine Trail

The Santa Fe Green Chile Wine Trail isn’t exactly one, organized tour company, alright, it is more of an informal route connecting several vineyards and wineries in the Santa Fe area. You know that New Mexico sure does like chile, as in, especially green chile. Anyway, there are a handful of places along this route that do some fun pairings of wine and chile-infused dishes. I mean, this “trail” lets you make your own adventure by driving yourself, maybe, or hiring a private driver to get from one spot to the next. I guess some wineries have their own special green chile wine-pairing events from time to time. It is maybe worth doing some calling ahead to see who’s running something special when you will be there. This rather gives you some flexibility when it comes to checking out the regional wine offerings. Follow the trail to explore the unique flavors and the robust traditions surrounding Santa Fe wineries.

4. New Mexico Wine Tours

New Mexico Wine Tours handles tours from Santa Fe which take you out into the bigger wine areas of New Mexico, and they make this happen. Very often their tours are, more or less, small and more on the exclusive side. They go over to vineyards that aren’t necessarily hit by lots of other tours. You’re, then, probably to get some personal interaction, plus, in-depth tastings. These wine tours commonly have knowledgeable guides. This is quite amazing because the guides know pretty much everything about winemaking in New Mexico plus the geology involved, or how the state’s history went on to shape the wine styles. The tours will often have transportation included which tends to include pickup plus drop-off. If you would very much like a comprehensive tour of New Mexico winemaking, well then this would seem to be the way to go. With expert guides, you’ll uncover all that’s captivating in New Mexican winemaking traditions.

5. Private Wine Tours

There really are quite a few companies in the Santa Fe region which happen to provide custom, that is private, wine tour experiences. You know these ones are pretty good in the sense that you are in control of everything in the sense you get to put together your own itinerary that fits your style and the wines you might want to check out in the most detail. Very often, if you use these companies, you get the use of a driver plus some sort of tour planner. What you will have to do, though, is choose the wineries in advance to go on your itinerary and make any appointments to actually visit them. So, while a private tour might mean more work on your part it also means the tour will pretty much suit your tastes in wine to a “t.” Also, it can very often turn out being rather better when you are travelling with a party that may happen to want something a little more, or less, structured than one of your standard group tours. These tours will afford flexibility and personalization to customize your experience.