If you go to the official websites for the New Mexico Wine Growers Association and the Texas Wine Growers Association you will see that both claim to be the site of the first vineyards in North America dating back to the 1500s and 1600s with the vineyards being established by Franciscan priests. During this period of time both New Mexico and Texas were part of Mexico called Tejas so technically I guess both can lay claim to having the first vineyard in North America.

The cuttings brought by the missionaries were believed to be a variety of Vitis vinifera, more commonly called the “mission grape”. This variety is still grown in New Mexico today. Historians also believe that the European settlers brought with them a variety of cuttings from Spain, called Monica. By the 1800s a strip along the Rio Grande extending roughly from Bernalillo to Socorro and from the vicinity of Mesilla to El Paso, Texas had well established vineyards. Today New Mexico has approximately 26 established wineries in four different regions, 12 tasting rooms and three annual wine festivals.

The four regions of New Mexico’s Wine Country are:

NM Northern Region which is the Santa Fe area.
NM Central Region which is the Albuquerque, Corrales, and Bernallilo area.
NM Southwest Region which is the Mesilla Valley (Las Cruces and Mesilla), Deming and Truth or Consequences area.
NM Southwest Region which is the Tularosa, Ruidosa, Carlsbad area.