Sol y Agua
VINEYARDS
When we established Sol y Agua Vineyards in 2020 it was the culmination of a vision that began almost 20 years earlier with the purchase of our home in Corrales, New Mexico. Happenstance and the vagaries of medical school financing had given us a week to find a home in the Albuquerque area and almost as an afterthought we drove into Corrales late on our second to last day in town. Driving past the established vineyards on Corrales Road as the sun cast long shadows on the ripening rows was a life changing experience. The post war home we purchased the next day was built by the cinematographer Kenneth Marthey and it is constructed from adobe bricks cast from clay soil excavated on the property. The resultant depression in the land is the site of our initial micro vineyard. Corrales itself is a farming community that traces its roots back to Spanish colonialism in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Spanish monks initiated mission grape cultivation in the 1600s making the region one of the oldest wine growing centers in the United States. The legacy of this modest beginning is a modern industry that boasts many fine wineries. Sol y Agua Vineyards is intended to support and further enhance that heritage. We seek to sustainably produce high quality vitis vinifera grapes that can be crafted into fine wines in a setting that is supportive of the local agricultural, food and arts communities.
Our Process
GRUNER VELTLINER
CURRENT OPERATIONS
Our initial vineyard consists of 95 Gruner Veltliner vines. Their 101-14 root stock is disease resistant and well tailored to the valley's clay soil. Gruner itself is a white vitis vinifera grape that is thought to be native to Austria or Northern Italy. Perhaps owing to its mountainous origins, it is capable of tolerating the near zero winter temperatures and late frosts common in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. At an elevation of 5000 ft, our vineyard beautifully demonstrates the inspiring adaptability of vinifera. Gruner Veltliner can be crafted into a dry wine with robust character and a peppery finish that pares well with Native American and Spanish influenced New Mexican cuisine. The 2021 harvest yielded 22 lbs of fruit at a Brix of 23. When mature, the vineyard is anticipated to produce 800 lbs of high quality grapes.
FUTURE PLANS
Following the establishment of our initial vineyard, we plan to secure additional acreage for the scaling of production. This will be paired with the development of onsite lodging, an art exhibition space and a grape processing facility. Although the production of boutique estate bottled wines is contemplated as a distant objective, our near term focus remains the cultivation of high quality wine grapes that reflect and enhance the incredibly beautiful part of the word in which they are grown.
WANT TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT?
Where to find New Mexico produced Gruner Veltliner and other
fine local wines:
