La Chiripada Tasting Room

Open: Year-Round

La Chiripada Winery is a small, family-run operation located in the beautiful Rio Embudo Valley of Northern New Mexico (50 miles north of Santa Fe and 25 miles south of Taos). We established our winery in 1977, following the traditions of the first Spanish settlers andadopted the name, La Chiripada, from the original ranch where our winery is located. ("La Chiripada" means, "a stroke of luck" or "a lucky fluke".)

It was in 1981 that we built the winery in the traditional southwest style using the indigenous materials of the region: adobe bricks, vigas and latillas. That same year, after developing our root stock for four years, we harvested our first commercial vintage, a robust Burgundian styled red wine from our small vineyard in Canoncito. The following year, we opened our doors to the public.

Our signature wines, Special Reserve Riesling, Rio Embudo Red and Rio Embudo Red Reserve Selection are made from grapes grown at our vineyards in the Rio Embudo Valley. Warm summer days and cool, clear nights combine with rich, sandy loam soil to create ideal conditions for the cultivation of grapes. Northern New Mexico's extreme winters together with our high elevation (at 6100 ft, we are one of the highest commercial grape growing ventures in the world) caused us to choose cultivars capable of withstanding the severe climate and short growing season.