New Mexico's Oldest Vineyard Swings Wide
Anthony · El Paso · Winery · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 24, 2026
RagingWine reviewed La Viña Winery’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Pull up to La Viña and the first thing you notice is that nobody told this place it's supposed to be modest — 25+ estate wines grown in the Mesilla Valley sun, and they're not shy about any of them. The tasting room has the relaxed, sun-bleached energy of a place that's been doing this longer than most American wineries have existed. New Mexico's oldest continuously operating vineyard earns a certain swagger, and the list reflects it.
The range here is genuinely surprising for a single-estate operation tucked near El Paso. You've got Italian varietals like Dolcetto, Sangiovese, and Primitivo sitting alongside Rhône grapes like Viognier and Late Harvest Mourvèdre, a Bordeaux-style Heritage Red Blend, and a Gewürztraminer that has no business growing this far south but apparently does. The Mesilla Cabernet Sauvignon is the anchor of the reds, while the fun blends — Rojo Loco (Ruby Cabernet and Zinfandel) and Oro Loco (Muscat blend) — signal a winery that isn't afraid to play. The gap is obvious: zero outside producers, so if you want a comparison point or a Burgundy, look elsewhere.
Specific by-the-glass programming isn't well-documented outside of tasting flights, which appear to be the primary format here. Tastings let you work through the lineup in a structured way, which is honestly the right move when you're staring down 25 estate wines you've never encountered before. Expect to taste more than you planned.
Rojo Loco (Ruby Cabernet / Zinfandel blend) — Unknown
A Ruby Cabernet-Zinfandel blend from the high desert sounds like a gamble, but it's the kind of house specialty you can't find anywhere else and likely priced accordingly — meaning reasonably. This is exactly why you drove out here.
Late Harvest Mourvèdre
Most people beeline to the Cabernet or the novelty blends and completely miss this. A late harvest Mourvèdre from New Mexico is a genuinely rare thing — rich, dark fruit with desert-baked concentration. Worth seeking out before it sells out to the festival crowd.
White Zinfandel
It's 2024 and you drove to the oldest vineyard in New Mexico. There are 20+ more interesting bottles on this list. Walk past the White Zin and don't look back.
Sangiovese + Cheese and charcuterie from the tasting room spread
Estate Sangiovese grown in high-altitude desert sun runs leaner and brighter than its Tuscan cousins — which makes it a natural foil for salty cured meats and aged cheeses. It's the most food-friendly bottle on the list and the one most likely to convert skeptics.
🎲 The Bottom Line
La Viña is a road trip, not a dinner plan — but if you're anywhere near El Paso and you care about American wine history or just want to drink Dolcetto grown in the desert, it absolutely earns the detour. The list is wider and more ambitious than you'd expect, and that alone makes it worth the drive.
Downtown · El Paso · French / European
Pot Au Feu is the kind of place that takes its food seriously and gives the wine list a passing grade — not an A, but enough to hold up its end of the evening. If you're eating French in El Paso, you could do a lot worse; just order smart and don't default to the Jadot.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Westside / Northwest (The Canyons at Cimarron) · El Paso · Steakhouse
Oak & Antler isn't reinventing the steakhouse wine list, but the Wednesday half-price promotion turns a merely adequate program into a legitimately smart evening out. Come on a Wednesday, order the Jordan, eat a ribeye, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Downtown · El Paso · Fine Dining
Cafe Central is running a world-class wine program in a city that most wine people wouldn't put on their radar — and the pricing is fair enough that you can actually drink at the level this list deserves. If you're passing through El Paso, this is a genuine destination worth building a trip around.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown · El Paso · American
Anson11 is a reliable destination for a well-executed California wine experience in a city where that kind of list isn't guaranteed — just don't expect to be surprised. Send your Caymus-loving friends here without hesitation; send your adventurous wine nerd somewhere else.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
El Paso · El Paso · Regional, Southwestern American
Mesa Street Grill isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it delivers a competent, fairly priced California list that holds up to the food without embarrassing anyone. Send a friend here for a solid dinner — just don't expect to be surprised.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East El Paso · El Paso · Seafood, Steakhouse
Landry's wine list does exactly what a mid-tier chain seafood house needs it to do — keeps the table happy without embarrassing anyone. Just don't show up expecting inspiration; show up expecting a cold glass of Vermentino and a solid piece of fish.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Lookout Valley · Chattanooga · Winery
DeBarge is the Wild Card Chattanooga deserves — a real working winery in the city's backyard, making honest wine at honest prices, staffed by people who actually care what's in the glass. If you want a Napa blockbuster, go somewhere else; if you want to drink something made twenty minutes from where you're sitting, this is your stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Neighborhood of the Arts · Rochester · Winery
Living Roots is a Wild Card in the best possible sense: a dual-hemisphere winemaking project operating out of Rochester's arts district, pouring its own bottles at honest prices with people who know what's in the glass. If you're anywhere near the Neighborhood of the Arts and you care even a little about wine, this is the stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Pelzer · Greenville · Winery
City Scape is a Wild Card worth making the drive for: zero markup over retail, a sommelier on-site, and the novelty of drinking a genuine Greenville County wine in Greenville County. Don't come expecting a classic restaurant wine list — come expecting something you can't get anywhere else.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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