New Mexico's wine scene, finally getting its moment
Telshor / East Las Cruces · Las Cruces · New Mexican / Southwestern · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Ristra Restaurant at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Ristra doesn't try to be something it's not — it's a tight, regionally committed selection that leans hard into New Mexico producers in a way that feels intentional rather than apologetic. For a hotel restaurant in Las Cruces, that's a genuinely refreshing move. You're not staring at a wall of Kendall-Jackson and calling it a wine program.
The list runs somewhere between 25 and 45 bottles, anchored by a trio of New Mexico producers — Gruet, Ponderosa Valley Vineyards, and La Chiripada — supplemented by California and Spanish selections that round out the range without overpowering the local identity. Gruet's presence alone earns some credibility; their méthode champenoise sparkling wines are legitimately good and chronically underestimated outside the Southwest. The California and Spain bottles feel like they're there to comfort the skeptics, which is fair. Where the list falls short is depth — there's no real exploration beyond the surface of any of these regions, and if you want to dig into, say, Tempranillo or Grenache with any seriousness, you'll hit a wall fast.
Eight to fourteen pours by the glass is a respectable spread for a restaurant of this size and setting. The likelihood that Gruet's sparkling is available by the glass makes this a genuine bright spot — it's the kind of wine that works with nearly everything on Ristra's menu and rarely gets the by-the-glass treatment it deserves. Rotation appears limited, so don't expect seasonal surprises.
Gruet Sparkling Wine (NM) — $12
New Mexico méthode champenoise at hotel-restaurant prices is a legitimate steal. Gruet's bubbles are clean, food-friendly, and produced at altitude in a way that gives them real energy. Ordering this instead of a $14 cocktail is the move.
Ponderosa Valley Vineyards (NM)
Most tables are going to walk right past anything from Ponderosa Valley in favor of a California label they recognize — which is exactly the wrong call. This is a small high-desert producer making wines that actually taste like where they're from, and you're unlikely to find them on many menus outside New Mexico.
Generic California Red (list)
The California selections on this list exist to fill a comfort zone, not to excite anyone. You're paying hotel-restaurant markup for bottles you could grab at a grocery store back home. With New Mexico producers right there on the same list, there's no reason to default to the safe California pick.
La Chiripada (NM) + Carne Adovada
La Chiripada's reds tend toward earthy, medium-bodied profiles that won't fight with the deep red chile heat of carne adovada — they sit alongside it. The regional logic is also just hard to argue with: New Mexico wine with New Mexico's most iconic braised pork dish is the whole point of this list.
The Bottom Line
Ristra isn't going to blow any wine obsessives away, but for a hotel restaurant in Las Cruces it's doing something genuinely worthwhile — championing local producers on a list that could have easily gone full lazy-California. Come for the green chile, order the Gruet, and leave more impressed with New Mexico wine than you expected to be.
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Hacienda de Mesilla is clearly not trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — but two sparkling labels on a brunch menu is not a wine program, it's an afterthought. If you're here for the New Mexican food and a mimosa situation, you'll survive. If wine matters to you at dinner, look elsewhere.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Cruces · Winery Tasting Room
This is a Wild Card in the truest sense — a desert-state tasting room that's actually swinging for something more interesting than you'd expect, at prices that make the experiment low-stakes. If you're in Las Cruces and curious about what New Mexico wine can actually do, this is the right room to be in.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Las Cruces · New American Grill
De La Vega's isn't a wine destination, but it's a brewery that actually respects the wine drinker at the table, which is rarer than it should be. Send your beer-loving friends here and trust that the Cab won't let you down.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Las Cruces · Winery Bistro
This isn't a wine destination in the conventional sense — it's a winery that happens to have a bistro, and the list reflects that with zero apology. If you're curious about what New Mexico terroir actually tastes like, this is one of the better places in Las Cruces to find out.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Las Cruces · Italian
La Bella Vita's wine list won't make a wine geek's heart race, but it's fairly priced, almost entirely available by the glass, and leans into its Italian identity in the right places. Send a friend here if they want a solid glass of Chianti without a lesson.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Telshor / East Las Cruces · Las Cruces · Italian
Mi Piaci isn't a wine destination, but it's a reliable neighborhood Italian with a list that won't let you down if you know what to order. Grab the Chianti, seriously consider the Amarone, and save room for the tiramisu.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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