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The Gruet-Texas aftermath

More on the collapse of the deal in which New Mexico's Gruet was supposed to buy Texas' bankrupt Cap*Rock:

• Russ Kane at Vintage Texas makes the rounds of conspiracy theories at the end of his post.

• Ben Simon at Vintology: "I have heard some in the Texas wine industry joke that Cap*Rock is under a curse, a belief that seems less laughable all the time."

• Jeff Siegel, the Wine Curmudgeon, on what the sale fiasco means to regional wine: " If regional wine is going to be something more than a cute and cuddly plaything, it needs to have the wherewithal to do projects like the Cap*Rock deal."

Texas wine, New Mexico wine

Gruet not coming to Texas

The New Mexico winery's deal to buy Texas' bankrupt Cap*Rock Winery falls through. Texas wine bloggers Russ Kane and Ben Simons have been on this story since it started rumbling over the weekend.

Texas wine, New Mexico wine

Gruet moving into Texas

Everyone's favorite New Mexico bubbly producer has paid $6.5 million for the bankrupt Cap Rock winery in west Texas, and says it will produce a Texas sparkling wine.

Texas wine, New Mexico wine

New Mexico's Gruet Winery

The New York Times discovers Gruet! "Their sparkling wines are especially popular in New York and California, and have, in the last 10 years, appeared on the wine lists of high-end restaurants, including Craft, Del Frisco’s and Bar Americain in Manhattan."

It's always good to see regional wine validated by the paper of record, although the patronizing tone of some of it ("Some critics say that despite its high quality-to-price ratio, Gruet pales beside unquestionably superior sparkling wines made in France and even in California") is not what one would expect from the Times. Gruet isn't trying to make French or California wine; it's trying to make New Mexico wine.

New Mexico wine

New Mexico's wine history

From the Las Cruces Bulletin: "And while the Pilgrims were still trying to figure out what kind of water (would you like spring or rain with that?) goes best with Indian corn, in New Mexico those sneaky monks were already making 'communion' wine."

New Mexico wine

"Southwest Wine Guy" dies

Bobby Lee Lawrence, the Southwest Wine Guy, died in an auto accident last week. One of Lawrence's current projects was the history of New Mexico wines.

New Mexico wine

New Mexico's St Clair winery

From the Hoosier Wine Cellar: "St. Clair is the largest of New Mexico’s thirty-plus wineries, but it is still a family-run operation and has been for six generations."

New Mexico wine

New Mexico's Tierra Encantada's 2004 Tempranillo

From the Southwestern Wine Guy e-letter: "At $15 a bottle, this one has value stamped all over it."

New Mexico wine

Drinking wine in New Mexico

The Jared Wines Up blog visits the Land of Enchantment and its wineries. “But fortune has shined once again upon this lonely traveler and guided me to Vivác Winery, producers of fine New Mexican wines.”

Technorati Tags: New Mexico wine

Starbucks picks Gruet

Local and regional wine enthusiast Shirley Nelson emails that New Mexico’s Gruet Winery Blanc de Noir sparkling will be sold in selected Starbucks, part of the coffee chain’s experiment with selling wine. If the test succeeds, the bubbly will be in 600 Starbucks nationwide.

Technorati Tags: New Mexico wine,Gruet Winery,sparkling wine,Starbucks