Wines of Enchantment: My New Wine Guide
In case you wondered where I’ve been the last few months it was busy completing my first wine book and setting up my new Wine Maestro package of wine talks/wine dinners. I apologize for leaving you in the lurch. Now that I’m back I have much ground to cover, many fascinating wines to discuss, and what wine and food pairing is all about.
My new wine book is called Wines of Enchantment: A Guide to Finding and Enjoying the Wines of New Mexico. Yes, I know, long title. It is available as an E-book at my literary website, www.Jim-Hammond.com. Look under Hammond on Wine for the link and payment button. I also plan to blanket the New Mexico wineries with autographed copies.
This all began as a wine pamphlet for the first Corrales Quilt & Wine Fair (you read that right), which was held Mother’s Day weekend. I gave a series of wine talks Saturday and Sunday, which were quite enjoyable. This was nothing like teaching engineers about computer networks and architectures, which I did in a previous life. At the fair, I had attentive attendees who even wore smiles.
The only problem was that this was the first time I’d talked about wine without having a glass of same in my hand. A whole new discipline, because the more I talk about wine the more I want to drink it, and I was so ready for a glass after the last session each day. Fortunately, my many winemaker friends helped out with generous pours of the wines brought for tasting. I left each day sated and happy that the attendees had learned something about wine appreciation that would, hopefully, enrich their wine life.
The wine pamphlet had meanwhile grown in size and coverage until it became a New Mexico wine guide. Pamphlet, indeed! It includes almost 20 pages on how-to-taste wines, information on the care and feeding of wines, wine and food pairing, and summaries of every winery in New Mexico. The table of contents is reprised below for those interested in the wine guide.
The Wine Maestro idea, cooked up between my wife and I, involves my giving wine talks, recommending wines for a wine dinner, or creating a wine dinner for clients that included my providing the catering, serving, tasting notes, wine selection, and also discussing each wine. I’ve done several of these so far with great success, so my involvement in wine has quadrupled since I began my wine blog.

Still, I don’t want to leave my readers out in the cold – is ether-space chilly? I’m re-dedicating myself to keeping it going, as you will begin to see starting this week. Salut!

Wines of Enchantment
Contents
Introduction 1
History of New Mexico Wine 3
Wine Tasting Guide 9
The Why of Wine Tasting 9
The Taste Test: Discovering Your Wines 11
Wine Dos and Don’ts 31
Laying Down Wine 31
Selecting a Wine Cellar 35
Wine Preparation 37
Wine Equipment Essentials 38
Wine and Food 41
White Wines 43
Red Wines 45
Food and Wine Pairing Basics 49
Wine Tasting in the Land of Enchantment 51
New Mexico Wine Map 52
Santa Fe/Taos Region 53
Albuquerque Region 61
Alamogordo Region 68
Las Cruces/Deming Region 72
Appendix A: New Mexico Grapes 77
White Wines 77
Rosé Wines 79
Red Wines 79
Sparkling Wines 80
Dessert Wines 80
Fortified Wines 80
Appendix B: Wine Events 83
Northern Region 83
Southern Region 84