Welcome to Shattuck Vineyard, a unique and welcoming winery operated by the Shattuck family. This vineyard is not just about wine; it’s about community, love for the land, and the adventurous pursuit of making great wine at an affordable price. Each new year, the grapes grow larger and the family’s passion grows stronger – a passion that you can experience in every bottle they produce.
Location, Visiting Hours, and Contact Information
Located 16 miles south of Truth or Consequences near Caballo Lake State Park, Shattuck Vineyard’s award-winning winery welcomes guests to their tasting room 3-8pm Fridays, 12-8pm Saturdays, and 12-6pm Sundays. For details, you can call (915) 491-9459 or visit the website at info@shattuckvineyard.com
An Interesting and Unexpected Journey
From Beer to Wine
Owner, Brad Shattuck, didn’t set out to own a winery. A very successful engineer and businessman, Brad was a self-taught home brewer, making very robust, double/triple-malted beer with 12-13% alcohol from his home. When his career took him to El Paso, Texas, Brad found it difficult to brew good beer due to the heat and lack of space, so he turned his attention to wine. Together with a coworker, Brad spent a couple years refining his wine-making techniques, learning from his mistakes each step of the way.
Brad’s First Large-Scale Endeavor
Once Brad had a few years of home-based wine making behind him, he turned his attention to a larger-scale operation as the next step in his learning curve. As luck would have it, Brad’s brother had some acreage in wine country southwest of Modesto, California. With his brother in agreement, they planted 90 vines, requiring Brad to frequently travel back and forth from Texas to California to nurture his new crop. When his brother sold the property, Brad, now a passionate want-to-be vintner, started looking for a new location for a vineyard and winery.
A New Start In New Mexico
Humble Beginnings
With the help of his father, Brad found and purchased ideal property near Caballo, New Mexico, in 2007. The following year, he planted his first vines, all Zinfandel, while also moving forward with building a tasting room and production facility, doing much of the work with the assistance of family and friends. Just four years later, in 2012, Brad harvested and fermented his first grapes, opening Shattuck Vineyard and tasting room by introducing his first wine in 2013. The tasting room, along with the licensing, was completed in 2012 with the help of Brad’s partner, Virginia Snyder. Virginia sees to the majority of licensing, special events and label designs as well as adding a woman’s touch to the tasting room.
Dramatic Growth
Now, roughly ten years later, Brad has mastered the process of nurturing his now 1400+ Zinfandel and Chardonnay vines…watering using an artesian gravity-fed system… harvesting, fermenting, bottling and distributing… and operating his tasting room. But as Brad will be the first to say, he hasn’t accomplished all this alone. Family and friends have been there for him. Virginia and Brad’s son, Dewey, are no exceptions.
Honey Wine – A Family Affair
Dewey helps run the tasting room and is also the vintner on the mead, which means that Dewey oversees production of Shattuck Vineyard’s very popular honey wine. The Mead started when someone brought Brad and Dewey some honey, which inspired Dewey to experiment. His first, small batch of mead gave him the confidence to try fermenting honey on a larger scale – 300 bottles, which, labeled as Angel Wings Mead, sold out quickly. But as with everything in wine making, there was a learning curve. While delicious and popular, Dewey’s bottled and corked sparkling mead often popped the corks, which is why the third, soon-to-be-released batch of 700-750 bottles will be capped with crown caps.
Award-Winning Wines
Shattuck Vineyard offers a range of white wines, including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and White Zinfandel. For red wine aficionados, offerings include Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Blends, Syrah, and Red Zinfandel. Each bottle promises an exceptional taste and a memorable experience.
Their ability to produce distinctive wine is evidenced by the prestigious Gold Award from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of North American wines, beating out thousands of competing zins with its 2018 Zinfandel New Mexico “Consequence of Zin”. Shattuck Vineyard has received other prestigious awards in this same competition – a Silver Award for its 2017 Chenin Blanc and a Silver Award for its 2021 Zinfandel New Mexico “Consequence of Zin”.
Harvesting, Wine Making & Sampling
Annual Traditions
Here’s something you don’t see every day! The Shattuck family invites family members, friends, and neighbors to join them for their annual harvesting and bottling. It all starts with harvesting chardonnay grapes in August, followed by zinfandel grapes in early September. The grapes are aged in stainless tanks for 12-24 months with the exception of Seco Creek Red, which is aged in bourbon oak barrels for 6-14 months. Family and friends step back into the picture when it’s time for bottling, assisting on the production line to fill bottles, cork, label, shrink-wrap and box.
Another tradition they are particularly fond of is participating in New Mexico wine festival events, including Vines in the Pines, held in February or March each year in Ruidoso; the Las Cruces Wine Festival, held over Memorial weekend; and the Southern New Mexico Wine Festival, which takes place each year over the first weekend in July. Each of these events allows guests to discover the complex, award-winning flavors of Shattuck Vineyard wines and the passion and loving care behind them.
The Tasting Room
Today, Shattuck Vineyard’s tasting room welcomes friends, family, locals and travelers to enjoy some of New Mexico’s finest wines, made onsite with love, passion, dedication, knowledge, and a commitment to share top-quality New Mexico wines at an affordable price. Shattuck Vineyard wines are also sold at restaurants, supermarkets and liquor stores in New Mexico.
The Wine Club
You can also choose to enjoy your favorite Shattuck Vineyard wines as a member of their wine club, with a 20% discount on 24 bottles over the course of a year. Wines will be shipped or you can pick them up, which offers the added benefit of enjoying a most relaxing setting with stunning views of the Caballo Mountains and Caballo Lake State Park.
Conclusion
Shattuck Vineyards, led by Brad Shattuck, is more than a winery. It’s a destination, a community, and a testament to a family’s passion for viticulture. Here, every bottle of wine tells a story, and every visit is an adventure. Experience this unique combination of quality, affordability, and community at Shattuck Vineyard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the visiting hours for Shattuck Vineyard?
The tasting room is open on Fridays from 3-8pm, Saturdays from noon to 8pm, and Sundays from noon to 6pm.
How can I contact Shattuck Vineyard?
You can reach them at (915) 491-9459 or info@shattuckvineyard.com.
What is special about the winemaking process at Shattuck Vineyard?
Shattuck Vineyards handles the entire winemaking process onsite, from growing the grapes to harvesting, fermenting and bottling. It’s a family operation that emphasizes quality and affordability.
What types of wines does Shattuck Vineyard offer?
They offer a range of white and red wines, including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, White Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Blends, Syrah, and Red Zinfandel.
Does Shattuck Vineyard offer a wine club experience?
You can also choose to enjoy your favorite Shattuck Vineyards wines as a member of their wine club, with a 20% discount on 24 bottles over the course of a year. action.
