A  news article about a very unique wine in New Mexico was recently published. U.S. Senator Tom Udall announced that the St. Claire Winery in Deming, NM is to receive a grant that is intended to increase the production of their unusual Hatch Valley chile-infused wines. According to the vice-president of St. Clair Winery, Florent Lescombes, “We use the best Hatch Valley red and green chile to make these wines, and bottle them here at our winery in Deming.”

Hatch Valley chile peppers are said to have unique flavors due to the soil of the region. New Mexico is serious about their chile production. A law was recently passed that companies selling  chile peppers from outside of the state must clearly label the chile peppers as such.

According to the St. Clair Winery website, “The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Rural Development Value-Added Producer Grant program, which helps agricultural producers like St. Clair Winery grow their businesses and support economic growth and development in rural communities.” If you like chile peppers and spicy foods, then you may want to give this wine a try.

Did you know that St. Clair Winery is not the only winery producing chili pepper wine? Peaks of Otter Winery, a small

Peaks of Otter Winery chili pepper

winery in rural Virginia has been producing chili pepper wines for years. They also produce many kinds of wines and  refer to them as fun wines.

If you want to know more about chili (chile) peppers, visit The Chile Pepper Institute’s website.

Note: Both the chili and chile pepper spellings are correct. The difference in spelling is regional.

Cheers!
Kathy