Tres de Mayo

Hi Blog!  Today is Friday, May 3rd.  It is the start of a long weekend here in El Paso.  Folks around here are gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexicans victory over the French on May 5, 1862.  Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Mexico's success represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement.  In the early West, Mexican-American communities celebrated Cinco de Mayo as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War, and today the date is observed as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

We decided to visit the historic town of Mesilla, New Mexico.  Mesilla is 45 miles north of El Paso.  This area along the Rio Grand was used by the Indians and later the Conquistadores as a camping place. The village of Mesilla was incorporated in 1848 as a colony of Mexico.  In 1854, the entire Mesilla Valley stretching from New Mexico through Arizona to California was purchased from Mexico. The purchase was the last major territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States.  So, on the morning of November 16, 1854, everyone in Mesilla were Mexican citizens, but by the end of the day they were all U.S. Citizens.

Life in Mesilla centers around the Basilica of San Albino.  The church dominates the historic plaza.

We had to mail some packages so we stopped at the post office.  We asked the postmaster for a recommendation for lunch.  He sent us to La Posta, the oldest restaurant in Mesilla.  After the Civil War, the La Posta Compound became an important stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line. During the 1870's and 1880's, the Corn Exchange Hotel, one of the finest lodges in the Southwest, operated from the building. La Posta de Mesilla Restaurant originated in the northwest corner of the building in 1939 by Katy Griggs Camunez. The business has grown to become one of the most famous restaurants in the Southwest, occupying 10,000 square feet of the La Posta Compound which now included several shops. After Katy passed away, the property and business was acquired by a great niece, Jerean Camunez Hutchinson and her husband Tom, a.k.a. "Hutch", who continue to offer the same quality food and great service in the unique dining environment Katy created.

After a delicious lunch of green enchilada (corn tortillas smothered with green chile sauce and topped with grated cheddar) and flautas (corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, deep fried and topped with grated cheddar cheese), we took the scenic route back to El Paso along the Texas-New Mexico Wine Trail.  We decided to stop at three of wineries on the way back.  Our first stop was Sombra Antigua.  While a new operation, their vines are some of the oldest commercial grape vines in New Mexico.  We had such a good time talking to the owner Dave Fisher and his wife Teresa, that we forgot to take any photos.

Our next stop was La Vina Winery.  La Vina is the oldest winery in New Mexico, but they recently moved to this new location, so they could open up a larger tasting and bottling facility.  We had a lovely chat  with our wine steward, who is originally from Chile.

Our last stop was Zin Valle Vineyards.  The wife of the owner, Victor Poulos, was running the tasting room.  Her husband is an avid wine collector and always dreamed of owning his own winery.  In 2000, the bought an old farm and began working on their dream.  Mrs. Poulos retired as a school teacher to run the tasting room; however, Mr. Poulos, is still practicing law.  What's up with that?

Here we are going over their wine list trying to decide which six wines we were going to sample.  You will notice there is only one glass because we usually share our samples.  In this way, we can make a few stops without drinking so much...

...because there will be plenty of time to indulge once we get back to the rig.

However, we are going to steal a page from our niece, Jen's, playbook.  We are now in a wine buying lockdown.  No more wine tours until we make room in the cupboard.  

Of course, we all know the best way to make room in your wine cupboard.  You are all invited over and we can have our own wine tasting!