I’m at a happy and confident point in my career, and comfortable with my life, but not so tranquil that I don’t occasionally have a twinge of regret over what might have been. With a slightly different turn, I might have become a curator or an architect instead of a graphic designer. A less realistic fantasy, but one I’ve never really let go of, was to become a winemaker and live in some fabulous and famous winemaking region of the world. While this was not meant to be, when I heard about Vivác Winery’s pay-to-play grape harvesting event, I couldn’t help myself.
Be a Vintner for a Day at Vivác Winery
I drove north from Santa Fe on a beautiful late summer morning, dreaming of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma or the Rhône Valley in France. The early light glimmering off the river was idyllic. A vision of three perfect hot air balloons rising above a hill added to the reverie. But this was not a river in the Old World: it was New Mexico’s Rio Grande, better known for chiles than grapes.
However, along the Rio Grande Valley and many locations in New Mexico, vintners are experimenting and perfecting viticulture in challenging high-altitude and cold-winter conditions. Their work rests on centuries of grape growing into the current day: in search of sacramental and table wines, the Spanish planted grapes as early as the 1620s. Picking up on that heritage in our day, Vivác, located where the Rio Embudo enters the Rio Grande in Dixon, has become one of the best in the state.
World Class Wines, Right Outside of Santa Fe
I was put to work the moment I arrived. There were already several folks harvesting under the beautiful face of a craggy hill topped with crosses, elements found on the Vivác labels and reminders of Spanish heritage. I started filling buckets with beautiful Grüner Veltliner grapes, better known for their prominence in another famous wine valley, the Wacau in Austria. The work itself varied from easy–gorgeous clumps of grapes dangling in a perfect way asking to be snipped–to tricky, with grapes tucked and tangled deep in the vines. While my competitive nature had me wanting to fill more buckets than anyone else, by the third hour of toil, I let myself relax. The meditative quality of the work would ultimately be more rewarding than trying to “win.”
Though I couldn’t help but think how clever Vivác was to get people to PAY to WORK, they told me very clearly that this wasn’t a tourist junket. They really needed us out in the vineyard to bring in the grapes at the right time. Once I had the full experience, meeting new friends, learning about the wine, and enjoying a glorious wine paired with a meal, I realized I would happily have paid double.
A Hard Day’s Work
Each harvest party (there are usually two or three each summer through fall) includes a tour of Vivàc’s winemaking facility and a late lunch prepared by a well-known chef from the region. In my case we were joined by the one and only Johnny Vee from Las Cosas Cooking School in Santa Fe. As I sat around the table eating one glorious course after another, I started striking up conversations with those around me. Most had been coming to pick grapes every year for years. Most were relatives and good friends of the Padberg family. Indeed, I found myself by chance at the family table with two of the owners plus a mother, a sister, AND an aunt. Johnny Vee held court, and everyone toasted and cheered the great harvest, the delicious wine, and the camaraderie.
Eventually, of course, I drove southward and back to reality: I am still not a vintner. I don’t live along the Rhône. But neither of these facts dimmed the special day, and I can’t wait to rejoin my new wine family again next year for another harvest.
Story by Alex Hanna
Photography by Michael Benanav
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