David and Esperanza weren't always winemakers and viticulturalists.  David (mi padre) retired as an atomic energy engineer with the Department of Energy in Los Alamos in 2002.  Esperanza (mi madre) shifted careers from caretaker to care vinter.  Their transition from raising children and working with atomic energy to growing wine grapes and working with a different kind of energy started in 1998 when they asked grandma Antonia's permission to use the land as a test plot for growing wine grapes.  They started with ten varietals of grapevines, a total of 100 plants, to see what would grow best here in Mimbres.

Well, fifteen years later, La Esperanza Vineyard has over 4,000 grapevines, embracing over 4 acres of Mimbres Country.  With the help of friends and family they harvested 14,000 pounds of grapes in 2015.  They are producing over 1200 gallons of wine, around 700 cases.  A combination of Mimbres soil, water and dedication from my folks is surely evident.

This little bit of Tuscany, as described by many customers, is bigger than harvesting, winemaking and preserving 90 year old structures.  It's abut the magical connections that are made along the way.  I don't know exactly how it happens, but I am sure my great grandfather, Don Antonio DeLaO, and grandmother, Antonia Orosco, have something to do with it.

In 1906 Don Antonio DeLaO developed the 640 acres of land into a home for his five children.  It was used as a cattle ranch, a farm and an apple orchard.  Don Antonio's youngest and only daughter, Antonia, inherited the 90 year old structures and surrounding 40 acres.  With such enthusiasm I remember my grandmother sharing stories with my brother, sisters and myself about her growing up at the ranch.  When we visited the ranch, she showed us where the apricot trees were, the room where she was born and stories about her brothers.  When my grandmother Antonia passed away, my parents inherited this serene oasis.

La Esperanza Vineyard and Winery, named after my mother as requested by my grandmother, carries on a legacy of love, labor, laughter and hope.  Hope for the continued development of support and community.

Story written by Carrie Gurule

Original homestead dwelling