As you drive north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, through Velarde, it might be easy to miss the small vineyard nestled in the middle of Black Mesa. If you stop in, though, you will have the opportunity to taste wine flavored with local choke cherries, prickly pear fruit from the property, and chiles grown in the valley. If the taste of New Mexico doesn’t let you know where you are, the chile ristras and relaxing mountain scenery will.

Jerry and Lynda Burd purchased the vineyard and its winery in 2000. Since then, they have expanded by adding more vines and have started producing cider made with 100% local apples. Lynda designs all the bottle artwork using New Mexico-inspired designs.

“We say it is art in the bottle, because my wife is an artist and she does the art on the outside and I do the art on the inside,” said Jerry. “It has worked for us to be able to do that and focus on the art of winemaking and also how it looks to people.”

It may be hard to notice how many environmentally friendly practices the winery has at first glance, but a quick visit to the Black Mesa Winery and Cidery website provides a long list of what the company calls “green practices.” The list includes energy efficiency, water usage, and considerations for local wildlife—particularly beneficial insects and birds.

“We don’t use spray on the vines, because we don’t want it to kill the ladybugs and the spiders, because they help kill whiteflies,” shared Jerry. “We have about 400 hummingbirds that nest down here. Hummingbirds can’t take sugar water to their babies—all they can take is protein—so they catch some of the whiteflies and take them to their babies. So, we make sure we keep our hummingbirds happy, too.”

The winery also uses solar power. Thanks in part to a Rural Energy for America Program grant from Rural Development, on sunny days the winery uses 100% solar energy. Not only has this helped the company be more environmentally friendly, but also it has helped the company market its products.

“I think the solar has helped, because people are always looking for something different, or something more friendly for the environment,” said Jerry. “It’s fun to know that we are actually taking advantage of the New Mexican sun.”

The Burds installed the solar panels in June 2023. They say the new panels have helped reduce the company’s carbon emissions by over 21 tons and saved over 489 trees and 2,142 gallons of gas since then.

Another way the winery is helping the environment is through composting and using drip irrigation from a well on the property.

“The trimmings from the vines, the grape skins—everything about a grape that doesn’t ferment—gets put in the compost,” said Jerry. “All the water on the place is pumped back into the vines. Nothing leaves the property.”

The Burds’ care for the environment might only be overshadowed by their care for the community. Four years ago, they started a summer farmers market on the property. They also host community events with local food vendors and have local bands play live music every Wednesday and Friday.

The property also hosts a wine-glass-shaped labyrinth that Lynda designed and their employees built using river and lava rocks from the valley. You can find it by following the petroglyph trail behind the vineyard, where you can see rock carvings from different timeframes. The trail and labyrinth are a relaxing place to take a stroll while you drink a freshly poured glass of wine or cider.

When asked what his favorite part of owning the winery was, Jerry took no time to think about his response.

“I have got to meet a lot of really neat people,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of smiles and met people from all over the world because they come to Santa Fe and Taos. I see them taste the wines and ciders and say it’s so good, so it’s kind of a pat on the back.”

To learn more about how Rural Development might be able to help you or your business, check out our list of financial assistance programs. To view more photos of the winery, visit the Rural Development Flickr page.