A connection to the past with a focus on the future.

Vara is an international family of Spanish and American wines and spirits celebrating the origin of the American wine experience thanks to the historical connection of Spain and New Mexico.

The history of wine in New Mexico is over 390 years old and is as rich and complicated as its colorful landscapes. The flavor of this ancient history plays out in the wines produced here from robust reds to crisp whites. Wine lovers will find Vara wines an enchanting experience.

In 1629, 140 years before the first Missions of California were established and planted, a Franciscan friar named García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín monk named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first European wine grapes in what is now the U.S. at a pueblo in the Rio Grande Valley of the Province of New Mexico.

Viticulture took hold in the valley, and by the year 1880 the New Mexico territory was the fifth largest wine producer in America. The cuttings brought to the new world by missionaries from Spain were of a Vitis Vinifera grape variety known as Listán Prieto, or the present-day Mission grape. This variety has been continuously grown and is still harvested in New Mexico today.

Our Wines

We produce wines from Spanish grape varietals grown in Spain and various American vineyards including right here in New Mexico.

Under the direction of our winemaking team, Bob and Louisa Lindquist, we acquire fruit from the highest quality growers of Spanish grape varieties in the U.S. The harvested fruit is brought to our New Mexico facility where the wines are made and aged in individual lots until Bob and Louisa assemble the final cuvees.

Vara winemakers and partners regularly travel to Spain and are committed to growing or locating the best fruit for our Spanish wines and cava. We are very fortunate to have agreements for grape production and wine making with the best grape growers and producers in Spain.

With a salute to their Spanish heritage, Vara’s wines are simply put — remarkable.