A Glimpse of Bernalillo History

A teaching religious order named La Salle Christian Brothers came to Bernalillo in 1872, to open a boys school at the request of Archbishop Lamy and Rev. John Peter Faure, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Bernalillo. The prominent Perea family donated land for the school and a farm. To help fund the school, the Brothers operated La Salle Ranch. In 1883 they opened La France Winery. In 1887 the Brothers went to California to select new grape varieties that they hoped would be hardier than those already grown here. They returned with grapevine cuttings of Black Malvoise, Malbec, Zinfandel, Mataro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Pino, and Cohasselas Fountainbleu.

Unlike wineries run by other religious orders, the Christian Brothers did not make wine themselves. They hired a French wine maker, Lois Gros who ran the winery until 1920, producing over 10,000 gallons of wine a year. Then an Italian wine maker from Tuscany, Giovanni Giorgio (George) Rinaldi, who had immigrated to Pena Blanca, NM took over and produced sacramental wine throughout the prohibition era until 1933. This was the only winery allowed to remain open during prohibition because Archbishop of Santa Fe, Albert Daguer had arranged to have this winery produce sacramental wine for all the Catholic Churches in New Mexico.

In the early 1920’s, Rinaldi enlisted the agricultural staff of New Mexico A&M college. in Las Cruces, now New Mexico State University (NMSU), to improve his grape production. With their help, he experimented with several types of grapes and growing styles. Zinfandel in a Burgundy style wine, still remembered by old timers, was a result of the experimentation with grape varieties by Rinaldi and New Mexico A&M. The Christian Brothers winery closed in 1948 when they sold the entire La Salle Ranch.

The Bernalillo winery predates the famous California Christian Brothers Winery in Napa Valley. This winery was not affiliated with the California winery, although the California Christian Brothers indicated some interest in this area in the 1950’s for brandy production.

Researched by Justin B. Rinaldi and Henry Street.