El Encanto Vineyards, A Newealth US Company (the “Company” or “El Encanto”) is newly organized to launch a premium wine brand to be known as “El Encanto”. The vineyard will be an integral part of the fully platted community of Rancho Hidalgo (the “Ranch”) located in Animas, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The first 200 acres of a planned 400-acre vineyard (the “Property”, the “Vineyard”) will be cultivated in the coming spring of 2016. The grape vines necessary for the first 200 acres of the vineyard will soon be on order from California Cal Western Nursery. Once planted, these grape vines will reach 60% production in year three and full production by year five. At full capacity these 200 acres of grapes will produce approximately 900,000 bottles of wine (4,500 bottles per acre) per year. These vines will not only produce excellent vintages at the hands of our master vintner, but the vineyard will enhance the extraordinary vistas and serve as a focal point for the Rancho Hidalgo community.
Most people are surprised to hear of wine made in New Mexico. Ironically enough, New Mexico is the first location in the US where grapes were cultivated and made into wine. In 1629, a Franciscan friar first cultivated grapes for sacramental wine purposes and thus was born the wine industry in New Mexico, predating that of California by 140 years!
The Property is perfect for grape cultivation. The land lies at approximately 4,600 feet above sea level. The soil consistency is well suited for grapes and contains excellent levels of critical nutrients. The high altitude, warm day-time temperatures and cool high-desert nights are perfect for grape-ripening, with average summer highs of
95°F and night-time temperatures in the low 60’s. Most importantly, the Ranch’s 725 acres of water rights and geothermal wells ensure abundant water supplies at water temperatures sufficient to eliminate any potential frost threat.
El Encanto Vineyards will be managed under the direction of Anthony Silveira & St. Clair Winery. Herve Lescombes, founder and Master Winemaker, www.stclairwinery.com/st-clair-winery-vineyard . St. Clair winery is a fifth generation, international award-winning, French family owned and operated winery and vineyards, with more than 30 years of wine-making experience in New Mexico. They currently own one of the largest vineyards in the State of New Mexico, with more than 300 acres of grapes under cultivation.
Vineyard Director, Anthony Silveira, will be the exclusive grower and vineyard manager and has thirty years of agricultural management experience, and fifteen years working in conjunction with Lescombes.
Working in partnership with St. Clair Winery and Anthony Silveira will not only provide the necessary expertise needed to ensure a world class vineyard operation, but it also allows investors immediate opportunity to taste, bottle, label and distribute similar vintages to that which shall be produced at El Encanto. As noted earlier, St. Clair Winery maintains 300 acres of grapes only 20 miles away located in a microclimate virtually identical to that of Rancho Hidalgo. Since the grapes will be identical in soil and climate and the winemaker is the same, the wines produced by El Encanto shall closely resemble those now produced at St. Clair. One bright note on this subject is that according to Mr. Lescombes, the soil quality at El Encanto is superior to his own at St Clair in Deming. This being the case, it is reasonable to presume that El Encanto’s wines have the potential to be even more extraordinary than the award-winning wines now produced at St. Clair.
The 200-acres of grapes include two red varietals, those necessary to produce cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and two white varietals, necessary for the production of sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Ultimately, El Encanto plans to offer a wide variety of both reds and whites. Reds will range from Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Petite Sirah, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese. Whites will range from Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Banc, and Malvasia Bianca. El Encanto’s wines will have a target per bottle average price point of $15 to $25.
The trends and positive market forces in the wine industry have rarely been as fortuitous as they are today. During the five years between 2001 and 2006, US wine consumption increased by a whopping 25%! And, despite the faltering economy, the US wine market continues to soar as premium wine consumption experiences ongoing growth. During the last five years, sales of wine priced at or above $25 per bottle have risen by nearly 21% per year.
Baby Boomers are the largest segment of the core wine consuming population and they continue to drink more and more wine as they age. This is due largely to the continuing widely reported health benefits of wine which Baby Boomers have taken to heart (no pun intended!). Not as widely known, but a point El Encanto intends to promote, high altitude wines such as ours offer the greatest health benefits of any wine due to the higher concentration of antioxidants found in grapes grown at high altitudes. In addition, Boomers not only like to drink wine, but are also the driving force in the increasing popularity of Vineyard Communities like Rancho Hidalgo. The promotion of Rancho Hidalgo as a Vineyard Community will offer El Encanto a unique way to build brand awareness for its wine, one rarely available when launching a new wine brand.
The Baby Boomers aren’t the only market segment with a love of the grape. The 70 million strong “Eco-Boom” generation, known as the Millenials, is the first generation to prefer wine over beer and spirits. Millenials offer the wine industry the kind of growth potential unseen in 30 years.
El Encanto is destined to be an exclusive, boutique vineyard which allows its investors to take an active role in creating their own vintages, as well as developing vintages for sale in the broader market. Our distribution plan will include primarily direct sales via the internet, sales to restaurants in the US, targeting Arizona and New Mexico, and on-site sales to residents and visitors of Rancho Hidalgo.
AI
