Our Origin Story – by Fred Chavez

My name is Fred Chavez, and this is the story of how a simple glass of wine on a stone wall halfway across the world changed the rest of my life.

For most of my career I was a government attorney — first in Iowa, later running the SEC’s Enforcement Division in Denver and prosecuting white-collar criminals. It was rewarding work, but something was always missing. Years earlier, while I was still in law school, I made my first batch of cherry wine. My uncle tasted it and laughed, “Fred, stay in law school.” So I did. But the dream of owning a vineyard never quite went away.

Then came the pilgrimage on The Camino.
 
In 2011, a year before I retired, I walked the Camino de Santiago through Galicia, Spain. One afternoon I met a friendly local winemaker named Don Pedro Roberto de Jesus. He invited me to sit on a stone wall overlooking his vineyard and share a glass of his wine. As we talked and sat in the shade of those vines, something clicked deep inside me. I knew right then: this is the life I want. Not courtrooms and briefs, but soil, sun, and the joy of making something beautiful to share with others.

When I got home I started researching. That felt like destiny. My brother Will and I began exploring vineyard opportunities in Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Italy, but we kept coming back to New Mexico. I learned that the Middle Rio Grande Valley is the oldest wine-growing region in the United States — grapes were planted here by Franciscan Monks with Spanish settlers in 1629.
In 2014, we found the perfect spot in Sabinal, just nine miles south of Belen: old vines “Vinas Viejas” French hybrid vines, some over 25 years old, already producing high-quality Chancellor and Vidal Blanc grapes. We bought the land and named it Chavez Brothers Vineyard in honor of our longtime New Mexico family from the Mora Valley.

The early years were hands-on and full of learning. Tony Black of Black’s Smuggler Winery generously crushed and destemmed our first grapes and gave us endless encouragement. For years, I drove the juice to Denver, where I still lived, to experiment with large-batch winemaking, honing my skills as a vintner, and train my palate. My nephew Cisco came on board early, and Sue Kil — my right hand at the tasting room — jumped in with both feet, helping with vineyard work, harvest, bottling, and quality control.

We officially opened Chavez Brothers Vineyard and Winery at 210-B South Main Street in Historic Downtown Belen on May 1, 2021 — right in the middle of the pandemic and just two months before the Highline Canal breach flooded the town. It wasn’t an easy start, but when the whole business community came together to shovel mud out of each other’s stores, I knew we were exactly where we belonged.

The proof that we’re on the right path keeps coming. In 2021 our Chancellor earned a Bronze Medal at the Great American International Wine Competition among more than 1,200 entries. Then in 2025 we entered an international competition with wineries from 47 countries and over 1,080 wines. We submitted three: the 2022 Vidal Blanc took Silver, the 2023 Moscato Dulce took Bronze, and our 2024 Chancellor brought home Double Gold.

In 2024 the Greater Valencia County Chamber of Commerce named us Member of the Year. Those awards aren’t just medals on a wall — they’re validation that the dream we started on a Spanish hillside between Ponte Vedra and Caldas Reyes is producing wines people truly love.

Today, when you walk into our Winery/Tasting Room you’ll find Sue and me pouring glasses, telling stories, and treating every visitor like family. We host "Thirsty Third Thursdays" with potluck food and good conversation, and occasionally, live music. We love seeing regulars come back, and new friends discovering us. Our Five Keys Wine Club members get to invite four friends to join them for a free wine-tasting, and gets them first access to new releases, discounts, and private events. And every bottle we ship or hand across the counter carries a little piece of that moment on the stone wall with Don Pedro.

Looking ahead, I feel nothing but excitement. We’re just getting started. More vintages are aging, more events are being planned, and more people are discovering what New Mexico wine can be. Will and I, along with Sue, Cisco, and the whole team, are living proof that it’s never too late to chase the dream that lights you up.

So if you’re reading this, consider this your invitation. Come see us in Belen. Taste the Chancellor or Vidal Blanc. Hear the full story in person. Join the club. Walk the same path we’re on.
Because the best part of this journey isn’t the awards or the bottles — it’s sharing the wine with people like you.

Welcome to the family.
— Fred Chavez
Owner & Vintner
Chavez Brothers Vineyard and Winery
Belen, New Mexico