Years ago when my job at Intel required frequent travel to the Phoenix area, I marveled at the desert landscaping at Phooenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. Its xeriscaping approach uses native, drought-resistant flora arranged in ways that promote efficient water usage. Towering saguaros and spindly, spine-covered ocotillos greeted sojourners as they vacated the airport. Not only does this xeriscaping save the city $400,000 annually and reduce water usage by more than five-million gallons per year, it gives visitors a welcome respite from the sun-baked asphalt and cement jungle that is the Valley of the Sun.
Driving away from Albuquerque’s Sunport provided a stark contrast to the affable reception of the Sky Harbor. While the latter was like a warm (scorching) embrace, the former seemed to affirm the popularly-held opinion that New Mexico’s state flower was the ubiquitous weed (or the pervasive orange cone). Until more recent xeriscaping and beautification efforts, my colleaugues and I were ashamed of the sights that greeted visitors to our fair state. Leave it to my friend Dan to express a more positive spin on the contrasts between New Mexico and Arizona: “At least we can produce wine here.” As you might expect, Dan is an oenophile. During his travels in Arizona he must have experienced plonk-quality wine. He’s not a forgiving guy.
Contrary to Dan’s observation, Arizona is home to three prominent grape growing regions in various altitudes and locations around the the state. Apparently the Grand Canyon State’s infernal heat doesn’t shrivel those grapes into raisins as some of us thought. True, the wine-growing regions of Arizona are generally higher in altitude than Phoenix and they tend to have a more active monsoon season, but it’s the diurnal shift (the drastic drastic difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures) that make the most difference. It’s important for the grape vines because the cool temperatures at night give the wines time to rest and maintain acidity, while the warm temperatues during the day allow the grapes to ripen and create sugar, vital for alcohol production.
The same factors–altitude, diurnal shift, rain–which allow Arizona to grow grapes is at play at the 200 acres of vineyards owned and operated by the D. H. Lescombes Family Vineyards. “With 200 acres of vineyards located in the high desert of the Pyramid Valley, just outside Lordsburg, New Mexico,” the family claims to have “found the ideal climate and soil to grow the best quality grapes.” Thanks to day and night time temperature variances that can range by as much as 30 degrees and a growing elevation of 4,500 feet, the winery is reputed to grow some of the best grapes in New Mexico. Forty different types of grapes produce several award-winning wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah.
To showcase its selection of 40 different New Mexico grown, produced and bottled wines under several labels, Lescombes operates bistro locations throughout the Land of Enchanting Wine. D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro locations can be found in Alamogordo, Albuquerque Old Town, Las Cruces and as of November, 2024, in Albuquerque’s burgeoning Cottonwood area. The Cottonwood location occupies the space formerly occupied by the Enchanted Falls Event Center. You might remember that site was the iunaugural home of the long defunct The Falls Steakhouse which launched in November, 2005.
A crown jewel of a location, the Cottonwood area Lescombes is located just about as far northwest as you can go before you’re in Rio Rancho. Situated on the steep slope, the top of which demarks the boundary between the Duke City and the City of Vision, it provides a panoramic view of the Sandia Mountains and at night, of the city lights. Appropriately named for its original tenant, the restaurant features a manmade waterfall so that al fresco diners can enjoy the sound of rivulets of water cascading down sheer rock formations sure to lull you into a state of content relaxation. The out-of-doors waterfall on a large outdoor patio was crafted from river rock culled from the Las Vegas, New Mexico area (pictured above). It’s 15 feet tall and 51 feet in length.
The capacious restaurant is airy, bright and thematic, employing barrel-shaped casks to showcase the pride of Lescombes. That thematic expression begins even before you step inside the restaurant. Wooden casks with their characteristic metal hoops line the xeriscaped area fronting the restaurant’s entrance. So does a classic Ford pickup truck painted gold. The Cottonwood location offers the same menu options as its Old Town sibling. Cerevisaphiles will enjoy the selection of local craft beers while selective oenophiles will appreciate that they can purchase limited releases only on Lescombes properties.
Our inaugural visit, some seven months after the bistro’s opening, started off rather slowly. We were seated promptly, but watched as a phalanx of servers visited other tables. Eventually Val, our server working her very first shift on her first day at Lescombes, made it to our table. We could not have been happier with her energy and friendliness. Working with the polish and aplomb of a seasoned pro, she took great care of our every need. We were so thrilled with her that I suggested to her manager that Val should be given a raise and promoted.
Instead of an appetizer, we started our meal with a roasted beet salad (heritage blend lettuce, red and golden beets, goat cheese, local Mesilla Valley sweet and spicy pecans, crispy parsnip shavings and a pecan vinaigrette) which Val split in two for us. The roasted beets were sliced into small cubes. With their characteristic earthiness and pronounced sweetness, even smallish beets go a long way. My Kim and I love beets. We’re not as crazy about frisee (curly endive leaves with finely dissected edges) which were prevalent in the heritage blend lettuce. Thankfully the pecan vinaigrette would have been good on a flip flop. So, too, would the sweet and spicy pecans (and you can’t beat Mesilla Valley for pecans).
Perhaps indicative of changing times and tastes, Jetsetter published a feature naming the “20 Best American Comfort Foods” in America and that list didn’t include pot roast. No pot roast! What kind of list would exclude pot roast? A list of more contemporary, less anachronistic dishes apparently. Among the 20 comfort foods on the list were loco moco, sancocho, Brunswick stew and the garbage plate. All good, but they’re not pot roast. Had the journalist who wrote the Jetsetter feature tried Lescombes’ country pot roast it would have ranked near the top of the list.
The country pot roast (braised in merlot, carrots, celery, Yukon gold mash and brown gravy) is an exemplar of comfort food. Tender tendrils of succulent beef braised in merlot, a versatile red wine (for 24 hours), will water your mouth in anticipation of more. This is melt-in-your-mouth stuff, as good as you’ll find in Ireland. My Kim, who likens gravy to effluvia, sopped up every scintilla of that gravy. The carrots and celery were worthy accompaniment for the type of pot roast that makes the perfect comfort meal on a blustery day.
Even as a precocious child, it was my propensity to order something different, something no one else in my family would order. Usually it’s a dish my parents and siblings would consider too weird to eat. That’s not always the case. It’s unlikely none of them would, for example, order homemade lasagna (house-made marinara and herbed ricotta, seasoned meat and alfredo sauce, fresh basil American grana parmesan) at a restaurant of fine-dining caliber. I just happened to be in a lasagna mood. Frankly, considering our previous experiences with the cuisine at Lescombes, it didn’t surprise me just how much I enjoyed this dish, its richness and the tanginess of the marinara.
The Albuquerque Old Town edition of Lescombes Winery & Bistro opened its doors in 2005. It took 19 years before a second Albuquerque location was launched. Duke City diners on the city’s now have convenient locations at which they can enjoy menus that feature French Country dishes that pair beautifully with award-winning New Mexico wines.
Lescombes Winery & Bistro
3771 NM-528
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 548-8206
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LATEST VISIT: 1 June 2025
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$ – $$$$
BEST BET: Beet Salad, Lasagna, Pot Roast
REVIEW #1472
I really like this location. My three visits since they opened have been very pleasant, both in service and in food. My experiences with the Old Town location have been a mixed bag, so I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the new location’s consistency.