The Arizona History Convention has teamed up with the Historical Society of New Mexico for a joint conference this spring.
This year’s convention will offer a look at some little-known aspects of our past.
Last year’s conference was digital and lacked the energy of an in-person event.
This year’s conference will take place April 7-9 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and will feature papers on a variety of topics, including wine.
Although people associate American vineyards with California, Heidi Osselaer says that New Mexico missionaries were growing grapes in the 1620s because they needed wine for sacraments.
The event will include a tasting at a local winery.
“They make wine out of the original mission grapes, that were some of the earliest grapes planted in the Southwest," Osselaer said. "So we’ll actually be tasting history, not just hearing about it.”
This year’s lineup also includes papers on archeology, native stories and Billy the Kid.
