The name ‘Mesilla’ dates to 1598, when the Spanish explorer Don Juan de Onate came upon an Indian village here, where present day Texas, New Mexico and Old Mexico meet. He named the village Trenquel de la Mesilla, meaning ‘little table’. This description refers to the plateau on which the town is situated. The entire valley area is now referred to as the Mesilla Valley. The Mission (aka, Pais) grape variety was originally planted at nearby El Paso, where grape growing can be traced back to 1650. Viticulture in the Mesilla Valley itself dates back 100 years when vineyards were planted at Dona Ana, the oldest settlement in the Valley. The climate of this area is quite simply, hot and dry, with a long growing season ensuring ripeness of grapes. However, cooling winds do funnel through the valley helping to maintain acidity levels in the grapes. The Mesilla Valley AVA covers approximately 280,000 acres, but there are presently only around 40 acres under vine.