While in Alamogordo for White Sands National Park we obviously had to visit the World’s Largest Pistachio! We visited McGinn’s PistachioLand to take a photo with the pistachio and do a guided tour of the farm. Turns out they also have wine, so we drove through the vineyard first and then drove through the pistachio grove. We learned a bit about their wine making process and learned that most vineyards have a rose bush (or several) because the plant is highly sensitive to the same diseases that can affect the grape vines. So when the rosebush gets sick they can analyze and treat the rosebush and the grape vines at the same time so they don’t lose the year’s harvest. Pretty cool nature hack!

The pistachio grove and growing process was also pretty interesting to hear. Turns out pistachio trees struggle to grow in American soil (they would die because of the differing bacteria), so all of the pistachio trees in America are actually hybrid trees from the European pistachio trees. We also learned that pistachio nuts don’t open in the roasting process. This farm overwaters their trees when it’s time to harvest so the trees are forced to funnel that extra water into the nuts. This forced growing of the nut is what ends up cracking the shell, as the nut expands. The more you know!

Of course we had to try their homemade pistachio ice cream before we left, sample their multiple flavors of pistachio nuts, and sample a few of their wines! We left with some pretty delicious treats. This was definitely a fun time and we highly recommend the farm tour if you visit!