January can be a pretty slow time on the wine scene. As I researched material for my next Wine and Travel column, the answer came right into my mailbox in between all the bills and junk mail. It was about the Taos Winter Wine Festival held every year in January.

And why not? Winemakers like to ski, too, and they really aren’t very busy in January. Winemakers attending Taos have a chance to ski all day and pour their wines at night—all on the expense account! Maybe that’s why this relatively small wine event attracts more true winemakers and owners than almost any other festival in America—some with thousands of attendees and huge budgets for publicity. Of course, it’s all about the snow!

With a base elevation of 9,207 feet and a peak at 11,819 feet, both wine tasting and skiing can be quite a challenge in Taos Ski Valley for lowlander southerners. The longest run at 5.25 miles is just one of 72 total, 51 percent of which are for experts. Long lift lines aren’t the norm at Taos, with 12 lifts running and an uphill capacity of over 15,000 skiers per hour—so your day’s ski time means you won’t miss any of the aprés ski wine activities, seminars and dinners. Taos boasts a long season, too, providing skiing from mid-November until April. While several mountain resorts offer wine festivals during the summer months (Aspen, Vail, Sun Valley), this is the only place in the U.S. to combine winter sports in a major ski mountain with special wine and food presentations.

One seminar not to be missed is from Gruet. My faith was again renewed in the great sparkling wines of Gruet Winery just outside Albuquerque, one of New Mexico’s oldest and best. It’s unfortunate that more of New Mexico’s wine industry isn’t represented in Taos, as there are now over 25 wineries around the state making a good variety of wines.

If you tire of wine and winter sports, there’s a lot more to do in and around Taos. The many galleries featuring Native American and western art are a well-known attraction, but there’s mission-style and adobe architecture, pueblos, ruins and 1,000 years of history to tempt the inquiring mind. Six museums are within walking distance of the Taos Plaza, a museum in itself and a great place to people watch in the warm daytime valley temperatures. It’s almost certain to be sunny; Taos boasts over 300 days per year of sunshine. Since you’ll need a rental car in Taos anyway (four-wheel drive is best), take the short drive out to the spectacular Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, spanning 650 feet above the river. Then an afternoon ride down to Santa Fe for some lunch, more galleries and shopping rounds out a full day off the slopes. Of course there’s more, even a casino, but just how far away from the wine, fun and skiing do you want to get?

After all, it’s all about the powder, man!