The Vinaigrette Farm
“Farming is 90 percent fixing things that break,” says Erin Wade. Wade is fascinating because she didn’t grow up on a farm – in fact she migrated to farming from what she calls the shoe-ocracy of the high fashion publishing world. But somewhere between Milan and Nambe, Wade became consumed with the idea of both growing and cooking great food.
In her restaurant Vinaigrette, Erin Wade makes the best salads in Santa Fe. I was intrigued by the assignment to photograph Los Portales, the Nambe farm where Wade lives and grows a significant portion of the ingredients in her signature salads. Plus: she has pigs. Glorious, muddy, grinning, grunting pigs. Confession: I’ve always wanted to meet a pig. But not only where there pigs – Wade’s farm is an inspiration to local backyard gardeners – a vivid illustration in just how lush the high desert can be.
