Heart of the Desert Pistachio Brittle

Ingredients:

Pistachio Brittle - Granulated sugar, corn syrup, pistachio nuts, water, unsalted butter, baking soda, table salt. 

Heart of the Desert is owned by George and Marianne Schweers. All throughout the Schweers married life, they had other enterprises they worked on, along with their regular jobs. They wanted their children to think of themselves as “Eagles”, that wonderful, high flying symbol of our country. All the extra ventures were called “Eagle Enterprises”, so when they began the pistachio groves, it was natural to name it “Eagle Ranch”. In 1986, the small farm came to the attention of Anheuser Busch Corp., who had a division called “Eagle Brand Snacks”. The trademarks were in conflict. After about a year and a half of legal negotiations, the Schweers decided to change their trademark to reflect the place the pistachios were grown.

“Heart of the Desert” became the new trademark on the packages of pistachios that were grown on the farm. It was a blessing in disguise, for as the product line increased, the brand, “Heart of the Desert” became even more fitting. Since the trademark conflict was only about products sold in the marketplace, the name “Eagle Ranch” could still be used for the farm. The Schweers opted to keep that in place as a reminder of how it all began. Today the Eagle Ranch is the home of New Mexico’s first and largest producing pistachio groves. It is still a totally self-contained operation, with growing, harvesting, processing, and marketing their pistachios directly to the consumer.

Heart of the Desert wines were added to the product line in 2002. The vineyard added to the diversity of the farm. 12,000 vines were planted initially, and the yield of their first crop, was encouraging enough that additional vines were put in, for a total of 24,000 vines. The seven different varieties of grape vines harvested each year are: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Riesling, Malvasia Bianca, and Gewurztraminer, making the production of a wide range of wines possible.