Guadalupe Valley - Mexico's Wine Country

Spring and Summer are the perfect seasons to visit Mexico's premier wine country in Guadalupe Valley. It's less than a two hour drive south of San Diego on the Scenic Toll from Tijuana to Ensenada. If you haven't discovered Baja California's "silent revolution" in creating world class wines, you're really missing out! This hidden "garden of Eden" is located in a beautiful, rural region, abundant with surprises and undiscovered treasures. The area offers gourmet culinary delights, charming and romantic lodging, excellent wines and friendly residents from all over the world. Mexico's wine industry is emerging and creating wines that are awakening and surprising the most sophisticated wine enthusiasts in the region and internationally. Come spend a day or two and experience "new world" wines with the "old world" charm of Mexico.

The wine country is located about seventy miles south of San Diego and can be accessed by heading south on the Tijuana-Ensenada toll road to the last collection station before the seaport of Ensenada. About one mile south of that toll station look for the sign Tecate Highway 3 or Ruta del Vino (Wine Route) and travel east on Highway 3 for seven miles until you drop down into the Baja wine country at San Antonio de las Minas. This is the western end of the Guadalupe Valley wine region which extends fourteen miles east towards Tecate ending near Km 73.5 at L.A. Cetto and Domecq wineries.

Vinisterra winery is a great spot to start wine tasting and is located on the west end of Guadalupe Valley in the village of San Antonio de las Minas at Km 94.5 off Highway 3. If you are coming from Ensenada, turn to the right in the center of this small village onto Calle Benito Juarez. Follow the only paved road in town thru the fifth stop sign and continue about 500 yards to the first left turn, go about 1/4 mile and turn right at the stop sign. The winery is ahead about 200 yards on the right side. Open Saturdays from 11:00 a.m to 4:30 and Sundays 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Abelardo and Patricia Macouzet Rodriguez manage the winery and host the tasting room. Arrangements can be made for private tasting, large tour groups and special events. For information please call 646-178-3350 email: vinisterra@yahoo.com

Try their Macouzet Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend, aged 30 percent in new French oak for 18 months with one year and six months bottle aging. Garnet color with aromas of ripe red berries with velvety balanced flavors. The end result is a soft, smooth wine with light hint of wood, ripe fruit, medium acidity, mid-soft tannins and good structure. Their Tempranillo is an outstanding wine aged 40 percent in new American oak with almost two years bottle aging. Dark ruby color with aromas of black cherry, vanilla and a hint of oak. Flavors of black stone fruit mix with good mid-mouth mild tannins, good acidity with a balanced finish. Rated 84 points in Copenhagen competition. This winery is one of the "best" wine producers in Mexico!

A good way to compliment a wine country tour is with a hearty meal as you arrive in or leave from San Antonio de las Minas. If you've never been to Casa Blanca in Morocco, you can save money and time by having a superb meal at Mustafa's Moroccan Restaurant one mile east of San Antonio de las Minas towards Tecate on Highway 3 at Km 93. Look for the big Corona Beer sign and the red tile roof on the left side of the road. Mustafa's is open everyday (except Tuesdays) from 8 a.m to 7 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available from a menu offering a large selection of Moroccan and Mexican dishes. Two excellent dinner choices are Borrego estilo Marruecos and Pollo Mustafa. Borrego estilo Marruecos is oven baked lamb, vegetables, fried mushroom sauce, almonds, local raisins and pure honey. Pollo Mustafa is delicious, breaded breast of chicken, filled with spinach and cheese, topped with fresh mushroom sauce and served with mashed potatoes. Mustafa's vineyard has some sixty year "old" vines that produce awesome wines that are available by the glass or bottle. Their "homemade" pies are superb!

In addition to these wonderful and consistent entries, Mustafa's offer another thirty-five delicious lunch and dinner selections to include, top quality steak, fresh seafood, and authentic Mexican combinations. Mustafa's offers quality and quantity with nothing on the menu priced over $12. U.S. The breakfast menu will satisfy the most particular morning eaters, and it's a great way to start a day of wine tasting and touring. (646) 155-3185

Drive back onto Highway 3 and head east towards Tecate (You'll pass the village of Francisco Zarco along the way) for about twelve miles to Km 73.5 where you'll see a large sign on the right L.A. Cetto Winery. Turn right and follow the dirt road for three miles to the entrance of Mexico's largest winery. Open daily 11-5 with friendly, very knowledgeable staff on hand to make for the most enjoyable experience and featuring quality wines at affordable prices. This Italian family provides regional and global markets with affordable quality wines. In fact, their winemaker, Camillo Magoni, was recently selected as "the top winemaker in the world" by the Dutch magazine, Vinbladet.

Their Cabernet Sauvignon has won nearly twenty international awards. Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve gained thirteen awards, and Zinfandel six awards. They also produce an award-winning classic Bordeaux style red wine, Terra, blended with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 10% Petite Verdot. This wine is from their Don Luis Cetto line of premium wines made from very select grapes grown with the highest possible standards and daily management.

L.A. Cetto is the largest producer of Nebbiolo wines in the world outside of Italy. The red Nebbiolo grape is often found in Piedmont, Italy, and is known to produce some of the finest Italian wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco. This Nebbiolo has won twenty-one international medals including a recent gold medal from the Winemakers Association of France and their trophy for "the best red wine of the year." This private reserve wine is aged in french oak for 14 months and bottle aged two years, with an alcohol content of 13-14%. It has an intense ruby red color with flashes of garnet, concentrated red and black fruits with undertones of prune, vanilla, spices and wood, mature tannins, velvety, dry and well rounded. This wonderful Mexican wine with Italian design is a "Global Best Value Wine" for $15. Try their other white and red wines!

Your wine country day won't be complete without a visit to Doña Lupe Winery down the road from L.A. Cetto. As you leave Cetto's parking lot turn to the left on the dirt road and drive about 500 yards to the first driveway on the right. This is no ordinary winery as you'll discover the moment you walk into the tasting room and gift shop. The scent of herbs, freshly baked cookies and natural aromas overcome your spirit as you melt into the natural ambience of real people and unique wines. When was the last time you experienced something real as in natural and were greeted by sincere people with organic and non-organic wines?

Doña Lupe greets all of her guests with open heart and open arms. She puts loving and creative energy into all her jams, jellies, salsas, cookies and pies. Doña also sells jams and jellies made by other locals in the valley. She planted the vineyard herself over thirty years ago and has practiced organic and biodynamic farming for several years. Her end of the valley still has some of the purest water in the region and combined with rich riverbed soil her vineyard produces high quality organic grapes. Their patio is a relaxing and scenic spot to enjoy the afternoon!

Daniel Yi, the son of Doña Lupe, creates some unique and interesting wines. He lets the grapes hang longer than most others vintners in the region and benefits from the extra natural sugars in the grape. Try his Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot and other blends of organic and regular wines. Don't miss this beautiful boutique winery and their famous Port wine! They are open daily from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. and provide samples of their jams, cheeses, wines and other goodies.

There's about twenty wineries hidden in the valley, holding treasures and waiting for discovery! Don't miss, Fiestas de la Vendimia, the wine country harvest festival held in August. This event takes place over several weeks and offers a variety of special events, dinners, concerts, wine tasting and more! Discover Mexico's silent revolution in creating "world class" wines and enjoy your adventure exploring the many wonderful wineries and restaurants in Mexico's premier wine country.

Enjoy and drive safely!