Vino Mexicano

When you think of Mexico, you probably think those Corona commercials or spring break trips to Cancun before you think of a glass of fine wine. Me too! But on a recent visit to Ensenada in Baja, Mexico I visited two vineyards in the Guadalupe Valley region, both demonstrating the breadth and quality that this region can produce.

The area’s Mediterranean climate allows several varietals to thrive, including Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Grenache, and the list goes on. Mexico only produces a few million cases each year, with about half of that coming from L.A. Cetto, a Guadalupe Valley mega-producer. L.A. Cetto (pronounced “la chetto”) experiments with 67 varietals, presumably still trying to find the perfect grapes for the soil and climate.

Wine isn’t as new to Mexico as you might presume. Vineyards werefirst planted by Spanish missionaries in the late 1500s, although it wasn’t until the 1800s that the Guadalupe Valley area was planted with the capability for sizeable production. The industry has boomed in recent years, although it is still trying to find its way onto the global wine map. Recently, there was a Wines of Baja tasting held in San Francisco, so the word is spreading fast, but the region needs to overcome significant geographical and historical prejudice before the wine world starts to take them seriously.

I tasted at L.A. Cetto and Casa Pedro Domecq, whose tasting rooms are just down the road from each other, only a 30 minute drive from Ensenada. Tasting fees are low ($3-5) and the ranges I tasted were surprising. Domecq’s tasting offerings illustrate how the lack of local wine regulation encourages experimentation, as I tasted a Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay blend, a Grenache Rose, and a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo blend. None of them were outstanding, but the majority of them were quite good, and I even bought the bottle of Chateau Domecq as a souvenir wine (which paired well with marinated and barbequed tri-tip over the weekend).

L.A. Cetto offers more single varietals, such as a pleasing Viognier, a food-friendly oaked Chardonnay, a very good Bordeaux blend, and a well-balanced Cabernet Sauvignon Rose. Both vineyards provide tours of the facility and have modern and spacious tasting rooms. It would be interesting to have had time to visit more boutique wineries, which I imagine would involve a lot of knocking on doors to have a taste rather than rocking up during any established and well-organised tasting hours.