The 7 best wineries in Valle de Guadalupe

Before moving to Mexico I had no idea that the country produced wine. Tequila and mezcal yes, but wine?

However, during the almost six years that we lived in Mexico City, I quickly learned that not only did the country have a viniculture but the local wine is very, very good.

There are a number of wine regions in Mexico but the biggest and best is the sunny Valley of Guadalupe. Located 90 minutes from the California border it’s as popular with visitors from the United States as it is with locals. We spent a long weekend with friends exploring the region including plenty of time enjoying wine tastings at some of the best wineries in Valle de Guadalupe.

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Located near the seaside port of Ensenada, Valle de Guadalupe is Mexico’s answer to California’s Napa Valley but without the fussy tasting rooms or the price tag.

That’s what is so wonderful about Valle de Guadalupe, it is so authentically Mexican. The parched, reddish-gold terrain is home to around 100 wine producers and grows some of the country’s best wine. These include both big name brands such as L.A. Cetto and smaller boutique wineries such as Vena Cava.

This is a place where you bump along rutted dirt roads to reach each vineyard, where tasting rooms are simple but characterful and where, like much of Mexico, people have a real passion for what they do.

Valle, as it’s often called, still feels like you’ve stumbled across somewhere special that few people know about. The truth is, however, that this wine country is booming.

Wineries in Valle de Guadalupe to visit

The history of wine culture in Valle de Guadalupe is a fascinating one. If you really want to hear how it all started, speak to Phil Gregory, the charismatic British owner of Vena Cava.

In brief, however, wine making began in Mexico with the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Spanish missionaries first introduced wine to Baja California in 1701 when Jesuit priests planted the first grape vines. Ninety years later the first vineyards were planted and in 1888 the Santa Tomás winery was established, giving birth to Baja’s wine country.

In the 1970s L.A. Cetto, one of the country’s oldest and biggest wineries, opened shop, which started Valle de Guadalupe’s wine revolution. Today there are some 100 wineries in Valle. Many of the wineries also boast excellent restaurants on site.

Vena Cava

Established by Phil Gregory and his wife Eileen, two Brits who fell in love with the region, this was my favourite winery that we visited. Firstly, there’s the design aesthetic; the vaulted ceilings of the tasting room are made from the hulls of wooden boats from a nearby port and old glass bottles have been used to make a main door.

More importantly, perhaps, the wine produced at Vena Cava is excellent and you’ll find many of their labels available in some of Mexico City’s best restaurants. We spent a wonderful afternoon here, sampling the antojitos (snacks) from the food truck that is parked permanently on the premises and the different blends of wine.

Try their sparkling rose, the Tempranillo and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The truth is, however, that every wine we tried was excellent.

Viñas de Garza

Located on a small hilltop overlooking the vineyards, the bougainvillea filled terrace of the family-owned Viñas de Garza is one of the prettiest in the valley. We didn’t book a tasting session but instead sat on the terrace and sampled various wines by the bottle including the Amado IV.

Monte Xanic

Founded in 1988, Monte Xanic is one of Mexico’s larger wineries and one of the first to produce high-quality wines in the valley. This is the place to go to see wine production on a larger scale (large for Valle de Guadalupe that is!). The winery produces some 50,000 cases of wine annually.

The restaurant Artio at Monte Xanic comes highly recommended.

Finca La Carrodilla

The first certified organic winery in the valley, Finca La Carodilla, is a small but charming winery. They only produce 3,000 bottles of wine a year. Try the Canto de Luna.

Santo Tomas

Bodegas de Santo Tomas was the first winery to open in Baja California. It was originally founded by an Italian native, Francisco Adonegui and a Spaniard, Miguel Olmart in 1888. This makes it the oldest winery in the region and the second oldest in Mexico.

It’s located just south of Valle de Guadalupe in the Santo Tomás Valley so sees fewer visitors than some of the other wineries. Try the Santo Tomas Reserva Unico (a cabernet-merlot blend) and the Saunara, a rose that was created by winemaker Laura Zamora’s daughter in tribute to her mum. Santo Tomas was the first winery in Mexico to have a female winemaker. As well as producing wines, Santo Tomas produce a range of olive oils.

The winery’s restaurant, Villa Torel, is definitely worth visiting.

Hacienda la Lomita

Hacienda la Lomita is another boutique winery in Valle de Guadalupe. It was founded in 2009 by Fernando Pérez Castro. His parents bought a property in the area as a retirement home before quickly realising its potential. Today the winery, which practices organic viticulture, produces eight different wines.

They also have an excellent restaurant, Lunario.

Valle de Guadalupe restaurants 

Just as the region is making a name for itself with the wine produced in this region, so too is it for its food. There are some outstanding restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe, all serving fresh, farm-to-table produce in beautiful settings.

In addition to the restaurants mentioned above, you really should visit the following. Just make sure to book a table well in advance! One thing to note, unlike almost everywhere else in Mexico dinner starts and finishes early in Valle. Most restaurants stop serving food after 8.30/9pm.

Restaurante Laja

Owned by Jair Tellez, one of Mexico’s most important chefs, Laja was the first proper restaurant to open in Valle de Guadalupe nearly 20 years ago. It largely paved the way for the gastronomy scene that the valley enjoys today. We enjoyed a lovely meal here; the restaurant is nothing fancy but the food is superb.

Deckman’s

The setting for Deckman’s is beautiful with sunflowers hanging from open windows overlooking the vineyards beyond; make sure to arrive in time to see the sunset over the fields. All the food is locally grown or sourced from the region. However, owner Drew Deckman and his wife Paulina insist that they are not just serving food at their restaurants (they also own Conchas de Piedra) but an experience. This is their way of life in el Valle.

Corazon de la Tierra

Run by the owners of Vena Cava wines, Corazon de la Tierra is supposed to be excellent. We didn’t get the chance to eat here when we were in Valle but it has a wonderful reputation and, if its anything as good as its winery, then I’m sure it will be fantastic.

Valle de Guadalupe hotels

Our group booked the six available rooms at Bruma Valle de Guadalupe, a boutique hotel that’s been cleverly built to blend into the environment.

The rooms are sleek and the breakfasts delicious but my favourite part was the infinity pool that overlooks the property’s vineyards. The pool is not huge but it is perfect for spending an afternoon with a glass of wine in hand. The hotel operates an honesty bar.

Bruma also has a handful of mountain bikes for exploring the area via dirt trails (go early before it gets too hot). Next door is its own winery. Built out of recycled glass and discarded wooden beams from a bridge in San Francisco, the building is a work of art in itself.

Other hotels that come highly recommended are:

Encuentro Guadalupe

Hotel Boutique Valle de Guadalupe

La Villa del Valle

Contemplación Hotel Boutique

Valle de Guadalupe with kids

Can you take the kids to Valle de Guadalupe? Like most of Mexico, families and children are warmly welcomed in the region.

Whether or not you want to bring your kids on a winery tour is another matter.

We didn’t bring our kids for this trip and, to be honest, it would not have been much fun for them. As much as I like to take my kids everywhere, this is one destination where I would recommend leaving them at home.

Getting to Valle de Guadalupe

El Valle de Guadalupe is just a couple of hours south of San Diego. Border crossings are easy (with the right passport and / or paperwork of course!).

The closest airport is Tijuana. We hired a car and driver through our hotel for the duration of our stay, which was definitely the easiest way to get around.