by Jennifer Kramer
www.bajatheothercalifornia.com
We spent another wonderful weekend in the Guadalupe Valley discovering more wineries and places to explore. We entered the Valley from the northern end, taking the Mexico 1 toll road south and turning onto the free road at La Mision to head inland. We passed through the beautiful countryside and turned onto the Ruta del Vino. Our first stop was Las Nubes – a new winery that’s been growing grapes and perfecting their wines for the past five years, but just opened it’s gorgeous new wine tasting area to the public nine months ago. They have a large wine tasting room with a wine bar and a seating area with tables and sofas. There’s a wall of glass doors that slide all the way open to create an indoor-outdoor space. This leads out to the large patio with breathtaking views of the Guadalupe Valley. You can sit inside or outside for your tasting and they’ll serve you. Tastings start at 100 pesos for a tasting of 5 different wines. Don’t miss their Cumulus red! Definitely pair your wine tasting with a cheese platter featuring savory cheeses from the nearby Rancho Cortes.
We continued through the town of Francisco Zarco and down to Viñas de Garza, a lush and beautifully manicured vineyard and winery located off of Mexico 3. The outside wine tasting bar is located on a charming covered deck with views overlooking the vineyards and bountiful bougainvillea. There are tables and benches where you can spend your afternoon taking in the beautiful views and sipping wine. The boutique winery has been around since 2003 and they take pride in adding a personal touch to their wine making process, which can be tasted in the quality of their wines. Tastings, again, start at 100 pesos.
If you haven’t been to check out the Guadalupe Valley, or it’s been a while since your last visit, it’s definitely worth a day or weekend trip to see what’s new. You can stop by the Discover Baja office for a free Valle de Guadalupe Ruta del Vino map, which lists and maps out all of the wineries. Or, check out Got Baja? for their free, downloadable map of the valley.
