Valle de Guadalupe - A different kind of Wine Country

We heard in our Midterm presentations about many up and coming wine regions, many of which I hadn´t even heard of. But one of the presentations hit very close to home: Mexico.
I was born and raised in Mexico, in a multicultural family that has a great love for wine. Wine was served at lunch at dinner almost every day (for 18+ drinkers only, of course).
But in spite of living in Mexico, most of the wines I got to see and try growing up were European wines. This was a trend I saw in many other houses and restaurants in Mexico. Mexican wine was thought to be either really bad quality or extremely expensive compared to its European counterparts.
However, a few years ago I started seeing more an more Mexican wines in Restaurant lists, and eventually, the new trend made way to my house. And while there are a few wine regions in Mexico, most of those new, quality wines I was seeing came from Valle de Guadalupe.

Many tourists like to call Valle de Guadalupe the Napa of Mexico. And while I understand where the comparison began, I believe they are worlds from each other. Where Napa is worldly, sophisticated and world renowned, Valle de Guadalupe is adventurous, innovative and a little outside the box.
Driving through the valley, it's sometimes even hard to see the vines scattered around the rocky terrain. The wineries are a lot smaller, and harder to find. In fact, driving at night, you might find yourself thinking you are lost in the mountains, as an unlit dirt road lays before your eyes.

Of course, we have our Mexican Mondavis, with wineries like Monte Xanic which was started by a group of friends a few decades ago with the goal of creating delicious premium Mexican wines - a feat I believe they have accomplished. But many of the wineries in the Valley are a lot smaller than their Napa counterparts. The Mexican market is not yet mature, so wine is a drink that a relatively small percentage drink regularly. Yet I believe this has allowed winemakers in Mexico to be a little more daring with the flavors they choose to portray in their wines. The vines in the area come from hundreds of different places in the world - Spain, France, Portugal, Chile, Argentina - you name it. The Valley has yet to pledge loyalty to one type of vine or grape. This has allowed for amazing new blends and innovative flavors.

I would be amiss if I talked about the Valley without mentioning the amazing food scene in the area, one that was there before the wineries and has developed and grown as the wine region has. The restaurants mimic the innovation and cultural mixture of our wines. We have chefs from Spain, the US, Mexico and South America combining recipes from other regions with the amazing seafood and ingredients available in this area of the country.

If you find yourselves at any point this year with a long weekend to fill don´t hesitate to travel a little south of the border and see this emerging wine region for yourself. Your palate and sense of adventure will thank you for it.