Baja's wine surprise
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/10/...
A short drive from Ensenada, vineyards and tasting rooms are flourishing
By Greg Lucas
April 10, 2005
Valle de Guadalupe, Baja Califor -- Where I expected to see saguaro cacti, I found tidy rows of vineyards. Where I expected to drink from a mescal
bottle with a worm at the bottom, I sipped a surprisingly agreeable Cabernet-Zinfandel blend.
Just 10 miles from Ensenada, I'd stumbled into something I had no idea existed: Baja's wine country. Connected by the ruta del vino in the rugged
Valle de Guadalupe are a dozen wineries, many accessible only by dirt roads. The valley has the feel that Napa or Sonoma did half a century ago, when
a couple of sawhorses, an unhinged door and a checkered tablecloth passed for a tasting room.
Visiting these wineries, and the valley that cradles them, is an unexpected delight. But be careful that your trip doesn't end as tragically as ours
did.
Like most adventures, this one began by accident. While dining in Ensenada at Sano's, an American-style steakhouse with huge portions, we took a
chance and ordered Mexican wine -- a Calixa Chardonnay and a Chateau Camou Cabernet-Zinfandel.
After our first sips, my wife and I exchanged "wow" looks.
"Where are these wines from?" we asked our waiter.
"The Mexican wine country," he replied.
"Where is that?"
"It's here. Just 3 miles up the road."
Our drive back to San Diego instantly became five hours longer.
The valley is the site of the last of the Spanish missions to be built, Misi?n de Nuestra Se?ora de Guadalupe del Norte, founded in 1834 by Dominican
priests. In 1903, 50 Russian immigrants arrived with top-quality grape cuttings from Europe; some of their vineyards are still around. Bibayoff is the
most accessible old Russian winery.
Sitting at an elevation of 1,000 feet just 13 miles from the coast, the valley benefits from an oceanic condition known as "upwelling." Summer daytime
temperatures can reach 100 degrees, but every evening moist marine air comes flooding in to cool things off.
All manner of grapes thrive here: big, sun-loving reds, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Malbec and Zinfandel, as well as a wide range
of whites, from Chardonnay and Viognier to Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. The area produces more than 80 varietals and accounts for more than 90
percent of Mexico's wine production.
Seven miles after we turned onto Highway 3 from Highway 1 -- the periodically breathtaking coastal route that leads back to Tijuana and San Diego -- a
cluster of restaurants appeared on the right: Casa de Campo, Leonardo's, Hacienda. Just past them on the right was Vina de Liceaga, which offers tours
and tasting by appointment on Saturdays.
The biggest, most tourist-friendly winery, though, is L.A. Cetto, founded by Italian immigrants and now run by a third-generation Cetto. About 16
miles into the valley, there is a prominent turnoff -- and plenty of billboards advertising it along the way. Just follow the road around the wall of
bougainvilleas to the spacious tasting room. Avoid Wednesdays and Fridays -- cruise ships docked in Ensenada send large crowds this way.
Cetto is the largest vintner in Mexico, exporting 25 percent of its annual production to 24 countries. Besides a broad array of pleasant wines,
particularly the whites and a Petite Sirah that goes great with Mexican food, Cetto bottles a fabulous olive oil.
Gilberto Plateros, behind Cetto's pouring counter, alerted us that by turning around to avoid a dirt road pocked with car-swallowing craters, we had
missed two of the wineries we wanted to see.
So we backtracked to the spot where we had previously turned back -- the Muddy Road of Giant Pot Holes. Zigzagging back and forth to avoid ruts -- and
oncoming cars doing the same thing -- we arrived at Monte Xanic, whose second label, Calixa, was the Chardonnay we wanted more of.
Israel Zenteno Ruiz poured and, in English, led us through the winery's offerings. We bought half a case, which, on top of the wine we'd purchased at
Cetto, pushed the day's bottle count into double digits.
Ruiz called ahead to Chateau Camou, where there was a $5 tasting charge and no credit cards were accepted. We wanted four bottles of the Cabernet-
Zinfandel, begging the non-English-speaking winery worker to accept a check, which he did.
A couple of hours later, we arrived back at the U.S. border and dutifully showed the customs agent our modest haul of fine Baja vino. He shook his
head, scribbled something on a piece of paper and sent us over to the customs office with the drug-sniffing dogs. There we experienced a moment of
horror. The rules were firm and non-negotiable: Just one bottle of wine per visitor.
"You can return to Mexico, try to get your money back or take your haul over to that stainless steel sink and dump all but two bottles," said the no-
nonsense Customs agent. "Now would be a good time."
It would not be a good idea, warned another Customs agent, to divert any of it down our throats. Drinking and driving never mix.
At least we brightened the day of a young man pouring a case of Pacifico beer down the same sink. He was gratified his mistake had cost only $15 --
one-tenth of ours.
Live and learn. Next time we invest in a customs broker.
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If you go...
Just north of Ensenada, 67 miles from the Mexican border south of San Diego, take Highway 3 northeast toward Tecate.
For L.A. Cetto (www.lacetto.com), follow the billboards heading east on Highway 3 toward Tecate. The turnoff is at the 73 km marker. For Mount Xanic winery
(011-52-646-174-6155, www.montexanic.com.mx), cross the Guadalupe Valley bridge and veer left into Francisco Zarco. The main street turns to dirt after a stop sign. The
entrance is to the right through a large green gate. Chateau Camou (011-52-646-177-3303, www.chateau-camou.com.mx) is beyond Mount Xanic; look for the sign pointing down another narrow dirt road. Tastings are $5.
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