A revolution ferments in Mexico: Winemaking
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/food/articles/0503w...
Howard Seftel
May. 3, 2006 12:00 AM
You can count on south-of-the-border spirits to be flowing this Friday, Cinco de Mayo. Mexican beer. Tequila.
How about wine?
Mexico? Wine? It's no joke.
Last fall, accompanied by Maria Romero of the Baja California Tourist Bureau, I toured the area's principal vineyards. About 90 percent of all Mexican
wine, I learned, is grown about 30 miles inland from Ensenada, on the Pacific Ocean Baja coast. There, serious winemakers have been zeroing in on one
particular stretch, the dry, rocky Guadalupe Valley, which benefits from the temperate climate generated by ocean breezes gliding over the hills.
Nobody is confusing the Guadalupe Valley with Bordeaux or Napa, at least not yet. But entrepreneurs are investing millions of dollars to put the
region on the world wine map.
"It's the Napa Valley 100 years ago," enthuses Steve Dryden, a wine and travel writer who lives there. The growing wine industry, he says, is
"Mexico's secret revolution."
The Spanish conquistadores brought winemaking to Mexico, planting vineyards as soon as they got a foothold. (Cort?s and his men drank their supply of
Spanish wine celebrating the defeat of the Aztecs.) But in 1699, Spain, fearful of New World competition, put an end to commercial Mexican wineries.
The industry pretty much languished for 300 years. Even 20 years ago, Mexican wines were "undrinkable," according to Gary Sehnert, a San Diego-based
importer and promoter.
But now a new breed of ambitious winemakers is gearing up to satisfy the demand of a rising, affluent and increasingly sophisticated domestic middle
class (especially women). And the international market is starting to pay attention. Consumers have begun to recognize the dramatic improvement in
quality, Sehnert says.
The world's great wine regions all have signature grapes - think Pinot Noir in Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa and Sangiovese in Tuscany. The
Guadalupe Valley, however, does not yet have a signature grape. So there's lots of exuberant, let's-plant-it-and-see-what-happens experimentation
going on.
The staggering number of varietals in this microclimate include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Franc,
Malbec, Syrah, Barbera, Grenache, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Colombard.
It's a dusty drive along unpaved roads to the vineyard at Monte Xanic (Sha-neek), a Cora Indian word that means first flower after the rain.
Proprietor Hans Backhoff's German family settled in the valley in the 1940s. Armed with a Ph.D. in food science and 250 lush acres, he has been
producing wine for almost 20 years. His biggest seller is Cabernet Sauvignon, but his best wine may well be the Chenin Blanc, a lovely white with
floral and citrus scents that would go great with ceviche.
Down the road is giant L.A. Cetto (Che-toe), Mexico's largest wine producer, founded by an Italian immigrant in 1928. Maybe that's why the rising
grape star here is Nebbiolo, from which Italy's majestic Barolo is made. It's outstanding, and the 2000 Reserva Privada was the best wine I sampled,
ripe with fruit and a touch of spice. Cetto's lively, unoaked Chardonnay, meanwhile, is just right for lobster.
Mexican winemakers are not afraid to do so some very untraditional blending. Santo Tomas, Baja's oldest winery (1888), is aggressively pairing grapes.
Among the successes are a couple of offbeat Duettos: one, a red blended with Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon; the other, a white blended with
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
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