Wine Tasting in Baja's Guadalupe Valley

The main event on our trip to Mexico was a day in the up-and-coming wine country of Baja California. Over the last ten years the region has really grown as a tourist destination for wine and food. We took our rental car up into the Guadalupe Valley, just a short drive outside Ensenada. There are dozens of small scale vineyards in operation across a pretty large area throughout the valley. Some are adjacent to the main road, while others are off the beaten path and tricky to get to on bumpy dirt roads. We went to four separate wineries before heading back into town for dinner.

We started at Vinícola Tres Mujeres, a very small winery. We had a private tasting in a small cellar. It was the perfect way to start our day!

The dirt road up to Tres Mujeres.

First sips of wine of the day at the small vineyard Tres Mujeres. Cheers!

The sign says it all.

Paul was the DD for the day, so only had sips here and there. Good sport!

Our second stop was Viños de Garza, a much larger and more developed winery. It had beautiful grounds and a deck with views across the valley. We did a full tasting here, trying a bunch of different types of their wine. We had some local cheese and spent a while relaxing and enjoying the weather!

Our second stop - Viños de Garza - was nicely landscaped.

Vineyards out into the distance.

It was sunny, warm and beautiful out.

Monique with the money shot.

Learning about our wine at Viños de Garza. This dude was also pretty easy on the eyes. ;)

What a great place to hang out!

Little drunk...didn't care.

Our third winery was the unique Vena Cava Vinícola. It took a while to get there, as it was down some very rough back roads. After getting turned around once or twice, we made it to our destination. The cellar is made of old boats, and there was a small pond with ducks. Bonus: there was a taco truck! We got some wine (just a glass, not a full tasting) and sat outside and had some food.

Third Stop - Vena Cava Vinícola - with bonus little lake and boat.

This place had the most laid back, party atmosphere, and was popular with some larger tour groups.

This part of the valley felt very rural.

Snacks we brought with us from Ensenada...

...and luckily they also had some food for purchase! After hours of drinking, these tacos were warmly received.

The man-made pond with mountains in the back.

Our final winery of the day was Viños Pijoan. It was approaching sunset and starting to cool down, so we just stopped in briefly before they closed. The bartender (vintner?) was super friendly and let us split a tasting flight. They also had an amazing port, and several adorable dogs. After finishing up, we drove back to Ensenada, stopping by some roadside dinosaurs on the way.

Last stop - Viños Pijoan - with some very friendly dogs hanging out and a small tasting room.

Mexican puppies at sunet - We call dibs on the instagram handle.

Cozy bar at Viños Pijoan.

What trip is complete without replica dinosaurs? This wasn't at a vineyard, but we pulled over for photo-op.

Julie! Watch out!

After a day of drinking with lots of sun, we returned to Ensenada tired and hungry. After chilling at the AirBnB a bit and watching some winter olympics, we walked down the street to Asadera Loyola. This little open-air, hole-in-the-wall restaurant was packed with families and had a great mom & pop vibe. Plus, they had tacos al pastor on their trompo! Yum!

mmmm. Tacos al pastor!

Paul got the photo op of a lifetime playing trompo chef for a minute!

The next morning on our way back to Tijuana we stopped for breakfast at a cute little shop/restaurant called La Flor de la Calabaza. It had a lot of farm fresh foods and was a good choice for a yummy meal. We also picked up some souvenirs there.

The non-touristy area of Ensenada.

Some unique trees near our AirBnB.

Breakfast!

Beans, egg, avocado... David was happy!

We had an awesome time exploring the wine region of Baja California with friends. It's a really great destination that's more laid back than Napa or Sonoma, but still produces some excellent wine. Next stop - Tijuana and San Diego!