THE VINE BAJA-STYLE
by joel martens When Californians think of wine, and likely
most Americans, they tend to look north to the well-established (and well-publicized) places within the valleys of Napa and Sonoma Counties. Indeed, they would be deeply gratified by their choice to visit there, not only because of the nearly 400 established wineries, but because of the vast oenological culture that lives there. Combine that with the regions’ rich history (its first commercial winery opened around 1859), these twin valleys constitute California’s second most visited state attraction (only Disneyland is more popular). Less is known about the “other” western coastal winemaking region, nestled just two hours south of the border, located in the temperate region of the Baja Peninsula’s northern zone. It is eclipsed perhaps by the more famous cousins to the north, but no less rich in its history—and its selection of vintners—topping out at more than 50. Getting to this point has been filled with many
fits and starts along the way; Spaniards first planted vineyards at the Santo Tomás Mission in 1791, they had enough success that the King of Spain felt threatened by potential competition from New World wineries and banned all vine planting, essentially bringing wine production in Mexico to a halt. Though a few savvy missionaries refused to abide by the crown’s draconian laws and continued production in secret until 1857. Trouble came again after Mexico’s War of Reform stripped the Catholic Church of all of its holdings in the region, ending wine production again for many years. Around 1888, the government sold the former lands of the Santo Tomás Mission to private investors and the Bodegas Santo Tomás was established, becoming the first large-scale
winery in Mexico. Forward to the late 1980s
and the work of Hugo D’Acosta, an internation- ally trained winemaker who many say is responsible for the regeneration of the wine industry in the region through his work at the large Santo Tomás valley winery. His exploration of the Guadalupe Valley and the creation of his fam- ily’s winery, Casa de Piedra, one of the oldest in the region, helped to establish production of wine as a whole there. The region is responsible for nearly 90 percent
of the country’s available wines with almost all of that coming from three areas near the port city of Ensenada: the San Antonio de las Minas zone, which includes the Valley of Guadalupe, the San Vicente Valley and the Santo Tomás Valley. The re- gions’ similarities to the Napa and Sonoma valleys include rich granite soils, cool ocean breezes and warm sunny days create perfect terroir, the sum of which allows for the production of world-class wines. Three of the major wine producers in the region
have won international competitions including the Double Gold won by L.A. Cetto at the San Francisco International Wine Competition in May 2009. Red varietals produced there include Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet, Zinfandel Grenache and Mission. Whites are Chenin Blanc, Palomino, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Saint Emilion and Malaga.
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RAGE monthly | NOVEMBER 2013
RAGE monthly | NOVEMBER 2013
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