​Our expedition began north of the San Diego River basin, forty intrepid explorers and our trusted guide Ignacio.  This would be a perilous journey, but we were buoyed by the lure of the riches to be found in the legendary Guadalupe Valley.  But it would not be an easy journey.  We would have to pass the wall of broken promises, traverse a narrow trail along the edge of the Pacific Ocean, and come uncomfortably close to the dreaded House of the Devil.  OK, so much for the theatrics.
Baja California is the leading wine producing region of Mexico, with around 150 wineries and representing about 75% of the country’s wine output.  It should be noted that a great deal of the grapes grown in the other areas of Mexico are used to make Port, meaning Baja produces most of the dry wines made in the Mexico.  About 90% of their production is sold in Mexico.
The Guadalupe Valley is the northern-most wine growing region in Baja, sitting just east of the port city of Ensenada.  It has seen great growth in the past ten years or so.  I speculate that this growth is due in part to its proximity to Ensenada and the cruise ship industry.  The wineries are close enough to the city for wine tasting excursions.
So now back to our expedition.  Wine tasting was not the focus of our journey, so we only visited two wineries.  While the area is rife with boutique wineries, our party was too large for them to accommodate us.  It turned out to be a case of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  I already mentioned the Ugly – La Casa del Diablo.  Located on the coast road about half way between Tiajuana and Ensenada, this monstrosity shown below is up for sale.  I’m sure you’ll want to put a bid in right away.

The Good was a winery called Viñedos de la Reina.  The winery is only a few years old, with about 12 acres planted in the Guadalupe Valley.  However, they have another hundred or so acres to the south in the San Vincente Valley.  All of the wines we tasted came from grapes grown in that region.

The first wine they served was a Chardonnay in the Chablis vein, that is to say, unoaked and without that buttery taste we associate with Chardonnay.  The buttery taste, by the way, is attributed a process known as malolactic fermentation.  The normal acid formed in grapes is malic acid, also found in apples, with a pH around 3.3.  Certain bacteria will convert this malic acid to lactic acid, the type found in milk products (such as – you guessed it – butter).  From what I have read this always happens with red wines, suggesting that the bacteria reside on the grape skins.  With white wines, where the juice is separated from the skins before fermentation, it only occurs when the winemaker wants.  Top picture is two perfect strangers with glasses of the Chardonnay.  Yes, perfect strangers -- never seen them before....

ToJust that one white wine, then on to the good, i.e., their red wines.  First red we tasted was their Sangiovese, a very nice wine followed up by a quite nice Malbec.  Then the star of the show appeared in our glasses – Nebbiolo.  Well, it was the star of the wine tasting.  So here’s what happened:
Before the wine tasting we were taken on a tour of their very new facility.  Along the way our guide (and resident Sommelier) Alejandro Acevedo discussed the San Vicente Valley and, of course, the grapes that they grow there – the varieties that we would later taste, as well as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo (ugh!), and Tanat.  After the wine tasting we had dinner at the winery, so naturally we ordered a bottle of Tempranillo… just kidding!  No, we did not order Tempranillo.  We ordered Tanat, and it was really, really good, and then it was gone so we got another bottle….
First picture below is of the tasting patio, followed by a picture of the dining area.

Bottom line, they had some very good red wines, good enough to haul a half of a case back across the border.  The picture below is of their Sommelier carefully picking out the wines that he thought we would like.  Four of these are shown in the next picture.

​As the we head into the holiday weekend, I thought it worth reminding you that wineries in Southern California, especially the boutique ones in San Diego County,  are more than places to go shopping for wine.  The San Diego County winery scene is more about a place to go, our version of the neighborhood bar where everyone knows your name, than the sterile Napa or even Temecula large wineries. 
For example, on Memorial Day this year we met with a great group of friends (there were eighteen of us) for a party at Vineyard Grant James.  Brought our own food and music (see pictures below).  Fun time.

​Then, this past Sunday, I dropped in on Principe di Tricase with a few friends just to pick up wine.  It was pretty hot, so we did not plan on spending too much time there.
Well, sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men aft gang aglay.  Turns out, they had a great band playing – Relic Ruckus – cold Sangria and pizza, so we stayed.  Great afternoon.  Oh, I should mention that we tasted some new white wines – Fiano and Malvasia – that you might not find anywhere else.  Italian wines, of course.
On the food side, the pizza was excellent, and from what I understand they plan to have the same food cart there every weekend, offering not just pizza but other Italian dishes as well.  As for the band, well, as I said, they were great.  They were playing some Bob Dylan tunes when we walked in.  Later they played Honky Tonk Woman and a little ditty about lost shakers of salt.  Pretty broad range, I’d say.  If you want to catch them, they’re playing at Principe di Tricase again on July 18.