Fish Tacos, Lobster & Prime Rib Sit Down Dinner or Tacos on the Fly - Where to Go and Where to avoid |
![]() | #1 |
![]() Join Date: 11-26-11
Posts: 37
![]() |
![]() ![]() Thursday, December 15, 2011 Baja wine, making big strides Very few people know this, but Mexico was actually the first place in the new world where wine was made. The first winery in the new world was “Santa Maria de las Parras”, in the northcentral state of Cohauila, and even today it operates as Casa Madero. For Mexicans until recent generations, wines have been a thing you use for cooking Christmas dinners and not much else. Famous brands like Pedro Domecq and Padre Kino where regulars at supermarket stands but nobody dared to drink them, wine as simple, bad, and for cooking. All of that changed in the early 1990´s, wineries realized that there was a market in the new emerging middle class of Mexico, and started the first efforts to make drinkable wines. Brands like Monte Xanic, Sto Tomas, LA Cetto, Domecq, started to make pretty decent wines that while still amateurish in nature, found a domestic market eager to consume home made wine. In the late 1990s, we started to see the first small scale boutique wines, names like Mogor Badan, Bibayoff, Chateau Camou, Vino de Piedra, and others where the first wineries who pushed for creating wine that was not only drinkable, but very good. Results where mixed, some years some winemakers created good to very good wines, and other years it was drinkable again. This past decade, we have seen wineries in Baja jump from maybe a dozen, to at least 50 labels and growing. And after 20yrs of hard work, i can honestly say some wines are simply outstanding. I have tried some Guadalupe Valley cabernets that could easily compete with some of the top Napa names, and quality keeps rising and breaking old rules. Another interesting aspect of Baja wines is their style, instead of the typical one grape wines from america, or the traditional french blends, you see a lot more experimentation with different grapes here. Grapes like Nebbiolo, Petit Sirah, Mission, Carignan, and other not so popular grapes in the americas, are widely used here for winemaking. The results are interesting wines, and lately because of the hard work of the winemaking community, complex and unique. Other wine regions are starting to come alive all over the place, wine growing vines have moved from the traditional Guadalupe Valley, to Ojos Negros and other valleys, and theres plans for making wine in the Vizcaino desert in the southern Baja peninsula in the not so distant future. Here are some top brands that are making good wine here in Baja: Santo Tomas: A long time value winemaker who has struggled to create high end wines. if you stick to their traditional wines like Tempranillo, Tempranillo-Cab, or Barbera, you can't lose. LA Cetto: The biggest producer in Mexico has been accused on selling mainly quaffable wine, but not any more, Cetto has been pumping pretty decent wine lately, and even their low end labels are making heads turn. Try their Petit Sirah, their 2010 Chenin Blanc, and you will see. Baron Balche: Mexico's most expensive wines come from this winery. Some of their wines are superb yet in my opinion, overpriced, but if you put price aside, some of their wines like their 2012 Syrah can show you what the future of Baja holds. Casa Baloyan: This is one of the newest wineries, and also one making perhaps the best wine ever made in Mexico at a decent price. Try their 2008 vino tres tintos @ $275 pesos and be ready to become a mexican wine lover, not to miss is also their 2007 reserva Cabernet Sauvignon @ $585 pesos and taste the best damn cab you can find in northamerica outside of Cali and Washington. Other names: Emeve, Montefiori, Roganto, San Rafael, Pijoan, and many others. © Jesus Chavez – 2011 all rights reserved Baja California Cuisine Last edited by JESSE; 12-15-11 at 08:18 PM. |
![]() | #2 |
![]() ![]() Join Date: 12-29-10
Posts: 253
![]() |
![]()
Thanks for the advice!!!!
|
![]() | #3 |
![]() Status: Queso Grande
Join Date: 02-09-09
Location: San Quintin
Posts: 7,148
![]() |
![]()
That makes sense as the vines were brought over from the Old World and planted along the mission trail...
__________________
TalkBaja.com - Where everybody knows your name and nobody stays on topic... |
![]() | #4 |
![]() ![]() Join Date: 07-25-10
Posts: 680
![]() |
![]()
You may rember in the 90's Ca. won world aclaim for their Wine and the following surge in wine production all but destroyed their new found fame.the last time I was up there they had Vineyards everywhere. even on the grounds of tee Rancho Seco Nuke Plant
|
![]() | #5 | |
![]() ![]() Join Date: 07-14-11
Location: El Pescador,Puerto Nuevo
Posts: 23
![]() |
![]() Quote:
|
|
![]() | #6 |
![]() Join Date: 05-08-09
Posts: 77
![]() |
![]()
Unless it's a Duetto, I would generally stay away from Santo Tomas wines. The relatively new mid-priced lineup is OK, but there are numerous tried and true alternatives. Just about anything from Emeve or Roganto is outstanding.
|
![]() | #8 |
![]() Join Date: 01-17-10
Location: Mission Viejo
Posts: 2,523
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
__________________
Suicide hot line... please hold |
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
He Tasted His Last Wine | Bajahowodd | Baja Wine Tasting | 3 | 03-19-10 08:12 PM |
Wine Appreciation Course - Ensenada | BajaGringo | Baja Wine Tasting | 0 | 03-19-10 12:47 PM |
Proposed aqueduct would quench Baja wine valley | BajaGringo | Baja News Wire | 15 | 02-04-10 01:58 PM |
Other Wine Tasting Outside of Ensenada | BajaGringo | Baja Wine Tasting | 2 | 05-26-09 05:36 PM |