Top 100 wines of North - Page 5

Discovering the wine region of North

Valle de Guadalupe is the key wine region in the state of Baja California, Mexico. Baja California, in turn, is responsible for 90 percent national wine production. At the heart of the valley is Guadalupe Village, which Lies 14 miles (20km) North of Ensenada city. The valley runs northeast to southwest on either side of Guadalupe, stretching from the Pacific coast inland for roughly 20 miles (32 km).

Over that distance the land ascends dramatically from the cliffs above Todos Santos Bay to several thousand feet above sea level. The Valle de Guadalupe Vineyards are planted at altitudes between 1000ft and 1250ft (305m–380m), mostly on flat plains surrounded by hills. The area has a MediterraneanClimate, thanks to the proximity of the Pacific Ocean immediately to the west and the Gulf of California (the Sea of Cortez) to the east. As there were no vitis vinifera Grape varieties in the Americas Prior to the arrival of European explorers, all present day commercial grapevines are of European origin.

Some of these are direct descendants of the original plants imported by the Jesuits for the first vineyards back in the 16th Century, and some have arrived more recently, from Europe or from California. Almost all modern Mexican wine is made from international varieties of French, Spanish and Italian descent. Red wines from the Valle de Guadalupe are made mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel, while white wines are based largely on Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and the ubiquitous Chardonnay. Some vineyard workers and winemakers have now returned to wineries in the region from north of the border, bringing back skills acquired in the Napa and Sonoma valleys.