Valle de Guadalupe

The Valle de Guadalupe, northeast of Ensenada on Carretera 3, is filled with vineyards, wineries, and rambling hacienda-style estates. Although Mexican wines are still relatively unknown in the United States, the industry is exploding in Mexico, and it's only a matter of time before ordering Baja wines becomes all the rage with the Hollywood crowd. One factor holding back the domestic industry is the staggering 40% winemaker's tax imposed by the Mexican government. Through this policy, the authorities are crushing their own industry by making imports from Chile and Argentina more popular than the domestics at restaurants in Mexico City and the resorts.

Still, Mexican wines are fighting back by growing their exports dramatically, and some truly world-class boutique wineries have developed in the Valle de Guadalupe, most in the past decade. Several of these are open to the public; most require appointments. Baja California Tours (www.bajaspecials.com) conducts tours that include visits to wineries, a historical overview, transportation from the border, and lunch. The cost is about $80 per person. Better yet is visiting the wineries yourself by car, as they all cluster in a relatively small area. Also worth a look is winemaker Hugo D'Acosta's new school, which brings in some 100 young winemakers to use common facilities to make their own blends. The facilities are on the site of an old olive oil press (a few antique presses remain in the outlying buildings), and the grounds are augmented with artwork made from recycled wine bottles and other materials.

Several changes are in store, which may alter the isolation of the valley, and in five years, the place may have a different, more-upscale, feel. The Monte Xanic winery has announced an agreement with the international Banyan tree chain to build a 42-room resort and spa on its property overlooking the vineyards, and the Baja state government has already begun paving some of the region's side roads. It seems that it's not only Mexican wine that's being discovered, but the potential of Guadalupe as a "wine destination," along with the mixed blessings that accompany discovery.