A version of this article appeared previously in the San Jose Mercury News:

The road northeast from Ensenada, Mexico, to the Guadalupe Valley doesn’t feel like a route to wine country. The landscape is dry and scrubby – this is a desert, after all. Then the highway crests a hill, and the valley stretches below. It bears some resemblance to populated pockets of California’s Mojave Desert – splashes of green interspersed with brown emptiness. But in the Guadalupe Valley, many of those green expanses are vineyards.

As is the case in Alta California, wine production in Baja goes back to the establishment of the missions. The oldest winery in Baja is reported to be Bodegas de Santo Tomas, established in 1888. Vineyards were expanded throughout the 20th century, but the region has seen a boom in the past 10 years, with numerous small, artisanal wineries taking their places alongside larger, older operations. According to the secretary of tourism of Baja California, there are more than 80 wineries, most of them in Guadalupe Valley. As recently as 2008, there were only 25 wineries.

Northern Baja’s wine country is spread over several wine routes, but the best-known ruta de vino is through the Guadalupe Valley. The valley – which is less than an hour from Ensenada — has the most tourist infrastructure. It sees a lot of day-trippers (including cruise ship passengers), but there are also boutique accommodations and excellent restaurants, including one (Laja) that is sometimes referred to as the “French Laundry of Baja.”

Visiting is also the best opportunity you’ll have to taste these wines: You’re not likely to see them in stores unless you’re shopping in Southern California. A good online source is La Mision Associates, a retailer and importer.

Baja doesn’t really have a signature grape. No one is sure yet what will perform best in the hot, dry conditions, where availability of water is an ongoing concern. (Rainfall averages 3-4 inches per year.) Around the valley, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc grow alongside tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and grenache. Blends are popular.

Then there’s nebbiolo, which is nothing like the nebbiolo responsible for northwestern Italy’s famous Barolo and Barbaresco. The Baja wines are much darker and lack the perfume and high acidity that you find in Italy. It’s possible that the differences are due to the growing conditions: Northwestern Italy’s Piedmont region is cool and foggy (the name nebbiolo comes from the Italian word for fog, “nebbia”), while Guadalupe Valley is hot and dry. But some vintners privately admit that it may not be the same grape. They stress, instead, that it’s “Baja nebbiolo.”

At Bodegas de Santo Tomas, which has a striking visitor facility less than 30 minutes from Ensenada, they work with 21 grape varieties, including the historic grape known as mission. The Blanca Mexico, a racy, citrusy white, is made from this red grape. The red blend called Duetto started life as a mélange of grapes from Santo Tomas and Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley, but the current incarnation is all Mexican – a blend of tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon from vines that are 60 years or older.

Even though Duetto no longer has a tie to California, several Baja wineries do have California roots, including the mission-style Adobe Guadalupe and tiny Lechuza.

Adobe Guadalupe was founded by Donald Miller, a banker from Southern California, and his Dutch-born wife, Tru. They bought the property in 1997 and started planting the following year. Donald Miller has since died, and Tru presides over the winery, a six-room inn and a horse-breeding operation. The red wines are all blends and are named after angels, like the Rhone-style Kerubiel and the nebbiolo-cabernet blend called Rafael.

Lechuza was founded by Ray and Patty Magnussen of San Diego and now is run by their daughter, Kristin Shute, and her husband, Adam. The Magnussens planted their small vineyard in 2005 and made a little wine for personal use for several years. “This was their dream and their hobby,” their daughter says. In 2013, the Shutes quit their jobs in the States and moved to the property.

Vena Cava, where the winery is dug into a hill and capped with recycled boats, is owned by British expats Phil and Eileen Gregory. The boats that serve as the roof are from Ensenada; natural light filters through magnifying lenses from a nearby manufacturer. Labels are designed to look like boat tickets and include the phrase “Mis en bouteille au bateau” (bottled at the boat), a twist on the usual French wine phrase “mis en bouteille au chateau.” The Gregorys also own a hotel, La Villa del Valle, and celebrated restaurant, Corazon de Tierra, up the hill from the winery.

 

Other wineries in Guadalupe Valley with welcoming facilities include Las Nubes, with its striking winery, spacious patio and changing art exhibits; Monte Xanic, where the large cellar is dug into granite, and the tasting room has a sweeping view; and Hacienda La Lomita, which has a young, energetic vibe. LA Cetto is the valley’s biggest winery and has a popular tasting facility.

VISITOR TIPS

Although a lot of the Guadalupe Valley wineries do have visitor facilities, many require an appointment. Many also charge a fee for tasting. It’s a good idea to check Web sites and contact the wineries before you leave the States. (Some sites are only in Spanish; click on “contacto.”)

You can also opt for some sort of guided tour; ask at your hotel. The Hotel Coral & Marina, which is a short cab ride to downtown Ensenada and an easy drive to the Guadalupe Valley, offers a vineyard tour package that includes lodging, breakfast and a wine tour. The hotel also makes a good home base if you’re touring on your own. www.hotelcoral.com

There are several restaurants in the valley with excellent reputations, like Laja and Corazon de Tierra. I didn’t eat at either, but I did dine at Malva, where chef Roberto Alcocer’s creative dishes often feature edible weeds. (The restaurant’s name is the Spanish word for mallow, a pernicious weed that, in Alcocer’s hands, can be quite delicious.) For extremely casual dining, a few tasting rooms have food trucks parked outside, especially on weekends. And seafood fans staying in Ensenada should be sure to visit La Guerrerense, a stand at First and Alvarado streets that sells inexpensive, super-fresh seafood cocktails and tostadas. (Don’t shy away from the unusual stuff, like sea snail.)