Wine country in Baja (San Diego, Guadalupe: rent, insurance, hotel) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

shmoov_groovzsd · 09-16-2012, 07:14 PM

Has anyone gone down to the Valle De Gudalupe region?

Did you map it or take a tour bus? We are looking at going in several months and would love to hear some recommendations.

sdhkshdcny09 · 09-16-2012, 07:53 PM

It's great! Super cheap wine and a fun experience. We woke up early and drove down to Ensenada for a hearty mexican breakfast near the harbor at Cafe Cazuelitas. Great food and good portions for around $7 USD I believe. It's located on Lazaro Cardenas (the highway that becomes the toll road to San Diego). Very easy to find and only 2-3 blocks from the harbor and close to the shopping street as well. The tourism office is about a block away from the restaurant and they can provide you with a map and answer any questions you may have. Some wineries require prior reservation, some cost money, and some are more difficult to find. I think the most popular is called LA Cetto. Olive oil is only $6 there, so a good deal. Tours and samples are free. Leaving Ensenada, you will take federal highway 3 from highway 1. Highway three goes all the back up to Tecate, so you might be interested in a trip to the Tecate beer factory. We decided to head back north and stay in Rosarito. Good fun during Mardi Gras.

Word of advice: I recommend staying on the federal highways. I myself am overly nervous about the drug war in Mexico, but I still recommend sticking to the federal highways. On the way back from the Valle de Guadalupe to Rosarito, we decided to take a less traveled road that heads in a northerly direction instead of driving south on highway 3 to hit highway 1. I definitely would not do this in the event that your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Also, there are much less cars and traveling in the countryside in northern Mexico is just not a good idea. We were stopped by the federales and they did a very thorough inspection of our car- had to take out luggage, looked under seats and carpets, etc. Some people may think it is safe, but they didn't put a military check point in that location just for kicks. Also, the highway is better because you can drive faster and we kept getting stuck behind slow moving trucks.

Overall a very good experience! Let me know if you have more questions. HAVE FUN

Clevelandgal · 09-16-2012, 08:45 PM

We are planning on going to go to a couple sites in Ensenada next week ( we fiened interest in a 1.5 hour time share pitch to get a free 5 day cruise). We are going to try and find a day tour.what I find interesting is some of the wineries are producing olive oils and brandies in addition to wine. if there are any worthwhile experiences,I'll make sure and share.

Clevelandgal · 09-16-2012, 08:56 PM

Rahanifin- when you went to the tourist office, we're there any tours avaialable? I avoid cruise ship tours at all costs ( 99.9% of the time it is cheaper and more awesome to venture on your own, and i hate the sheep aspect of touring with others) but I thought the one our ship is offering -transportation to and from ship to 2 wineries and a bottle of wine for $39 not that bad. thoughts? There is no way in heck we will rent a car, swill wine, and drive back roads in Baja. A designated driver is a must.

Jenkay · 09-16-2012, 11:31 PM

Actually, the roads are just fine, but yeah, stay on the main highways and don't travel at night. It's an amazing area and well worth the trip.

Make sure to eat at Laja, and if you want to have an amazing experience I recommend a stay at Adobe Guadalupe. It's pricey, but so, SO amazing.

sdhkshdcny09 · 09-17-2012, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

Rahanifin- when you went to the tourist office, we're there any tours avaialable? I avoid cruise ship tours at all costs ( 99.9% of the time it is cheaper and more awesome to venture on your own, and i hate the sheep aspect of touring with others) but I thought the one our ship is offering -transportation to and from ship to 2 wineries and a bottle of wine for $39 not that bad. thoughts? There is no way in heck we will rent a car, swill wine, and drive back roads in Baja. A designated driver is a must.

$39 sounds pretty fair. I would look into which wineries. They may end up just taking you to the vineyards' shops in town instead of the actual vineyards. I stopped by the St. Tomas "winery" and there was a large tourist group (there were 2 cruise ships in port).

I vaguely remember there being a tour offered through the tourism bureau, but I'm not 100% sure. Here is a useful guide:

Baja's Wine Country

Mapa de Ruta del Vino | Valle de Guadalupe

EDIT: PS: I am SO jealous of you right now

Marinadistrict · 09-17-2012, 01:38 PM

We are going down this weekend and staying at the new Endemico hotel. It's our first time driving down and back. I assume we need Mexican insurance that we can buy online? Does anyone know if it's possible to park at the Tecate border crossing and rent a car in Tecate on the Mexico side? If so, any suggestions for companies to use?

Think4Yourself · 09-17-2012, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Has anyone gone down to the Valle De Gudalupe region?

Did you map it or take a tour bus? We are looking at going in several months and would love to hear some recommendations.

Yeah, we've been done there several times and just drove our own car. They still have a long way to go before they become the same quality as the major California wine regions but they have come a hell of a long way in the last 10 years. It's gone from just a few exceptionally large wineries owned by companies like Gallo (a maker of cheap bulk wine) to lots of small individual wineries making dozens of different styles using a lot of varietals not commonly found in the US (though most of the varietals will be familiar to you). The thing I REALLY liked was the food as Baja has undergone a virtual high end food revolution in the last decade; the whole "Baja Med" cuisine has been developed which uses Mexican ingredients but European methods and stressing the fresh and local aspect to food. We're talking seriously good food of a quality found in a high end NYC restaurant but sold for 1/2 to 1/3rd the price.

Northern Baja is currently one of the hottest and most written about food scenes on the continent so from that aspect a trip is well worth your time even if the wine itself is only average.

shmoov_groovzsd · 09-17-2012, 02:06 PM

Thanks for the replies so far.

We had been wanting to do this trip for some time as we are very big wine geeks. We recently had an incredible 2008 El Sombrero vintage that blew us away after we heard where it was from.

Looking forward to start the planning even though it will be months away.

I am really curious to hear about the Endemico Hotel.

Think4Yourself · 09-17-2012, 02:18 PM

There is a good Anthony Boudain episode on TJ and northern Baja from this season which is worth watching too. The guy (just like the food writers in the New York and Chicago newspapers) raves about the place.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Season 8 Episode 7 - Baja

Mision 19 is a must stop at restaurant in TJ. We're talking amazingly good, totally different yet still familiar references, made by a chief trained in Paris & NYC but who returned to TJ to help transform the city's food scene. Heck, the prices are even reasonable given the extremely high quality and the high level of cuisine offered.