Of Mexico’s 19 protected denominaciones de origen, nearly half are given to spirits (tequila, mezcal, bacanora, sotol, charanda, and raicilla) or coffee-growing regions (Chiapas, Pluma, and Veracruz). Notably missing from the list is wine. There is no comparable designation in Mexico to something like the AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) in France, or the AVA (American Viticultural Area) in the U.S., which tells you that a wine came from say, Champagne or Napa Valley, and that it’s from a growing area with a long-standing reputation for quality.
As of March 2025, however, Mexico does have one wine-growing area that has been granted an indicación geográfica (or IGP) by the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI), a designation that is reserved for products that showcase characteristics and quality unique to their geographic region. No, it wasn’t for one of the renowned valleys of Baja California, the state that produces upwards of 70% of all wine made in Mexico. Nor was it given to Coahuila, site of the oldest winery in all of North America (Casa Madero). Instead, the IGP was announced for Querétaro.
What, you didn’t know Querétaro was the country’s premier producer of sparkling and effervescent wines? Well, it is.
How wines are grown in Querétaro
Although wine grapes were planted in Querêtaro as far back as 1531, the state’s wine industry is relatively young, and many of the state’s 50-plus wineries opened within the last two decades. The most important opening, however, was that of Freixenet Mexico, which began producing sparkling wines in the state in 1986.
Freixenet, of course, is the largest producer of Cava in Spain, a sparkling wine made using the traditional method of champenoise that, like champagne in France and Prosecco in Italy, very much has a denomination of origin. This means that the name Cava cannot be used in Mexico. Thus, sparklers from Freixenet Mexico’s flagship brand, Finca Sala Vivé, and other notable Querétaro producers like San Juanito Vitivinicola, Viñedos La Redonda, and De Cote Casa Vitivinicola label their wines as vino espumoso.
Wineries in Querétaro often use grape varieties like macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada that are also used in Spain for Cava. The terroir, though, is very different. Despite not being in a traditional wine-growing latitude, growers in Querétaro can produce high-quality wines thanks to two factors: vineyards planted at high altitudes between 6,200 and 7,000 feet above sea level (1,900 to 2,300 meters), and superb calcium-rich clay soils.
These conditions have not only proven fertile for sparkling wines, but also table wines made from international grape varieties such as merlot, syrah, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc, allowing Queretaro to produce an estimated 3.5 million bottles annually, and build a wine industry that brings in around 4 billion pesos (US $208 million) a year.
Included in the wine industry, it should be mentioned, is wine’s traditional pairing partner, cheese. Querétaro is an excellent Mexican producer of sheep, cow, and goat milk-based cheeses, most notably from Rancho San Josemaría in the Huimilpan municipality, which has been honored with 10 medals at the World Cheese Awards and Concours International de Lyon, and has established itself as the most awarded artisanal cheesemaker in all of Latin America.
La Feria Nacional del Queso y el Vino, y La Ruta del Queso y el Vino
The most spectacular showcase for these two regional products, wine and cheese, is what, since 1976, has been known as the Feria Nacional del Queso y el Vino in the pueblo mágico of Tequisquiapan. However, this year, the event has been renamed Festival Internacional del Arte, Queso, y Vino and will take place May 22 through June 8 with an expanded focus that includes art exhibitions, music, and dance. Organizers are expecting this change to grow attendance from the traditional 60,000 or so to as much as 100,000. As always, however, wine tastings and cheese samplings will continue to be a focus of the event.
Queretaro-bound travelers who won’t be there in time for the festival can still sample wine and cheese to their heart’s content, thanks to the year-round Ruta del Queso y el Vino, which stretches some 35 kilometers from Tequisquiapan to Bernal, with stops at Ezequiel Montes and other viticultural hotbeds along the way. Harvest season is June to September, so this is the optimal time for those who want to stomp some grapes. But the wine pouring never stops.
The signature food dishes of Querétaro
Naturally, there’s more than just cheese to eat in Querétaro. The state is also famed for iconic namesake dishes like sopa queretana and enchiladas queretanas. The former was legendarily created during the Mexican Revolution era, as the story goes, as nourishment for congressmen drafting the country’s constitution in 1917. The three essential ingredients are chicken broth, avocado, and fried crispy tortilla strips, but yes, cream and queso are frequently added, too.
Enchiladas queretanas have an even longer past, with their roots in Mexico’s pre-Hispanic past, when ingredients like corn and chilies became staples of the national cuisine. Guajillo chilies, in particular, cooked in milk, give enchiladas queretanas their distinctive flavor. Milk, along with pork, was added after the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, leading to the dish’s reputation as one of the first mestizo culinary recipes. It was in cookbooks by the 19th century and is still a staple in Querétaro homes and restaurants.
Barbacoa, meanwhile, is not nearly as famous in Querétaro as it is in Hidalgo, but it’s made much the same way: lamb is wrapped in maguey leaves and slow-cooked in underground pits. The most famous practitioner of this style needs no introduction to almost anyone who has driven through Querétaro. Barbacoa Santiago, a premier purveyor of the traditional delicacy, is located at Km 152 on the Mexico-Querétaro highway, just after the Palmillas toll booth, where it has exerted a magnetic force on truckers and anyone else driving by since 1982, when it was opened by its namesake, Don Santiago. More great barbacoa has followed, including an abundance at the annual Feria de la Barbacoa y el Pulque in Boyé, but Barbacoa Santiago remains the mecca.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
