On every trip I make to Valle de Guadalupe, I am blown away by the quality and variety of the wine being produced in this tiny region. For wine fans who haven’t yet been, this is an obligatory stop in Mexico. But wine isn’t all there is. As Valle has become a buzzy food destination over the years, its options for imbibing have rounded out to include excellent cocktail bars, mezcal dives and craft breweries that compete with many across the border for prominence. Outside of the valley, some of the best drinks in the region can be found in Ensenada too, making the area a must visit for anyone looking to experience the bredth of Mexico’s alcohol heritage.
In addition, most of the high-end dining options I wrote about in a previous piece on Baja have an excellent non-wine selection. If you get the chance to visit northern Baja I recommend trying the following places for a sampling of all the good libations on the menu.
Wineries
Vena Cava
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The tasting room is cool — its roof is made of the innards of an old wooden ship — but the party is really going on outside at Troika, the winery’s food truck, open for lunch and early dinner. Here, a handful of picnic tables painted in bright yellow, aqua and pink are filled with wine drinkers sipping on Vena Cava’s cool and fruity rosé or their new line of minimal intervention wine— the Pet Nat is fab. The menu’s star is the pork belly in a miso and beer glaze with tzatziki and flour tortillas, but everything was good. This place is perfect for day drinking, especially if all you have to do is walk up the hill to your room at their hotel, Villa de Valle.
Rancho San Marcos, Toros Pintos S/N, Ejido Francisco Zarco, Ensenada
Clos de Tres Cantos
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Tres Cantos is like a trip to see your philosophical aunt and uncle who have renounced city life and now tipsily recite poetry in the middle of the afternoon. Owners María and Joaquín are relative newbies in Valle de Guadalupe, but their space — built beautifully with recycled materials and following all kinds of esoteric architectural principles — feels authentically Valle. A tasting on the back patio while metallic ribbons flutter in the vineyard is almost magical. Try the Chenin Blanc, which is a burst of salty sunshine, or a bottle of Tu Mismo, a red blend with hints of tobacco and smoke. They also have a small restaurant on-site that I didn’t get to try but have heard is fantastic.
Carretera Tecate-Ensenada Km 89.5 S/N, Villa de Juárez
Bruma Wine Garden Tasting Room
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This tasting room has just opened, and while it’s not as well-known as some of the others in town, if Bruma’s other eating and drinking establishments are the measure, it’s going to be a thing. It feels like a bar for rich equestrians: leather couches, a long wooden bar, cozy lighting, giant stainless steel tanks to one side. You can try the whole of Bruma’s incredible line here and if you get through them all they have additional bottles from around the valley because they like to spread the love.
Carretera Tecate–Ensenada, Km 73.5, Francisco Zarco, Ensenada
Vinos Pijoan
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The Pijoan tasting room in the vineyard is the most low-key of any that I found in Valle and maybe that’s one of the reasons I loved it so much. A million dogs follow you to your seat on the covered back patio and you can have a languid afternoon-long tasting with no one pushing you to go.
Pijoan boasts old-school blends that are big and bold and new minimal intervention wines that are young and fresh. I loved the entire line, but it was the vermouth that blew me away. Mistela, made from a collection of wild herbs from the area, is like taking a direct sip of Valle de Guadalupe, while Vermouth Pijoan is made in a classic style that is warm, cinnamony and just right for sipping on the rocks.
Carretera El Tigre Km.13.5, Rancho San Marcos, Poblado Francisco Zarco
Finca la Carrodilla
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This absolutely stunning vineyard way out in the middle of nowhere has a tasting area that includes ground level tables amid the vines as well as an upper deck overflowing with greenery and a long family-style table under an arbor of plant life as well as a handful of high-back tables. You can do a quick tasting of their line of fully organic wine for about US $30 and the views of the surrounding organic vineyards are stunning.
Parcela 99 Z1 P14 Ejido El Porvenir, Francisco Zarco
Cocktail and mezcal bars
Matilda
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Without a doubt, the best cocktails I had in Ensenada were found in this tiny bistro-style dining room with photos of famous women on the walls and red-checked tablecloths. The La Princesa y El Sapo is the perfect balance between buttery and sweet with sage and huacatay — a South American marigold — and a garnish of spicy nasturtium leaf. The Sakura, which comes with a pea sprout balanced on the rim, is tart with a bit of bitterness and musky with rose water. Matilda Mi Corazon is creamy and smoky… I could go on.
Avenida Octava 106, Zona Centro, Ensenada
Santo Tomas Plaza
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Now a collection of restaurants, shops and bars, the Santo Tomas plaza once housed part of the winery’s facilities that was subsequently moved outside of the city limits. There’s a bevy of places here that I like: the moody Loca bar with high ceilings and low neon lighting, and La Bête Noire which feels like a bar just appeared inside a thrift store. Tanto Santo is the place for a slice and a beer, and the Alta Baja Ceveceria has a dozen or so craft beers on tap.
Avenida Miramar 666, Zona Centro, Ensenada
Bloodlust
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The ultimate Baja setting, with outdoor fire pits roaring, picnic tables and an outdoor stage that hosts local music acts. The main bar and restaurant area is supposed to look like a drop of wine, but the locals call it the “garlic building.” Its bulbous, organic lines reminded me a little of the Smurf village.
Inside are window seats stuffed with pillows and tapestries, as well as regular tables for sipping a cocktail or getting a small bite. These are the second-best cocktails in Ensenada for me: the Whyskey Sour and El Conde Nado with Pijoan vermouth! were two of my favorites.
Doña Emilia LT 13-2 San Marcos, Ensenada
Hussong’s Cantina
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It’s kind of a shame more visitors to Valle de Guadalupe don’t hang out in Ensenada. There are a handful of great bars and restaurants there that are endlessly more economical than Valle and still stellar. One such place is Hussong’s, which definitely has a little old-school cheesiness to it, but the kind that I love.
Hussong’s is famous for its margaritas, but even more famous for being a good hangout for everyone: young, old, local and tourist. The musical trios that roam the bar hall can help you fall in love or drown your sorrows depending on the tune you choose. As one of the oldest establishments in town, it’s an obligatory stop.
Avenida Ruiz 113, Zona Centro, Ensenada
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at www.mexicocitystreets.com.
