Valle de Guadalupe

Cavas Sol y Barro

March 28, 2016 No Comments

The drive up to Cavas Sol y Barro.

Cavas Sol y Barro Winery

The tasting room of Cavas Sol y Barro is very nice.

The Tasting Room at Cavas Sol y Barro

The first wine we tasted was the Solybarro Grenache Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. Sorry for the blurry photo, it was not because of all the previous tastings.

Solybarro Grenache Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Retail price: MX$330
Grapes:Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon
Comments: Ruby Red, good legs
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The next wine was the Solybarro Barbera Nebbiolo 2013.

Solybarro Barbera Nebbiolo 2013

Retail price: MX$420
Grapes:Barbera and Nebbiolo
Comments: Light legs, dark ruby red, musty, yeasty, dry but young to the taste.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.

The final wine was the Malvoiste (Pinot Gris) 2015.

Solybarro Malvoisie (Pinot Gris) 2015

Retail price: MX$270
Grapes: Pinot Gris
Comments: Very young, aroma very floral, somewhat sweet, with a little blush.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.

website: www.cavasolybarro.com.mx but this does not work
facebook: None
Telephone: +52 (646) 118 5313
Wine maker: Aimé Desponds
Address: Carretera Ensenada – Tecate Km. 87

Vinícola 3 Mujeres

March 28, 2016 No Comments

3 Mujeres is a very interesting winery which Ivette Vaillart started 17 years ago and 10 years ago they started selling them to the public.

The current portfolio of wines from 3 Mujeres and a nice art piece made by Ivette

The first wine we sampled was the La Mezcla Mestiza 2012.

La Mezcla Mestiza 2013

Retail price: MX$ 250
Grapes: Genache, Zinfandel and Carignan from France
Comments: Light, fruity but a bit young.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The second wine was the La Mezcla del Rancho 2013

La Mezcla del Rancho 2013

Retail price: MX$250
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Garache
Comments: Dry, slight fruit, alcohol, lighter color.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.

We also sampled the ISME 2013, but I did not get a photo of the individual bottle.

Retail price: MX$250
Grapes: Merlot
Comments: Light color, fruity , smooth, Elegent, similar to a Sonoma County Merlot.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The current portfolio of wines from 3 Mujeres

website: None
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3MujeresVinicola/
Telephone: +52 (646) 171 5674
Wine maker: Ivette Vaillart and Eva Cotero
Address: Km. 87 Carretera Tecate-Ensenada

Malva Restaurante is a small location that seats only 24 people or so. The chef Roberto Alcocer has done a great job in developing this restaurant which is focused on food native to the Baja California area. The only difficult thing we encountered with the restaurant is that when you are coming to the entrance off of the main highway you need to take a left turn across a very busy and what looked like dangerous curve. Luckily for us there was no other cars coming down the hill so we were able to enter quickly and easily.

The restaurant is a very open layout with basically only one wall, which is adorned by some beautiful street art or murals, however you would classify it.

Beautiful Street Art on the only wall in the restaurant

More on the street art

The restaurant embraces the natural setting of the restaurant and there is only limited lighting. Since the restaurant was fairly busy I kept my flash turned off on my camera so the images are not of the highest quality that I would typically strive for, but I think they present the quality of the food and the artistic styling well.

We started with the Sopas de Carnitas.

Sopas de Carnitas

All of the soaps we’re awesome and the salsa of parsley was very good.

We then moved on to the Platon de Queso del Rancho (local cheese platter). The presentation was very artistic and the cheeses were excellent.

Platon de Queso del Rancho

The cheeses were very fresh, quite moist and flavorful. The smokey cheese had a dry mouth feel, but were equally good.

Platon de Queso del Rancho

I was looking forward to the Ash and Onion cheese, but this was the only one that did not exude much flavor, so it was a bit of a let down for me.

We then moved on to our main plates, where Jo Ann had the Pesca del Dia which was a MahiMahi on a bed of mushrooms. She really enjoyed the mail and felt that the salsa was outstanding. Sadly it was too dark for me to get a good photograph of this meal.

For my main course, I had the Castilla Carjada (Beef Short Rib). This meal was absolutely perfect and I do not rate mainly plates at restaurants as a 5 out of 5. Well done.

Costilla Carjada

We finished our meal up with a plate of ice creams which included Popcorn, Smoky, Rosemary and Goat Cheese. The smokey was very good, but the others were a little icy almost like a sorbet.

Plato de helado

The wine list was complete and represented a number of the wineries in the area. We did share a bottle of Amando IV from Viñas de Garza. The wine sold for MX$800 and was very good. However it really should have been decanted but we had to pour it from the bottle. The wine is very complex and a full body taste.

Overall I found Malva to be the best restaurant in the Valle de Guadalupe.

The service was great and I enjoyed being able to watch the line working away in the open kitchen.

Direccion: Km 96 carretera Ens Tecate, 22755 San Antonio De Las Minas, Baja California, Mexico

Reservas: +52 (646) 155 30 85 / (646) 190 72 78 o por correo a ralcocer07@gmail.com

Facebook: MALVA Cocina de Baja California

Viñas de Garza

March 28, 2016 No Comments

You arrive at Viñas de Garza in a beautifully maintained facility. We were very impressed by the commitment to eco-friendly techniques as well as the architecturally elegant design of the entire location.

The parking lot at Viñas de Garza

Through out the winery there are signs from the older generation of farming and agriculture.

Some old Farm Implements at Viñas de Garza

Plus if anyone really knows Jo Ann they know that she loves her rototillers.

Jo Ann loves her rototillers

2 km/h 2013

The first wine we sampled was the 2013 2km/h.

Retail price: MX$280 (MX$200 at the winery)

Grapes: 70% Tempranillo and 30% Grenache

Comments: Ruby Red, a little cloudy around the edges, big nose, fruity, spicy but a little dry.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Tinto del Rancho Mogorcito 2012

The next wine was the 2012 Tinto del Rancho Mogorcito.

Retail price: MX$400 (MX$300 at the winery)

Grapes: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot

Comments: Good legs, cordovan chocolate color, dark fruit, a little spice, little tannin, but dry.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Colina Norte 2009

The third wine was the 2009 Colina Norte.

Retail price: MX$560 (MX$500 at the winery)

Grapes: 60% Tempranillo, 25% Cariñena and 15% Grenache

Comments: Lots of legs, deep ruby color, some floating sentiment. Dark fruit aroma, raspberry, a little smoky. Elegant, smooth, vanilla and dry taste.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Amado IV 2009

The final wine was the 2009 Amado IV.

Retail price: MX$620 (MX$500 at the winery)

Grapes: Cabernet, Merlot, Tempranillo, Zinfandel

Comments: Dark Ruby, many but small forming legs, dark plum, very dry, lots of tannin, black pepper. My belief is that this wine will need to be decanted for 20 to 30 minutes prior to drinking.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

We truly loved all four of the wines and bought some of each to have shipped home. Also the staff at the winery were very pleasant as well as Amado Garza who we talked with for a while about his wines.

As you leave the property, you will see these two interesting buildings. We kept wondering what was housed there, the owners or….

Some very interesting buildings down the road from Viñas de Garza

the owners wine cellar?

Some very interesting buildings down the road from Viñas de Garza

website: www.vinosdegarza.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vinosdegarza
Telephone: +52 (646) 116 7365
Wine maker: Amado Garza
Address: Carr. Ensenada – Tecate, km 87, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja California

Alximia Vino Elemental

March 23, 2016 No Comments

After our great visit at Rancho Cortés, we stopped in to Alximia, which uses the concept of Alchemy in the name of the winery and various elements in the naming of their wines.

Alximia Vino Elemental

Jo Ann have always had a special place in our hearts for Paris and seeing the winery made us both remember the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

Alximia Vino Elemental Tasting Room and Production Facility

The Tasting Room of Alximia and Some Old Farm Equipment

I enjoyed some of the artistic placement of the old farm equipment and the machines for crushing and de-stemming of the grapes.

Waiting to be used again.

We never asked what la Terrace was, but we believe it is the restaurant that is on site. We never visited it so we can not comment on the quality or the offerings.

La Terrasse San Roman

Alximia has a very extensive wine list. The prices at the winery are less than what you can buy them for on the web site so I have included the retail price below from the web site, but you can see there is a slight discount if you go to the winery.

The Wines of Alximia

Talisman 2014

Retail price: MX$220
Grape: 100% Viognier
Comments: Spicy, long legs, straw like aroma.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Senda 2013

Retail price: MX$349
Grapes: Petit Verdot (Valle de Santo Tomas), Zinfandel (Valle de Guadalupe), Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo (Valle de Guadalupe)
Comments: Alcohol 13.9% Pairs with meat, earthy with long legs. Aged 12 months in French oak barrels. Intense violet red color.
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.

Magma 2012

Retail price: MX$625
Grapes: ⅔ Carignana, ⅓ Grenache
Comments: 13 months in French oak barrels. Balanced, sassy but classy. Deep red, long legs, less tannins, won a double gold metal.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Pira 2012

Retail price: MX$625
Grapes: 100% Barbera
Comments: Long legs, but a short finish. 15 months in French oak barrels. Deep ruby red color.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

website: www.alximia.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alximia
Telephone: +52 (646) 151 9363
email: info@alximia.com
Wine maker: Álvaro Alvarez Parrilla
Address: Tercería al Tigre km. 3, San Antonio de las Minas, Ensenada, Baja California

Organic Farmers Market at El Mogor

March 23, 2016 No Comments

On Saturdays and Wednesdays there is an organic farmers market head at El Mogor which starts around 11a. The farm is beautiful and well maintained and the selection of produce and other prepared foods is very nice. We stopped in on both Saturday and Wednesday and did not see any real difference in the availability of the products.

Especially if you are staying in a home where you will be able to prepare your meals, this is an excellent farmer’s market to stop at and pick up your produce, breads, cheese, etc.