An “Adjective” View of Wine Tasting In the Guadalupe Valley
by Naomi Black
Russ and I recently took a fantastic group of ladies from Cholla Bay
over to the Guadalupe Valley (just north of Ensenada on the Baja of Mexico) for a tour of
some of the wineries and vineyards to be found there. It was an extremely fun
trip!
I love to travel! And
I absolutely love wine country! Every year, I have to get up to northern Arizona to visit my
favorite winery, Page Springs Cellars.
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| Page Springs Cellars |
I want to see the vines heavy with
grapes, just before the harvest and enjoy a glass of wine and some pecan
pralines on their deck which overlooks Oak
Creek. It is one of my favorite moments each
fall.
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| Luscious grapes just ready for harvest |
However, this trip is after the harvest and I have to admit
I was concerned that there would be no luscious bunches of grapes hanging from
the vines and I would be disappointed. Yet the fall colors were really lovely
in the Guadalupe Valley, with the grapevine leaves
turning to gold and to red. The autumn landscape was awe inspiring, with its vineyards,
olive trees and vast gardens which are still being harvested.
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| Red and gold colors of autumn |
On our first day, we visited the tiny cave tasting room at
Tres Mujeres (or, Three Ladies). Each of these three ladies designs her own
signature wine, which is called an artisan wine, and each wine bottle includes
that particular lady’s signature. Overlooking the valley, this tiny winery was
simple and tranquil.
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| Tres Mujeres Winery |
Next, we visited Mogar Badán, with its Tuscany style buildings and cool, dark wine
cellar filled with oak barrels, it is simply vintage wine country!
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| Mogar Bodán entrance |
Across the
way, the young workers in cowboy hats and blue jeans were busy moving tractors
around and setting up a Farmer’s Market. We had to stop and buy fresh produce,
tortillas, honey, olive oil, artisanal breads and cheeses and freshly made
sweets. Wondering about that word, artisanal? Well, here is the
definition:
Artisanal (adjective) Made
by a skilled worker (an artisan) such
as a specialty item. Often applied to
foodstuffs.
Ok. So here is where I stop and explain the title of my
story. Adjectives are very important in wine country. At any wine-tasting, you
will hear an amazing variety of adjectives! Seriously, there is a point when it all becomes just a tiny bit
ridiculous… To prove my point, listen to these descriptions:
“If you like bright,
focused, mouthwatering red fruit – this wine is for
you. The brisk acidity of
this wine heightens the red fruit profile of
tart cranberry and bing cherry
with subtle blanched almonds and
vanilla tones accent the nose and palate.”
“Syrupy black cherry
and cedar dominate this wine. Hints of green
peppercorn and tingly, savory
herbs also grace the palate with a
light dusty spice on the finish.”
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| "Huh? Crazy. Seriously." (Just my opinion.) |
I am not sure about all
this wine tasting jargon. But, one highlight of our wine tasting came when one
of the wines was described by its “fruitality”. I am just going to say that
“fruitality” is a super cool word. . . it is a noun, I understand. But what a great
word! Wine (made from grapes) has an
obvious fruitality. Of course! Fruitality.
Futility. . . . Oh! I get so
confused.
On with the story! Later that same afternoon (humor
intended) we stopped off at the Hacienda Restaurant (which came highly
recommended by our friend Randi Alcott of Las Conchas) and what a great stop! Down
a side street and thru a dry river bed and completely out-of-the-way, we
searched to find it.
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| Lunch at La Hacienda Restaurant and Vivero |
And, then we lingered at this wonderful restaurant in the
midst of a plant nursery (Vivero en Espanol). They had a great selection of
wines, as would be expected along with delicious entrees which were beautifully
presented! Each lunch was truly a work of art from the chef!
We continued on to a main street shop featuring Wines and
Cheese. In the low ceiling building, we were presented with a long counter of
cheeses. Ladies with long knives shaved delicious slices of cheese off for us
to taste. Jalepeño cheese, with its green flecks throughout a white cheese, was
just perfect and several of us had to purchase a chunk to take home. Wow! Yum.
Onto Santo Tomas winery and we stood looking up and up and
up at rows of wine bottles in a grand new tasting room.
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| Bodegas de Santo Tomas |
The specialty here was
the final tasting, a sweet deep red wine which is part wine and part port. (Just
so you know for sure that I am not a wine snob, I bought a bottle of this
because I am going to pour it over vanilla ice cream. And no, I am not joking.)
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| Overlooking San Antonio de las Minas |
The view was spectacular as the sun set and we stood on this
hill overlooking the quaint town below. And then we returned to Ensenada for a night on
the town.
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| Rows and rows of bottles a L.A.Cetto |
Our second day in the wine country included more wine
tasting and many, many more wine purchases.
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| Processing wine. Aging wine. |
A visit to the Monte Xanic winery
which overlooks it own lake, which was built as a part of the irrigation plan.
We learned about the delicate balance of the vineyards and the water in
the earth below. Apparently, there will be no more water wells granted to be
built, so this valley has a value that is being protected.
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| Monte Xanic irrigation lake |
This landscape here is truly spectacular even in the autumn, with no
grape on the vines. I loved every minute of discovery here in the wine country
of Baja. I love the “Fruitality” of this place! It is Simply Lovely!
Lovely (adjective)
Exquisitely beautiful.
…and that’s an adjective you can believe!
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| Lobster and Wine. Perfection on a platter. |
Ensenada Express
Small group, personalized van tours to the Guadalupe Valley by Peñasco Recreation.
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| NOV 2012 With the Ladies on our Ensenada Express Wine Tasting tour |
