Big Red and I were recently in Mexico, and after my twentieth or so margarita, I needed to snap back to normal and partake in some wine. I wanted to have the local experience, but Mexican wine? Is there such a thing? I’m here to tell you not only are there wines made in Mexico, I was surprised at the quality of many of the bottles I tried, especially the whites.
This discovery led me to ask, why aren’t Mexican wines better known? After all, Mexico is the oldest wine producing region in the Americas, so one might expect that we’d all be pursuing prestige Mexican wines from old-growth vines by now. Ah, but a tale of intrigue (and blood, greed, religion and Russians) helps explain why, after all these years of grape growing, the Mexican wine industry is still relatively new. The story goes like this:
Spanish Influence on Mexican Wine
The Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, arrived in present-day Mexico in 1519. They brought wine with them, of course, but once they overthrew the Aztecs in 1521, they had one hell of a party and drank through their supplies. Seriously.
One of Cortés’ first mandates was that his conquistadors—and their newly acquired slaves—plant grapevines throughout the northern portion of Mexico and into what’s now New Mexico. Everything was going great in terms of wine production. In fact, the Mexican wine got so good that, back home in Spain, winemakers began whining that they were exporting less to Mexico and losing money. In 1592, King Philipp II put the kibosh on Mexican wine, essentially shutting down the wineries. Many Mexican vineyards were destroyed.
Priests, Russians and a Wine Renewal
The one exception to Philipps’ rule prohibiting winemaking was for religious purposes. Spanish Catholic missionaries needed wine for their religious services, so they were allowed to continue production. But beyond that, there was nada until the law was repealed as part of Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821.
Interesting side note: In 1904, a group of Russians known as the Molokans came to Mexico, bought 40 hectares on the Baja Peninsula and planted grapes. The Molokans left Russia to escape persecution by the Czar’s army. They chose to relocate in Mexico based on a prophesy from a 12-year-old. Talk about a leap of faith.
Making Wine in Mexico Today
Not much happened until the 1980s, when a renaissance in Mexican wine began. Today there are three main wine producing regions, all in the northern half of the country. Baja is the most important region, responsible for producing roughly 90 percent of all Mexican wine. The jewel of Baja is the Guadalupe Valley, where there are now 93 wineries and counting. Even so, it’s worth noting that Mexican wine production, while growing, is tiny. In 2015, total Mexican wine production equaled only a half of one percent of the amount of wine produced that year a little farther north, in California.
Great story, no? And now I bet you are saying, “Sure, that’s interesting, but what about the juice?” Well, Mexican winemakers are gaining recognition and starting to rack up awards at international competitions for both red and white wines*. If you can get your hands on a bottle of Mexican wine, give it a try. Better yet, why not visit the Baja wine region? It’s only a two-hour drive south of San Diego and it looks dreamy. Meanwhile, please drop a comment if you’ve been to Mexican wine country or if you have favorite Mexican wines. The rest of us would love to know about it. Cheers!