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It is located in the northern half of the Baja California Peninsula, the long, thin strip of land which juts out almost 775 miles (1250km) between the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California (aka The Sea of Cortez). The southern half is occupied by the administratively distinct Baja California Sur.
Grape varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are among the most common red grape varieties, though the portfolio is quite broad. Petite Sirah (Durif), Zinfandel, Nebbiolo and Tempranillo also feature. White wines are made from grapes such as Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Semillon and the globally ubiquitous Chardonnay.
Valle de Guadalupe and other subregions
The city of Ensenada is the focal point of the Baja California wine industry. It serves as the start and end point for the increasingly popular Ruta del Vino (the tourist-focused Baja California wine tasting trail), and also accommodates the headquarters of several local wineries and distributors.
The Guadalupe, Calafia, Santo Tomas, San Vicente and San Antonio de las Minas valleys are Baja California's main winegrowing areas. Of these the Valle de Guadalupe is the most prominent.
Vineyard growing conditions
All of the subregions are located in the state's coastal northwest. The reason for this is that the peninsula is split into two quite distinct climatic regions, with the Sierra de Baja California mountain range bisecting the land north-south.
To the west is the Pacific coast, and the climate is semi-dry and Mediterranean. To the east are the arid sands of the Sonora Desert, and viticulture is impractical. In the center, where the mountains rise to more than 10,000ft (3000m), the climate is cooler and slightly wetter, which also supports a small number of wineries.
Irrigation is required in almost all locations in Baja, due to the hot, sunny climate. Most vineyards here lie on a similar latitude to the deserts of the northern Sahara. Rainfall is very low here, with the dry areas receiving only 8 inches (200mm) annually.
All but the northwesternmost corner of the state is classified as Warm Arid Desert on the Koppen Climate Classification scale. Viticulture is made possible by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of California to the east.
History
Mexico may seem an unlikely member of the world's historic wine-producing nations, but viniculture has been practiced here for longer than anywhere else in the Americas; the central and eastern regions were first planted with vines in the 16th Century. Most of the plants were imported by the conquistadors from their Spanish homelands, and vineyard location was driven by simple logistics.
The early Spanish settlers arrived in Mexico (called Neuva Espana at that time) on its east coast, via the Atlantic and Caribbean, making their first settlements on the eastern side of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. While the central-eastern Parras Valley remains a significant wine region today, 90 percent of modern Mexican wine now comes from the northern fringes of Baja California.
