Our Mexican Weekend

By Kirstie Papworth

It was Simon Farr (Co-founder of Bibendum and masters its wine strategy) who decided we were going to spend a weekend in Mexico. Tim (Wine buyer and a fresh MW) and I, knackered by jet lag and a week of meetings, tried to persuade him otherwise, but we failed miserably. Just as well, really, or we’d never have discovered the beautiful Baja California, on the west coast of Mexico. Our preconceptions about dust, cacti, big hats and bigger moustaches seemed cartoon-like when we arrived in the cool, coastal, lush Valle de Guadalupe.

Hugo D’Acosta’s winery is hidden away amongst his vineyards, almost impossible to see until you’re almost upon it. Then you quite literally ARE upon it, as Hugo drove us up, up, up the sloping roof seemingly towards the face of the mountains. Our ashen faces amused him as we clambered out of the car, and he explained that the sloping roof allows trucks to deliver grapes directly into the winery below. Once inside, Hugo’s winery is a feast for the senses. Adobe walls covered in cactus prints, natural light and recycled materials used everywhere we looked.

This being Mexico, a ten hour lunch was next, with endless courses , plus a steady stream of family and friends stopping by to greet us. The accompanying wines confirmed what we’d tasted at the winery – the wines of this area are complex and concentrated, bursting with ripe, dark fruit.

Luckily, Hugo makes a wine for us – Estapor Venir – and each of the four varietials in this wine contributes its own characteristics – Petite Sirah brings dark colour and spicy peppery notes, Cabernet Sauvignon gives the wine a solid structure and typical notes of dark berries, Zinfandel contributes body and red berry flavours, while Barbera adds more berry flavours and refreshing acidity. This is a complex wine which shows varietal characteristics and has well integrated barrel notes. The nose and palate have complex pepper, dark and red berry aromas and flavours, while the palate is full-bodied and smooth with integrated tannins and a long finish.

We fell asleep to the sound of the Pacific dreaming of Baja wines and spicy Mexican chocolate. The next morning we went out for a fish taco breakfast; far, far, far better than it sounds, trust me. Then we went to visit ‘la escuelita’ (the little school), which Hugo and his brother Alejandro have founded in order to teach locals the art of winemaking and thereby give them a means of supporting their families. Handprints on each barrel indicate the owner of the wine, and again the architecture is a lesson in beauty and sustainability. Humbling indeed.

Reluctantly, we headed back over the border from Baja and headed home to tell people about the desert, the cacti, the big hats…

Tags: Estapor Venir, Hugo D’Acosta, Mexico, Travel

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