October 24, 2015

To get from Tecate on the border of Mexico to Highway 1, which runs about 1,100 miles down the entire length of the Baja Peninsula, you must first drive down Hwy. 3 through the “intoxicatingly beautiful Valle de Guadalupe” (Lonely Planet). It is a gorgeous mountain valley with pinon pine forests, not the dry, sandy, rocky desert that we expected. The highway is called the Ruta Del Vino and boasts of over 90 vineyards and wineries along its short 50 mile route.

This place looked more like Northern California than Baja California. We stopped at two recommended wineries for tastings and thought that the wines were quite impressive. A little food truck at one of the wineries offered an outstanding selection of food.

It seems that good wine always inspires good food and in Northern Baja it’s no different. There are a number of boutique hotels and outstanding restaurants along the route.

There were people from San Diego that came down just for the wine tours. We highly recommend taking this tour if you’re going to be driving the peninsula.