Even among dedicated wine lovers, the Mexico wineries in Guanajuato state are way under the radar. Ten years ago there wasn’t much of a scene at all and many of the vineyards operating now were just getting started. Even five years ago, few of the Guanajuato wineries got any press attention outside of the state, much less in the English-language foreign press.
That’s understandable since only around five percent of all Mexican wine produced gets exported and much of that is from the longer-established Baja region just south of California.
But then the Guanajuato state wineries started winning awards, then more of them, then awards on top of that. Thanks to bloggers, local champions like us, and a few wine writers looking for the next new thing, the wineries near San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo have popped into travel articles on a regular basis lately.
With cool nights, reliably sunny days, and no chance of frost, the Bajio area of Mexico is ideal for growing many grape varieties. On the negative side, there’s a distinct rainy season that leads right up to harvest time, which means tricky timing and some extra challenges if the rains don’t leave some drying-off time in between storms.
The winemakers are doing an impressive job in this region, including some female ones racking up awards in an industry that’s usually male-dominated. There are plenty of wine competitions around the world, but to see who is faring the best among the Guanajuato wineries, we pulled results from these competitions:
The Decanter World Wine Awards
Mexico Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
Concurso Internacional de Vinos Bacchus
International Wine & Spirit Competition
The Concours Mexico competition is an offshoot of the Brussels one, which is usually hosted somewhere other than Belgium these days. The Mexican version moves around and was actually hosted by Guanajuato state in 2021, in Mineral de Pozos.
Mexico is hosting the Bacchus awards in autumn of 2022, in Ensenada, Baja California.
San Miguel Wineries Winning Awards
You can get to any of the wineries in Dolores Hidalgo (next section below) on a day trip from San Miguel de Allende, returning to your hotel there that night. A few of region’s wineries are even closer though, in places where you can be parking less than a half hour after you left.
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Viñedo San Miguel is, appropriately, only 15 minutes away from the city center. This vineyard has a high pedigree, with a history going back to the old world in Italy and a connection to the high-end leather store chain Cuadra. They’ve scored awards at three of the five competitions listed at the beginning of this article, spanning two red blends, a Rosé, a Malbec, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Syrah, and a Merlot.
With advance reservations, you can tour the winery and taste five of their offerings. See more at the winery’s website here.
Bodega San Jose Lavista has great vistas indeed, with hilltop views of San Miguel de Allende and the nearby lake. While it looks like a grand hacienda estate that’s been in place since centuries past, the house and vineyard date back to 2010. It’s one of the most popular wedding venues in this city of non-stop weddings.
San Jose Lavista has been a fixture at the Mexico Selection Concours the past few years, winning two golds in the last one for its sparkling Syrah rosé and its 2019 Malbec. Other Malbec versions and a Merlot have won in past years.
Dos Buhos (two owls) is starting to find its stride as its vines mature and the winemakers’ experience grows. In the most recent Concours Mexico Selection awards, they scored a silver for a Cabernet Sauvignon from 2017 and a more recent Syrah reserve. See visitation information here.
Casa Anza is a bit of a mystery, with a basic website in Spanish only and no appearance on Google Maps. This small winery scored two gold awards at the Concours Mondial Bruxelles this year though, after winning a Grand Gold for one of the same wines, a red reserve blend, at last year’s Mexico Selection Concours competition.
Dolores Hidalgo Award-winning Wines
The largest concentration of Mexico wineries in Guanajuato state is around a city better known for its history and its pottery: Dolores Hidalgo. This is where “El Grito” (the shout, or cry of independence) from the priest-turned-revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo. This launched the Mexican fight for independence from Spain after the rebels marched to San Miguel de Allende, picked up more men, and then launched the first battle of the war in Guanajuato City.
Now Hidalgo is part of the name and over the years, this city of less than 60,000 people became the number two tile and pottery production center after Puebla. In the past two decades, it has broken out as a winemaking center.
The winery in the region that has the longest heritage also has the biggest collection of rewards on its shelves. That would be Cuna de Tierra, located north of town in a gorgeous vineyard that also produces table grapes and olive oil. Head there for a tasting and tour like we did earlier or make reservations for the restaurant and order some different wines with your meal.
Cuna de Tierra seems to make an appearance at nearly every major wine competition and they’ve been on a roll lately with multiple awards. They picked up nine in 2022 at the Decanter World Wine awards, with the winners including blends, three red grape varietals, and a Sauvignon Blanc white. They won a gold at the Concours Mundial for their Pago de Vega 2018, a blend of four red grapes that spends more than a year in oak barrels and another year in the bottle before going up for sale. They also scored a silver for their Sauvignon Blanc.
Tres Raices (three roots), off the highway between San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, started winning awards five years ago and hasn’t stopped since. They vie with Cuna de Tierra for the widest variety of award-winners, scoring with a Malbec, Merlot, Tempranillo, and several red blends, as well as two Rosé wines. One scored a gold at the Brussels competition, while the Vino Dulce Natural Lloro de Tierra Rosado won a Grand Gold in the Mexico Selection Concours.
This beautiful winery and hotel with individual casitas is a visual delight and has an excellent restaurant. You can dine there and order wines by the glass or do a tour and tasting. See the official website here and check out this Tres Raices video tour we put together.
Viñedo Los Arcángeles made their first appearance at the Mexico Concours awards, scoring a gold for their Sauvignon Blanc and a silver for their Cabernet Franc. We visited there last year for a tour and tasting on the way back from a trip to Mineral de Pozos, so it’s a nice one to combine with that.
At the same awards, La SantĂsima Trinidad winery, which also runs the San Lucas Vinoteca near San Miguel de Allende, won a “grand gold” for their white wine blend.
Other Mexico Wineries From Guanajuato State
Guanamé winery, which also produces a premium wine under the Pájaro de Azul label, has racked up a lot of gold and silver awards over the past few years. It takes some dedication and a road trip mentality to visit this winery as it’s in a rural area north of San Felipe, in a region better known for producing mezcal.
Their Pájaro de Azul red wine blend with 12 months of aging picked up a gold at the Concours Mondial Bruxelles in 2021. Their Guaname 2018 Malbec scored a gold at the Mexico Bruxelles awards the same year. Other red varietals with a few years of maturity have won awards in past years in those two competitions and Decanter’s.
Many of the Guanajuato state wineries host harvest festivals, special dinners, and other events in the second half of August. Check the Guanajuato Tourism website as well as the individual wineries for details.
If you’ll be touring the region, be sure to stop by the Wine Museum in downtown Dolores Hidalgo to get an overview of the region’s wine and do some sampling.
These aren’t the only Mexico wineries located in Guanajuato state, but of course it takes some time for newer ones to start hitting their stride and coaxing new grapes into award-winning wines. Visit one that’s not on this list and you’ll be able to say, “I went there back when nobody had heard of the place…”
See our past articles on the region’s wine scene (and other libations) here:
