Terrific
Mexican Wine........Who knew?
As
a fairly recent transplant from north of the border, I was seriously
concerned as to how to satisfy my wine habit here in my new home.
After all, who’d ever heard of a “good Mexican wine”?
An oxymoron, to be sure!
However, a chance meeting in the lovely courtyard
of an old house-turned-restaurant soon proved those fears to be unfounded.
Oh, don’t get me wrong….there is plenty of Mexican plonk
out there. It’s just that there is also world-class (NOT a typo)
vino being made here if you know where to look.
A little background is in order. Just about everyone
knows how grape rootstock was brought to the Americas by the Spanish
missionaries, planted here, and that’s pretty much how things
got started. But did you know Mexico is actually the oldest (450 years)
wine producing country in the Americas?
Legend
has it that Hernan Cortez, and his men exhausted their wine supply
when celebrating the conquest of the Aztecs in the 1500s, (all that
conquesting makes for a heavy thirst!) so as first governor of these
new lands, ordered the new colonists to plant 1000 grapevines for
every 100 natives in their service. What a guy! That couldn’t
have been a hard sell, because wine had been an indispensable part
of the daily life of the colonists in Spain, and that wasn’t
about to change when they arrived in “New Spain” (certainly
understandable!).
The grapes
did so well that in 1531, Charles I decreed that all ships sailing
to New Spain carry grapevines and olive trees to be planted here.
The wine produced from these vines eventually became too good for
their own good, however. The quality improved so much that wine exports
from Spain to their new colony dropped dramatically. So much so that,
in 1595, Phillip II decreed that ALL wine production in New Spain
be terminated. It seems that Spanish wine producers and distributors
were being squeezed just a little too much! (Not the first time a
government sticks its nose into the free market!). The Crown’s
local representatives, the Viceroys, strove to implement the 1595
decree eliminating wine production, but sometimes you just can’t
keep a good idea down! Despite howls of protest from Spanish wine
interests, vine cultivation, while limited, was here to stay, thanks
mainly to the missionaries who maintained wine was necessary to perform
religious ceremonies. When there is a will there is a way!
Spanish authorities continued to bear down on the
fledgling industry. It became one of several sore spots in the relationship
between the Crown and colony. In the early 19th century, Spanish soldiers
were sent to our neighbor to the north, Dolores (later Dolores Hidalgo),
with orders to destroy all vineyards. Miguel Hidalgo, the local parish
priest who later became a hero of The Revolution, had still another
grievance against Spanish oppression, and the battle for independence
was on!
Fast forward to the late 19th-early 20th century.
Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, in a campaign of modernization
and industrialization, reinvigorated viticulture in the country, even
inviting successful California wine makers to stimulate the wine industry.
At about the same time, the area now known as Baja California received
an influx of Russian pacifists opposed to the Czarist wars. Known
as the “Molokans” (literally, “milk-eaters”),
they immediately began planting grapevines. (Maybe they should have
been named “grape-eaters”). However, another revolution
comes along in 1910, and again the industry is devastated.
You
can’t keep a good industry down, though. After a long period
of somulence, things begin to happen. In the late 40’s-early
50’s, the then secretary of Agriculture started his own wine
business in Saltillo, Coahuila, and by the early 50’s controlled
25% of all grape production in the country. In 1948, the Mexican government
prohibited the importation of all luxury items, including all alcoholic
beverages. Here we go again with the government interfering with the
marketplace! But, ironically, it served to stimulate competition among
the Mexican producers, and actually revitalized the industry. The
National Viticultural Association was formed to promote “….the
growth, processing, and commercialization of grapes and grape-based
products”.
The 80’s was when the modern Mexican wine industry
hit its stride. A handful of adventurous, dedicated Mexican winemakers
who knew they had the soils and the climate (mostly in the northern
part of the country) to make good vino, became determined to produce
high quality wines that could compete with world’s finest. And
did they ever, employing the latest technology and techniques, and
winning awards worldwide, including Chardonnay du Monde in France,
Expovina in Switzerland, and The Brussels Concours Mondan.
No discussion about quality Mexican vino can begin
without starting with the Valle de Guadalupe, the “Napa Valley”
of the Mexican wine industry. Located in northern Baja, near Ensenada,
it is home to about 50 wineries and produces 90% of all Mexican wines,
with L.A. Cetto leading the production pack with a 50% market share.
Its climate is Mediterranean with proximity to the Pacific Ocean breezes,
making for cool mornings and evenings, only about 7-9 inches of rain
per year, and warm to hotter-than-a-country-marshal’s-pistol-hot
days. It’s primarily red wine country, but some producers, with
careful handling, can make exceptional whites.
The Parras (grapevines) Valley in Coahuila has very
special climatic conditions. Being almost a mile in elevation, it’s
semi-arid. Grapevines love it, and the low humidity and cool nights
means fewer grape-loving bugs and fungus. It’s home to the oldest
winery in the Americas, Casa Madero, founded in 1597, which continues
to this day producing a broad array of delicious varietals, including
award winning Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Syrah.
Queretaro is one of Mexico’s most prosperous
winegrowing areas. With vineyards at altitudes of 6500 ft., the grapes
mature in extreme and unusual conditions. Queretaro boasts the Spanish
sparkling wine producer Grupo Freixenet’s Mexican operation,
proving good bubbly doesn’t have to be a wallet-buster.
Zacatecas, in north central Mexico, wouldn’t
ordinarily be considered to be “wine country” since it’s
a tad south of what is considered “the global wine zone”
(30-50 degree latitudes), but its vineyards are located in the high
altitudes (also about 6500 ft.). So the region, with its crisp winters
and fresh summer temperatures is optimal for wine growing. The clay
soil, with its high moisture retention, makes for happy grapes.
“In
Mexico Vino Est Veritas”, if I may paraphrase a bit. Mexican
wines have come into their own in a big way. Delicate, crisp, flavorful
whites and reds of intensity, power, richness, and complexity are
available to the wine lover in Mexico. Future articles will focus
on many of these and “name names”. Sooo, when you are
hankering for a “copa de vino”, think locally! Your palate
will thank you!
Dick
Avery is head sipper at VinoClubSMA, a wine club dedicated to the
enjoyment of boutique Mexican wines through free tastings. He can
be reached at vinoclubsma@gmail.com.
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