Mexican Wine Country

Zacatecas · Trancoso, Ojocaliente, Luis Moya

Zacatecas

A cold, semi-arid plateau above 2,000 metres, mostly planted with table and industrial grapes. A handful of wineries south and east of Zacatecas city now make wine and take visitors, led by Tierra Adentro.

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At a glance

Elevation
Many producers sit above 2,000 mJournalism
Climate
Cold semi-arid, about 518 mm of rain a year, mostly June to September (Zacatecas city)Encyclopedia
Grapes planted
About 3,500 ha statewide, mostly table and industrial grapesTrade press
Day-night swing
About 15 °C, per Tierra Adentro’s directorTrade press

Wineries

Three wineries with visitor programmes, one of them claiming Mexico’s only barrel museum.

Southeast of Zacatecas cityTierra Adentro (Campo Real Vinícola)The state’s best-known winery, founded in 2010, with about 60 ha of vines on clay soils. Eleven labels from Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo, and more than 50 medals by its own count. Visitors tour the vineyard by train; the site claims Mexico’s only barrel museum and has two restaurants.Barrel museumTrain tourTrancosoVinícola El ConsueloA family winery with 20 ha of vines in the Valle de las Arcinas. Guided tastings are by request, and the estate runs the La Cuija restaurant and the Cacholá open-air wine bar.RestaurantWine barLuis MoyaViñedos Luévano RuizA family project dating to 2005, with first labels in 2016 and oak-aged wines made on Italian equipment. Tours, a four-wine tasting with cheese and charcuterie, and picnics among walnut trees, Wednesday to Sunday.PicnicFamily run

Grapes

High-altitude reds lead, with Malbec, Syrah and Merlot named most often.

RedMalbecTierra Adentro’s director calls it ideal at altitude, and every source lists it.RedSyrahTierra Adentro claims the best Syrah in the region; Guía Peñín lists it among the state’s reds.RedMerlotA Tierra Adentro staple that its director rates highly.RedTempranilloPart of Campo Real’s range and on Guía Peñín’s list.RedNebbioloNamed by Tierra Adentro’s director and by Guía Peñín among the plateau’s grapes.WhiteSauvignon BlancTierra Adentro says its Sauvignon Blanc won a double gold.

Hotels

No winery rooms we could confirm. Stay in Zacatecas city.

Zacatecas cityQuinta Real Zacatecas49 suites around the former San Pedro bullring, opened in 1866 beside the El Cubo aqueduct and turned into a hotel in 1989. No winery we found has rooms, so this is a city base.HistoricCity base

Restaurants

Eating among the vines means the winery kitchens. All entries rest on few sources.

Vinícola El ConsueloLa CuijaRustic Mediterranean food among the vines at Vinícola El Consuelo, Tuesday to Sunday.WinerySingle sourceVinícola El ConsueloCacholáEl Consuelo’s open-air wine bar, with cocktails and live music.Wine barLive musicSingle sourceTierra AdentroCampo Real restaurantsTierra Adentro’s estate has two restaurants serving international food.Winery

Where sources disagree

When sources conflict we show each claim with its source instead of averaging them.

Where Tierra Adentro is

Mexico News Daily puts Campo Real in Trancoso. The Camino Real hotels blog lists Vinos Tierra Adentro at km 45 of the Pan-American Highway in Ojocaliente. Guía Peñín places its vineyard in the Arcinas Valley, 25 km south of Zacatecas, and Expansión (2017) said 500 m from the city. These may describe different sites of one company; check before you drive.