My first visit through Mexico’s famous, rocky, generously yielding wine region, the Valle de Guadalupe, was 45 years ago.  Deann and I were making our way the thousand miles from Tijuana to San Jose del Cabo in an old VW bus, and Santo Tomás winery—the oldest in the region—was on our itinerary.  Having spent time in Napa, I wasn’t very impressed.

Twenty years later, we returned to meet a handful of new transplants.  They were youthful, energetic winemakers who’d settled there with a unified mission to prove that the Valle had more potential than the area’s bulk wines reflected.

With the aid of a small-but-mighty wine school, that little handful has exploded into nearly 200 wineries.  As uniquely Valle bed & breakfasts opened to accommodate curious travelers, so did restaurants.  The chefs’ one-of-a-kind, indoor-outdoor style of live-fire cooking drew wide-spread praise.

Today, a trip to Mexico’s largest wine region offers more than I ever could have imagined on that first trip.  Every visitor has the opportunity to do wine tastings at internationally awarded wineries and to dine at Michelin-starred restaurants (there are four of them, plus many more that are Michelin-recommended).  It’s one of the wine world’s best-kept secrets, but not for long.