I know…I had never heard of it either.
As a blogger, I feel like we’re caught in this weird place of wanting/needing to share great things that we find, but maybe part of what makes them great is that no one knows about them. And then we put them on our blogs and all of a sudden you can’t hike Rattlesnake Ridge unless you get there before 9am.
But I’m not the first one to talk bout Valle and the hidden gem that is their wine country. (I actually think Rihanna did it first). And I have a soft spot for Mexican culture, and these people deserve our business.
I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, word-wise…
For my friend Neha’s bachelorette party in August we flew to San Diego and drove over the border into Mexico and continued on into Valle de Guadalupe wine country. (No, 15 girls did not drive themselves over the border, although I would, but more on that later). I might’ve fudged the details a little on how we were getting there when telling my parents about the trip. (Yes, I’m 30 years old. Yes, my mother still thinks I’m not going to make good decisions when left to my own devices).
I had no idea what to expect, but I’m always down for a travel adventure and trying something new. We stayed in San Diego our first night at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park. Super cute place to stay, if you’re in the market.
The next morning, much to our pleasant surprise, Dan with Boca Roja Wine Adventures was there in his 15 passenger van to pick us up, take us safely over the border, and basically be our keeper for the weekend. Everyone needs a Dan in Mexico.
So, without boring you with all the details (I’m sure you can imagine what it looks like when 15 girls are in the Mexican desert for a bachelorette party), here are all the places we ate, drank and stayed, and I highly recommend you put them on your list.
Tables + the view at Cuatro Cuatros
Adobe Guadalupe
Adobe food truck with the owner
Rancho L-86
If you’re going down to Valle for the first time, I highly highly recommend Boca Roja Wine Adventures. They will pick you up in San Diego (maybe other places, but that’s where we were), and drive you down, take you to wherever you’re staying – you can also stay on their property – and then they know all the good places to wine taste and eat, and you don’t have to worry about where you’re going or how you’re going to drink too much wine and drive around. We really couldn’t have done it any other way.
Dan was our guide, and he was wonderful. And let’s be honest, everyone needs a keeper when galavanting Mexican wine country.