Santos Tomas Winery

After lunch at the Famous La Guerrenese, we head an hour south to Santo Tomas Winery. The winery that started it all in the Baja wine region. This winery dates back to 1888. Wine moved from Baja to California. It went up the coast with the Missionaries to Napa Valley and further. We are excited to visit the winery that started it all here. The drive is a lot of stop-and-go. We are heading south of the south side of Ensenada. Ensenada is a pretty big place it turns out. We follow the coast for a bit and then head in the mountains. After going over the mountain pass we enter the San Vicente Valley. It's a whole new world here! You can see for miles as we head down the mountain. Santo Tomas has an impressive gate as we enter and head up along the driveway. Did I mention that we are about an hour late? It took a bit longer than we planned. As we head up the driveway we pass the preserved remains of the original 1888 building that housed the winery. It's basically just a wall or so. The property is split up into a tasting room and then the winery about a half-mile away. The blending cave is next to the tasting room. That is where the fun happens. I cover all of that in part two of Santo Tomas. Our tour guide is great! She just keeps pouring us wine. Next, she takes us for a small walk to the overlook right behind the tasting room. Here we can see the whole property including the large octagonal winery in the middle of the vineyard. Along the walk, there are about 15 different grape varietals grown as a reference for the guests. Each row is labeled and a clear drawing of the grape leaves. Each varietal has it's own distinct shape and features. It's easy for someone to spot what grape will be growing before any grapes are hanging. Of course, it takes a little bit of training. Stay tuned for part two of the Santo Tomas video when we make our own wine blend.