Cava Maciel — Restaurant in Baja California

Valle de Guadalupe is pretty much 360 degrees of gorgeous views, some of them made all the more rewarding by the long dirt road drives (some smoother than others, like the one up to Cava Maciel, for instance) you have to make to get to them.

Cava Maciel is a lovely little winery perched atop a hill with views to go with that location, as you can see.

Ivan, a young oenologist in training, skillfully guided us through our tasting and gave us lots of great tips to enjoy the valle. Chill, friendly, easygoing vibe, lovely wine, gorgeous views... our kind of winery.

I tend not to get too specific in discussing or reviewing wine because, even in its simplest expression, it is a quite complex thing, the enjoyment of which is very much dependent on so many uniquely personal factors. Plus I've learned over the years in working with food that the more particular you get when you talk about it on a public platform, the more blowharding you tend to attract to the conversation. 😉

So I'll just say that we enjoyed our tasting very much and came away with a bottle of their Vino de Luna Chardonnay and their Alba Cab. 😊🍷😋

Oh, and sweet, friendly doggies.

Lovely place. Look forward to...

Personally, I like that the location is a little harder to reach. Reminds me of the good old days of just a few years ago when many places were harder to reach than they are now. But really, bring the Subaru, not the Porsche.

The wine is simply outstanding. Our group included one member who had just returned from a weeks long tour of the champagne region of France (as if there were a different such region, but anyway) with established wine educators and a well developed palate. Even she was knocked out by the Pet Nat. Just a lovely crisp, everything you could want in that wine. I had tasted some of the most premium wines (not on the web site) at an event, and was all excited to get to them since we were there for the VIP tasting. But Jorge took us a step at a time through several more and each one was delicious in its own way. I still ended up buying the premiums for the limited amount we could cross the border, but good to know about the others and that we can order them from...

Cava Maciel was the first winery I visited in Guadalupe Valley. Formerly, I was in restaurants and restaurant management for 14 years. I had admittedly dismissed the Guadalupe Valley wineries for years due to young age of the vineyards. Then I found Cava Maciel online, and started reading about their wine-making style, usage of many of the varietals and processes of Tuscany, etc. So I decided to check them out. The winery is at the end of a long line of wineries, all of which I had no issue with driving right past to get to the one and only place I cared to visit. Needless to say, my expectations were high. And, they absolutely did not disappoint. Not only were the wines exceptional (Apogeo & Perogeo being my favorites), not only was the food outstanding, but Jorge, the owner, served us personally. We talked for hours. Can't wait to see him and his...