The best Baja wineries are clustered in the Guadalupe Valley, where hot days combined with cool ocean breezes at night provide the classic winegrowing combination: grapes are allowed to develop their sugars without a corresponding drop in acidity. As domestic and foreign investment allows wineries to improve their facilities and growers become more aggressive about lowering yields, the already good vintages are bound to improve. Visit and taste for yourself—this time of year, with warm days and pleasantly cool evenings, is perfect and you’ll have most of the wineries to yourself.

VISIT
Monte Xanic (55-5545-1111, montexanic.com.mx) introduced high-tech concepts like stainless steel and temperature-controlled barrels to the region and many credit it with boosting the quality of Mexican wines with its first release in 1988. Try 2006 Chardonnay, a pineapple and citrus bomb that seems more Burgundian than Californian.

Château Camou (646-177-3303 chateaucamou.com.mx) is a state-of-the-art operation thanks to the owner and his Bordeaux-trained winemaker, Victor Manuel Torres Alegre. “We’re trying to place Mexico on the map of good wines,”s ays Alegre. Try 2005 Zinfandel, sure to slay the field at your next blind tasting.

The wineries of Santo Tomás (646-178-3333, santo-tomas.com) and L.A. Cetto (646-155-22-64, lacetto.com) offer the charms of tasting rooms where the winemakers themselves could very well be the ones pouring you a glass and chatting about grapes and vintages. Try L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah ($17), a medium-bodied wine with hints of blackberry on the nose and cherry and licorice on the palate.

EAT
A former Four Seasons chef, Jair Tellez, prepares creative prix-fixe meals featuring local produce and paired with the region’s wines at Laja. (646-155-2556, lajamexico.com)

STAY
Adobe Guadalupe (646-155-2094, adobeguadalupe.com) is a working winery and B&B designed by a Persian architect and inspired by the architecture of his homeland. The inn features six guestrooms, which are named after archangels and decorated with plush queen beds, Persian rugs and mosaic mirrors. La Villa del Valle (818-207-7130, lavilladelvalle.com), a small inn with views of the olive groves, vineyards and mountains.