Cultural Tour in Guanajuato City

On our most recent visit to Guanajuato in October 2021, we had many adventures as we spent 2 weeks exploring the cities of Guanajuato city and San Miguel de Allende. We ate delicious street food, attended many unique performances during the Festival Internacional Cervantino and briefly drove around the countryside in search of some great Mexican wine we had only ever heard of. 

After filling our cultural cups to the brim at the Cervantino festival in Guanajuato City we decided to take a small trip to San Miguel de Allende an hour and forty-five minutes east through the mountainous terrain of Guanajuato state.

The Emerging Wine Scene in Guanajuato

We had been briefly introduced to the growing local wine scene when our friend Donna invited us to the opening of a cute wine shop a couple of years ago in Guanajuato City. We had learned that there are a growing number of wineries popping up in Guanajuato state in the last 10 years. Although it is not to the level of the famous Valle de Guadalupe wine route, people are becoming increasingly aware of the emerging market in Guanajuato. 

So we were excited to explore and left enough time on this trip to wander to a few of these wineries of Guanajuato in person. Thanks to our friends at Goats on the Road we had an extensive list of places to choose from.

Most of the wineries on the map were not super close to Guanajuato City, so our options were to go on a tour, hire a driver or rent a car and drive. We typically take option 3 as we are slow travelers- always 50 feet behind on every tour, escorted out of museums on our last minute dashes, or filming and taking pictures as the tour loads up on the bus. 

Transportation for our Impromptu Wine Tour

We called around and asked friends where to rent a car in Guanajuato with the intention of dropping it off on our way back to Leon International airport. Little did we know there are no options to rent a car in Guanajuato City itself, or at least we could not find one. The only option in the area was to drive the 45 minutes back to the airport and rent from there, which was fine for us as we needed to depart from the Leon airport.

Many people in Mexico have issues with renting cars here, as there are many laws that can be confusing, especially with insurance. Because of this, we like to rent through MEX car rentals (not sponsored). They are always upfront and give a great deal on modern cars with lots of amenities.

So, after renting our car from Leon Airport we were off in search of a good winery on our way to San Miguel De Allende.  We were lucky to hit the nail on the head on the first try.

Viñedo los Arcángeles

Located 1:45 minutes from Guanajuato City and 45 minutes from San Miguel de Allende this little winery is unassuming. A couple of modern modest buildings surround an outdoor and indoor dining area with some nice picnic tables. They have an area with an open-air kitchen where you can see the staff getting food and wine ready for the awaiting guests. Along with the main building they also have a boutique hotel with about 10 rooms for guests that want to really indulge.

When we drove up we were immediately greeted by the host and tour guide for the winery who introduced herself in Spanish and English. Then she took us to the table and explained the different tasting and food options that would be available after the tour. We chose to split a cheese plate and a wine tasting as Nate was driving and we didn’t know how much time we would need to get to our dinner reservations at the next winery. 

We started our tour on top of the main building, up 2 flights of stairs and a winding staircase. You could see the entire winery and surrounding mountainous landscape from the roof. Our host explained what grapes were grown on location along with explaining future plans for the winery. We also talked about the beautiful logo of the company which they are very proud of. 

It is an archangel with its arms spread out like wings morphing into a grape vine that looks like a tree with extending branches and roots that go deep.

After the rooftop we spent the rest of our tour walking around the grape vines that had recently been harvested. We also enjoyed walking around the lavender fields and saying hi to the resident pair of sheep.

We learned and talked about the differences in the look of each vine type (Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet, etc), and the structures they grew on. We even got as detailed in the discussion of the differences in each leaf size and color as it dried. 

We really loved how this winery emphasized their organic processes for growing and harvesting the vines. They do not use any harsh chemicals or pesticides. They let earth do her thing and interfere as little as possible in the process. It was refreshing to learn how this environmentally friendly winery really cared about not only the taste of the wine but also their methodology.

The Cellar

We also got to see the fermentation process as we entered the dark back room and cellar below. Seeing the large steel vats used in the process and the gorgeous modern winding staircase leading to the cellar below was wonderful. Our guide showed us the different French and American oak barrels used for storing all of their wine. 

Wine Tasting + Cheese Tabla

We ended the tour where it started in the outdoor dining area. We were happily greeted with our cheese plate, which also included homemade bread, herb-infused butter, fruit, nuts and special hot pepper oils. As we sat and continued to talk about wine and our daily activities we were greeted by the Sommelier of the winery, who went by “The Little Mexican Chef.”

The Little Mexican Chef

Perhaps the cherry on top of this tour was getting to know The Little Mexican Chef. He brought out each new tapa to try with each paired wine with such care and hospitality. We really enjoyed his perspective and willingness to not only answer our questions but to engage with us about the motivation to create a completely organic winery. He explained that living in harmony with the earth and nature is the best way to make and enjoy wine. We left the tour feeling so happy to have met these amazing people doing great things. We couldn’t recommend this winery enough.

Tres Raices

After leaving Viñedo los Arcángeles we drove south 30 minutes to our dinner destination at a 2nd winery named Tres Raices, a very popular winery in the area. Although we preferred the quaint, local vibe of Viñedo los Arcángeles, the property of Tres Raices was also beautiful. 

An entirely different feel to the boutique, bohemian vibes of the first winery, the entrance into Tres Raices was extremely grand and felt like a winery in Napa Valley, CA. With Italian cypresses lining the area, a ring of mountains in the distance and a large pond in perfect alignment with the neon sunset, this place is definitely over the top. The restaurant felt very corporate, although beautiful and we were a little disappointed that we were not allowed to walk around outside with our glasses of wine. 

However our waiter was very kind and accommodating and our dinner of Salmon with burrata cheese and fettuccine and a plate of mushroom risotto was good. The best part of Tres Raices? The views of the epic neon sunset above the mirror-like pond. We didn’t stay overnight but we heard from a friend and fellow travel writer, Tim Leffel, that it is a very nice place to stay for a few days. 

All in all? We loved our mini winery tour of Guanajuato State and will definitely be back to explore more in the future. Have you ever been to any wineries in Guanajuato? What was your favorite winery?