Tourism

Discover the Tecate wine that won an international competition: Baja Window to the South

They claim that due to the vineyard’s altitude, the grape flavor is different to the one in Ensenada

Photo by: Casa Veramendi

By Sonia Zavala2022-07-12T02:00:00+00:00

Even though some of the Baja Californian municipalities have been featured in Baja Window the South, Tecate hasn’t really been spoken about too much. This is why this episode started talking about this unique Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town), where there are several different areas to visit. It should be noted that Tecate is home of the indigenous community Kumiai, a binational community in Baja California. Some of these attractions which you can visit are:

Vallecitos Archeologic Area
Tecate Brewery
Miguel Hidalgo Park
Tecate Community Museum
Rancho La Puerta
El Mejor Pan de Tecate
Amores
El Lugar de Nos

Our hosts Scott Koenig and Olga Sánchez de la Vega are Baja Californian gastronomy lovers and Koenig’s favorite place is Restaurante Amores, which was created by Chef Marcelo Hisaki in 2021 when he moved to this magical town from Mexico City with his wife. He will also lead the Mexican team at the Bocuse D’or Americas 2022 competition, which will take place in Chile. Hisaki added that this is an event that every participating chef takes advantage of to learn from others as well as other cultures, claiming that every person goes through different stages of emotion. Feelings, unexpected situations, and challenges all occur in this competition.

Marcelo added that his wife’s original vision was to create a restaurant in Tecate since she is originally from this municipality and she wanted this community to discover her great food passion, as well as what she had learned outside of Tecate. He added that one of the main challenges was to think carefully about the focus, since a restaurant should be a combination between a chef’s vision and the cultural influence of the dishes they make. One of the things that helped them the most to settle in Tecate was its multiculturalism and the border, since he had always felt out of place due to his Japanese and Mexican lineage. However, the diversity he has found in the state, not only culturally, but also in its gastronomy have helped him a lot.

In Tacos With Muchachos, Scott Koenig along with his muchacho Chef Mario Medina went to La Hacienda de Badú, located in Rosarito. In this restaurant, they tried two lamb tacos which were brought in by Josefina, one of the first traditional cooks. They both prepared their tacos with sauce, lime, and guacamole, which they tried along with a broth of this same dish. Medina claimed that this place is where Rosarito gastronomy begins.

Though Valle de Guadalupe is well known because of its wines, in Tecate there are also excellent wineries. One of these is Casa Veramendi, where Isabel and Lucy Veramendi make several diverse wines at Valle San Valentín. Their mix Ensamble won second place in an international competition. Lucy started this project in 2010 since she felt that there was enough land to take advantage of what Baja California had to offer and she thought: what a better offer than wine.

Originally, she only wanted to make wine only for her friends, but this place grew until it became Casa Veramendi. Since this winery is located at a different ocean level, in contrast with Valle de Guadalupe, the grape flavors are quite distinct, which is why the wine has a different taste.

The last segment took place in El Lugar de Nos where they tried a Cazuela de Manzana (apple casserole) which has caramelized apples and nuts with ice cream. Another dessert is called “Little Monster” which is a giant chocolate chip cookie in a pot with ice cream and berries. Both were described as a delicious dessert, the perfect “comfort food” and ideal to share with the family.