I picked up Wines of Baja California: Touring and Tasting Mexico’s Undiscovered Treasures by Ralph Amey at Amazon.com to read while on the beach this week in San Diego. I have always wanted to explore this region on my podcast and thought I might be able to sample some Baja wines this week given how close I am to the region. While I have not tracked down any Baja wines yet this week, the book gave me a decent overview of what to look for in the wine bars and stores here.
This trade paperback is just a hair over 170 pages including over 10 pages of appendix items. Once you get used to the academic writing style, the book is a quick read. It took me the better part of an afternoon on the beach and two cups of Peet’s coffee the next morning to finish. A history of the region is covered first, followed by information about the different microclimates found in the region and concludes with a bit of information on the 12 Baja wineries in operation when the book was written (2003). My only criticism is that the author does not really take a stand on any of the wine tasting notes. You have to read between the lines to discover who is making the best wines. Other than that, it is a good read to get the back-story of Baja wines (it is also the only book in English on the region).
If you are looking to explore this emerging wine appellation just across the California border, I recommend you check this book out. I’ll provide a more extensive review on my podcast once I track down some of that Baja juice…