Tag: mexico

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Travel

Zacatecas Mexico: A Weekend Trip

The city of Zacatecas is full of history, culture, beautiful architecture and great food! All of this makes it the perfect city for weekend in Mexico. While this city does get tourists from other areas in Mexico is seems to be mostly undiscovered by the rest of the world. We absolutely loved our time in this city and would definitely love to go back!The city is very walkable and we feel this is the best way to soak it all in. Finding parking on the street can be tricky but we managed to find a spot where we could stay all weekend for free. There are several public parking lots around the city but you will have to pay to park in one of these.After you park the best thing to do is to start walking! We headed straight to the the center of the city where the Catedral Basilica and the Plaza de Armas are located.

Catedral Basilica and the Plaza de Armas: All of the churches in this city are beautiful and worth walking to see! Even if you aren’t religous at all, the architecture is stunning! Just across from this cathedral is the Acropolis Café Galería where you can sit outside and enjoy a coffee and some lunch while taking in views of the catedral and the surrounding part of the city.Just behind the catedral is the Plaza de Armas. You can find a small tourist office here where you can get maps of the city and more information. The plaza also has some great street art painted on the inside and is well worth walking around.In the evenings the Plaza comes to life with locals and tourists alike hanging out, playing music, eating, drinking and just enjoying the city. If you chose to attend the Callejoneada Zacatecana event (which we highly recommend and will talk about in greater detail later on in this post) then you will meet here to get started at 7:30 or 8:30PM depending on what your ticket specifies.

Next up on the walking tour…

Rafael Coronel Mask Museum and Ruins of Templo de San Francisco: We stumbled upon these ruins and didn’t really realize that there was also a full museum here. The entrance fee for the museum is 30 pesos per person. You cannot walk around the ruins without paying the entrance fee but it is worth it. The museum is laid out really well within the ruins and is known for having Mexico’s largest collection of masks from the pre and post hispanic eras.

Hotel Quinta Real/ Plaza de Toros San Pedro: We did not stay in this hotel but did walk over to see it and have cocktails at the bar. This hotel encircles and old 17th century bull fighting ring. The bar is on the ground level, underneath where the guests watching the bull fight would sit. It has a cave like atmosphere with stone walls and ceiling. There are tables near large windows which open out to the bull fighting ring. While we were there the ring was under some construction/setting up for a wedding the following day but it was still very cool! We ordered a mezcal flight and then a cocktail while we were here. The Mezcal flight was really good – Mezcal can be very smoky and bitter but good mezcal tastes very similar to a really good tequila. This area of Mexico is know for Mezcal so you have to taste some while you’re here! If you do want a cocktail while your here we highly recommend their palomas!

Acueducto el Cubo: Just outside the hotel Quinta Real you will see a huge aquaduct. It was in use until 1910 to bring water to the city from El Cubo mine.

Templo de Santo Domingo: This is another large church next to universal art museum. We did not go into this museum or church just admired the outside as we walked by.

Templo de Jesús: This church is a bit further from the main part of the city but worth the walk.

Templo de Fatima: This was our favorite church by far. There was a wedding about to start when we walked by so we were not able to look inside unfortunately.

Plazuela Miguel Auza/ Templo de San Agustín: For a break from all the churches and site seeing we recommend you head over to this plaza and sit down at one of the restaurants/cafes. We did this twice on our trip, its a great location to people watch, enjoy the warm weather and just relax with a beer or glass of wine or a coffee.

Mina el Edén: Zacatecas is an old mining town. The mina el Eden offers tours of the mine during the day and offers a night club you can go to starting at 9pm. The night club does get busy so we would recommend arriving a little before 9pm so you can get in quickly. We arrived just after 9 and there was already a pretty long line. You do have to take a train into the mine to reach the club so only so many people can enter at a time. The train is pretty quick but this does slow down the entrance process.  The mine dates back to the 16th centry. The tours are only offered in Spanish so that is something to be aware of. We only know a little Spanish so we didn’t understand alot of the information on the tour but the mine its self is definitely worth seeing. After you go through the mine you can walk through the mineral and rock museum before taking the train back out of the mine. The museum is not an additional fee; if you pay for the tour you can see the museum. In total the tour and museum took us about an hour and a half.

Bufa Hill/El Cerro de la Bufa: This hill offers excellent views of the city and is a must do! There is a teleferico (or cable car) that will take you up to the top. Erika is terrified of heights so needless to say, we didn’t do that. You can also drive up to the top which is what we opted to do. We did this on our last morning before driving out of town (that way we didn’t risk leaving our parking spot and having to find another one). Once you are at the top of the hill you can take in the views of the city. There is also a short hiking path along the side of the hill giving even better views of the city as you walk. There are also several large statues to visit, a chapel built in 1728, the Plaza de la Revolución Mexicana and the Observatory de la bufa. After exploring all of these things there are several small food stands on the hill if you want to stop for a snack.

Callejoneada Zacatecana Event: You can buy tickets for this event at any tourism office or stand that you pass by in the city. The event started at 7:30 PM in the Plaza de Armas the night we went. We believe this event is put on every Saturday and sometimes Friday nights as well. You will follow a group of local musicians as they play through the streets. When you show your ticket you will be given a small cup to wear around your neck for your mezcal. They will pour you as many re-fills as you want during this event. You will enjoy locals and other tourists dancing and just having a good time. While the mezcal was not of the highest quality we would still highly recommend this event!  You could follow the musicians through the streets without buying a ticket however then you won’t be given any mezcal and really that is part of the whole experience!

https://www.zacatecastravel.com/detalle_producto?producto=8

This is a foodie destination! Mexico in general is a fantastic place to eat but this city has some really, really good food! None of these places are fancy or high end restaurants, instead what they offer is really good, local food at a very affordable price.

Where to Eat:

El Sultan: Small tacos but really good, great place to stop for a snack as you walk around

La Toska: Maybe our favorite place, it smells amazing as you walk by! We actually ate here twice because it was so good! They had a taco deal going the weekend we were there- 10 tacos for 59 pesos. The tacos are small but if there are only two of you it is the perfect amount of food to share. We also ate one of the best things ever at this place- a pile of tortillas, cheese and whatever meats you chose (we had a carne asada one and a pastor one) all topped with a thin layer of fried cheese! So, so good!

Rincon Tipico: We stopped in here for lunch when we first arrived. They have no menu, just a few options each day. There were three options to chose from when we were there. We both had chicken and rice served of course with tortillas and salsa.

Gorditas doña Julia: There are a couple of these around the city. Its a simple place serving up some great gorditas! We really enjoyed the peppers and potatoes  (pimientos y papas) and the pork (cerdo) but there were plenty of options to chose from here.

El Callejon: This is located near a small market area in town (Plaza Bicentenario). You will find multiple vendors selling food, drinks and other items around this area. We stopped in for a second breakfast/mid morning snack here and were very happy we did. Try the chorizo and potatoes (chorizo y papas)  and the bean and cheese (frijoles y queso) gorditas!

Plaza Bicentenario: While you are wandering around this market area be sure to try a donut (donas) They are very good! We aren’t really even donut people but trust us these are delicious!

Cervecería Shannons: We stopped in here late afternoon for a drink. It definitely has a younger vibe. We were probably the oldest people in this bar and we are 30 and 31. None the less the place is very cool. It’s got loud music and cool modern art on the walls. They are up on the second story with small balconies overlooking the street below. We attempted to just order a beer here but our waitress wasn’t about to let that happen. Our Spanish isn’t that great so we were not exactly sure what she was saying. We are pretty sure she was trying to upsell us which she did. We ended up with giant beer cocktails. We are pretty sure they were Mitcheladas- beer with clamato, hot sauce, lime and a chili salt rim around the glass. This doesn’t sound good in our option but it was suprisingly really good!

Birrieria Alvarado: We stopped here our last morning for breakfast honestly because they were the first place we passed actually open at 9AM on a Sunday and we were ready to start our day. We aren’t 100% sure what the type of meat we ended up eating was- either sheep or goat is our best guess. We had a traditional soup with shredded meat, onion and cilantro in a spicy red broth, of course served with tortillas. And we had a few tacos with either goat or sheep (again not 100% sure what we ended up getting). The soup and the tacos were both really good. Honestly it seems you can’t really go wrong for food in this city. Everywhere we stopped was great.

La Bartola: We stopped here for a small dinner/late lunch and a drink after more walking around the city. They have outdoor seating and are located on the corner of the Plazuela Miguel Auza. We ordered a gringa and two volcanes (these are similar to a tostada). Again really good food and great spot to sit and people watch as you eat and drink.

Churro Place: Every time we walked down the Juan de Toloso road we smelled churros frying. We weren’t able to find it on the map now that we are back, but trust us, you will smell them! These were probably some of the best churros we have had!

This just might be our favorite city we have visited in Mexico! We highly recommend this as a weekend trip or part of any larger trip through Mexico!

Tell us your favorite city’s in Mexico, leave us a comment below!

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Travel

Rivero Gonzalez Wine Tasting

During our weekend road trip to Parras del la Fuente one of the wineries we visited was Rivero Gonzalez. This winery is kind of in the middle of nowhere. We got lost and drove in circles through some small side streets around Parras before we finally found it. We had a reservation for our tour so we talked to the gate attendant who let us onto the property and showed us where to park. We were still a few minutes early even with getting lost. When we walked back to the winery we could not find anyone who looked like they were planning to give a tour. The only people we saw were a few guys cleaning some farm equipment in a back building. We wandered all over the property without anyone questioning us or offering to direct us to where we needed to be. We decided to go back towards the first building we had seen which was a store where you can buy their wine and other products. We figured that would be most likely where our tour guide would be. After waiting a few more minutes our tour guide arrived and everything went well. So all that being said- remember that the rest of the world doesn’t operate on an American schedule/time table where being a few minutes early is normal and somewhat expected. Also since this isn’t a huge area for wine tourism you may be the only tour the winery has that day or week. Our guide was truly surprised he was showing two American’s around without any locals. I think we wondered how we even found this place!
 
 
 
We had a private tour (in English) through the vineyard and winery before sitting down for our tasting. Our guide was very helpful and willing to answer whatever questions we had. He was nervous about his English but we felt he did a wonderful job and by this point, on our trip, we were so happy to find anyone who spoke any English! We sat outside for our tasting with great views of the vineyard. Along with our wine, we had some chocolate covered pecans, bread, goat cheeses and jams all made onsite by the winery. The winery had pecan trees all along with the property. The chocolate-covered pecans were awesome and you can buy a bag of them before you leave! We also tried some pecan and whiskey cream liquors at a small street market in Parras which we would also recommend trying if you are in the area.
 
 
 
We were given plenty of time to relax and enjoy our wine and snacks during the tasting.  We really enjoyed all the wines we tasted here. We would recommend their Scieno Reserve line as we felt that was the best value. These wines are their middle line of wine (they have a cheaper line and a more expensive/premium line you can also purchase) We purchased the R2 Scieno Reserve Cab Sauvignon and the R3 Scieno Reserve Syrah. We also really enjoyed their Naranja which was an interesting experimental wine they had. It is a Palomino and Riesling blend that is aged in oak barrels which gave it more body and a light orange color. It was very unique with the distinct Riesling characteristics. We found this wine to be really refreshing and we always enjoy it when wineries are doing something different so we can expand our wine tasting pallet
 
 
Here are the links to our other Parras de la Fuente and wine tasting posts from this region of Mexico.
 
The Oldest Winery in North America
 
A Morning in Parras, and Wine Tasting at Don Leo
 
Leave us a comment below to tell us where your favorite wine tasting experiences have been!

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Travel

Tulum Ruins, Beach, and Snorkeling

We had heard about how cool Tulum was prior to the trip, but nothing really prepared us for the ancient ruins juxtaposed with the white sand beach and turquoise water. We got off the colectivo from Playa del Carmen and went walked to the entrance. When you arrive at the entrance there will be lots of people trying to stop you and offer tours. You do not have to take a tour, you can pay the entrance fee and walk through the ruins on your own.  We ended up going with a company that offered a boat tour and snorkeling out on the reef for around $10 per person. We first walked through the park on our own to see all the ruins you can see from the land. As you walk through this part you get incredible views of the beach and the water. The ruins are all roped off so you can look and take pictures but you cannot climb on or touch them. We were there on a hot, sunny day and saw lots of Iguana’s laying on the ruins.

After our walk through the park, we headed down to the beach. We found our tour guide and took a small boat out on the water. We were given a brief tour down the shore to see the ruins which face the water and are not visible from land. After that, we were taken out to the reef for snorkeling. All necessary snorkeling equipment was included in our tour cost. We got to snorkel for about an hour. We saw lots of colorful fish, sea turtles and stingrays and got to swim along the reef. After we got back to the beach we decided to walk down the shore for a while. The beach at Tulum is one of the best beaches we have been to. The sand was basically powdered sugar, and the water was clear and turquoise. There are a few restaurants right on the beach so you can sit and enjoy a drink or some food which we would highly recommend. You will need to bring cash because none of them took a credit card while we were there and you need to make sure you have enough cash for the ride back. We regretfully didn’t go into the town of Tulum due to the timing of our trip, but we have talked about making a whole trip to Tulum one day in the future.

For more information on the ruins, visit the website here: https://www.inah.gob.mx/zonas/99-zona-arqueologica-de-tulum

What are your favorite places in Mexico that you have explored? Leave us a comment below!

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Travel

Ek Balam and Cenote Maya through Alltournative Tours

We chose to do an all-day excursion with the Alltournative Tours company. The Alltournative company gives a portion of the fees they charge back to the communities and local people in the area. They work to offer tours that promote cultural awareness and promote conservation efforts in the area. We chose a tour that spent part of the day swimming in a cenote followed by a lunch of traditional Mayan food.

The second part of the day was spent exploring the Ek Balam ruins. The Cenote Maya is the largest cenote in the Yucatan. The area around the cenote is a garden area with traditional Mayan homes so that guests can see how the Mayans lived. We also got to see a traditional shaman ritual before entering the cenote.

You have two options for getting down to the cenote; you can rappel down or you can take a staircase. I am scared of heights so I opted for the stairs. Ryan rappelled down. Once you are in the cenote you can swim, and zip line over the water. The water is fairly cold and also very clear. you can see some small fish swimming around. They will ask that you rinse off in a shower stall before entering the water and to not apply sunscreen before getting into the water in efforts to keep this water source clean.

After lunch, we were off to Ek Balam. There are multiple old ruins at this site, which is less visited than other Mayan ruins. While you are visiting you can walk on and climb through all of the ruins. You are given a tour of the grounds with an explanation of what all the different buildings are. This tour is offered in English, we also had French speakers in our group so they split up from us and were given the tour in French.

After the tour, you have time on your own to walk through the ruins. There is also a small market in the parking lot near the entrance where local people are selling crafts and locally made liquors and other goods. We got to sample a local liquor called Xtabentún. This is made from anise seed and honey. It has a very distinct flavor, we enjoyed it and would recommend trying it while there since it isn’t something we have ever been able to find it in the U.S.  The people in the market are very nice and will offer to show you things and explain to you what they are but they will not haggle with you or pressure you to buy.

Here is the link to the tour we took with Alltournative Tours

https://alltournative.com/servicio/ekbalam-cenote-maya/

For more on Playa del Carmen, where we based ourselves for this trip check out our post: Home-base for the Yucatan

What cenotes and/or ruins have you visited in Mexico that you would recommend? Leave us a comment below!

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Travel

Playa Del Carmen: Home-base for the Yucatan

For a good balance of a beach vacation and great activities, Playa del Carmen is a great place to base yourself to explore the Yucatan. We stayed for a week in a small bed and breakfast in the Playacar area. We were walking distance from the main beach and tourist area full of shops and restaurants. We were also only a short walk from a beach which was less crowded and quieter than the Playa del Carmen public beach.

The bed and breakfast offered a rooftop pool and a backyard pool. We spent several evenings on the rooftop by the pool and were the only guests up there. The host did not speak English but did try to be as helpful as possible. Breakfast included eggs, fruit, and yogurt as well as coffee and fruit juices each morning. This was not a luxury bed and breakfast but it was affordable and the location was great. We would recommend Bed and Breakfast Buen Dia Playa if you are planning to stay in the area.

From Playa del Carmen you can easily get to the city of Tulum and the Tulum ruins, Cancun, Akumal, take the ferry to Cozumel, and many other locations up and down the Yucatan coast. We did not get to all of these areas on this trip.  We did get to the Tulum ruins and also did a day-long tour that included swimming in a cenote and exploring a Mayan ruin site – Ek Balam. Playa del Carmen itself also has lots to offer so we spent several days there enjoying the beach and the food. Playa del Carmen is about an hour south of Cancun, we flew in and out of Cancun so the last day we traveled back to Cancun and spent the day there so we were closer to the airport to catch an early morning flight back home.

For getting around in the area, you can take the ADO bus to/from Cancun/Playa del Carmen. The bus is very affordable, air-conditioned, and comfortable. We used it and would recommend it to anyone traveling in the area.

Taking a Colectivo is also a good, cheap option for getting between cities in the area. These are white vans which you can take for a small fee. They depart from the pick-up point as soon as they are full. There are several specific pick-up/drop-off points in Playa del Carmen. They fill the van with as many people as they can so prepare to be sitting very close during the ride. The vans are full of local people going to/from work as well as other tourists. There is a drop-off point right at the Tulum ruins so we took a colectivo from downtown Playa straight to the ruins and then back when we were done exploring for the day. They run very frequently so you shouldn’t have to wait long for the next available ride.

Things to do in Playa del Carmen: Our time in Playa was focused on the beach and the food!

The Beach

The public beach is lined with small restaurants serving cheap food and beer with a view of the beach. We ate at several of these small places during our stay. We had some delicious ceviche and tacos for lunch without ever having to leave the beach. Señor Frogs- super touristy and we would not recommend eating here but, it is located right next to the pier where the ferry boats leave from to head over to Cozumel. We did stop for a beer on our way back to our bed and breakfast several nights. The location offers tables right next to the water and you can watch the ferry’s come and go. For the location and view it’s worth a stop for a beer or two on the beach.

The Tequila 

While wandering through the shopping area we were persuaded to stop in and do a tequila tasting. This is definitely a touristy place but prices are negotiable so don’t just pay what they initially offer as the price. We knew there would be pressure to purchase a bottle but we wanted to try to find some tequila that we wouldn’t be able to buy back home so we figured we would go in. We got to try several different bottles and were shown a lot of small-batch tequilas we definitely won’t find at home. We ended up buying a bottle that was aged in cherry wood giving it a very different flavor than you typically get in tequila. If you are willing to spend money on a bottle this store does have a good selection and there are several of these stores in the main shopping/tourist area by the beach so you don’t have to go far to find one.

Alux Cave Restaurant 

This restaurant in downtown Playa away from the main tourist/beach area. It is in a cave which was something we had never experienced so we decided to go. This is a nicer restaurant, it was still cheaper than a night out in the U.S but was by far the most expensive meal we ate in Mexico. We would recommend this restaurant for a nice dinner while in Playa, the food was great and it’s a nice atmosphere. The restaurant is quite large, there were lots of other people there the evening we went but also there was a rather empty portion of the restaurant which we wandered through to get more views of the cave before heading out. We would recommend taking a taxi to/from the tourist/beach area to this restaurant as it is a long walk.

El Fogon – Best tacos in Playa del Carmen

We had read from several different travel blogs and reviews online that El Fogon had the best tacos al pastor in Playa del Carmen. Ryan had traveled to Mexico for work many times before we took this trip but I had never been to Mexico and had never had real tacos al pastor. We had tried to recreate these tacos at home many times before and each time they were really good but Ryan assured me that they were not really a pastor. So needless to say tacos al pastor was really hyped up in my mind before we even left for Mexico. We walked to El Fogon one afternoon and it did not disappoint! The restaurant is nothing fancy at all, it has bugs bunny and tweety bird panted and the wall along with some other old cartoons and basic tables with plastic chairs but the food is amazing! You can see the pastor being rotated on the vertical spit and everything else cooking on the grill as you eat your food. The food is also super cheap, we each had two beers, we had multiple tacos and a gringa and the total bill was about $14. Definitely worth a stop or two while you’re in Playa.

La Coronela Restaurant

As we wandered around Playa in the main tourist/beach area full of shops and restaurants we stumbled upon this very small, family-run restaurant. Nobody was standing outside trying to get us to come in and eat, which most of the restaurants in the area will do. This place was amazing, everything was delicious and all homemade. We actually loved it so much we ate there twice during the week we were there. We would recommend the pastor style fish. We did enjoy the coconut shrimp but they were a bit sweeter then we expected.

We spent about 3 days of our trip just relaxing and exploring around Playa del Carmen. The rest of our trip we spent exploring further out in the Yucatan. As we said Playa del Carmen is a great place to base yourself as you are not that far from a lot of other activities/cities. Other things we did on the trip include; the Tulum ruins and snorkeling, swimming in a cenote, and exploring the Mayan ruin site of Ek Balam, and spending our final day in Cancun before flying back to the US.

24 Hours in Cancun

Due to our early morning flight, the last day of our trip we headed to Cancun. We stayed in a small apartment downtown. We took the local bus to the hotel zone which is along the beach where all the resorts are. There is public beach access so even if you aren’t staying at one of the resorts you can still enjoy the beach. The restaurants and shops in this area are very touristy. We were starving and did end up grabbing a quick lunch in this area. The food was okay but overpriced and nothing tasted authentic. We would recommend eating in downtown Cancun then just spending time in the hotel zone if you are looking to enjoy the beach. Our host recommended an Argentine restaurant (Restaurante San Temo Argentino) that had recently opened up just down the street. We walked there for dinner and would highly recommend it. You can see them grilling all the various cuts of meat from all the tables in this small restaurant.

We really enjoyed our time in Playa del Carmen itself and the surrounding area of the Yucatan. We found Playa del Carmen to be a great central location to stay while you explore the region. Links to Yucatan day trips:

Tell us your favorite places in the Yucatan, leave us a comment below!

Categories
Food Travel

Hidden Gem Near Cancun: Fish Market Mar-Bella Raw Bar Grill

This restaurant was highly recommended to us by the host at our apartment on the last night of our trip.  We didn’t make it to this restaurant that night since we decided to go somewhere within walking distance and this was a little further away. But when we went back to the Cancun area for Ryan’s brother’s wedding we were determined to leave the resort and find this place.

The resort staff actually tried to talk us into another restaurant, but we insisted this was where we wanted to go and we were not disappointed. You walk into what looks like basically a convenience store and you would not know that there was a restaurant if you didn’t know to look for it. You walk up a small spiral staircase and once you are upstairs there is a small seafood counter to the left and the restaurant to the right.

The restaurant is right on the water so you see the beach and the small fishing boats as you eat. You order from the list of all the fresh seafood at the counter. Items can be cooked in a variety of ways. Fish is on order by the kilo.  The server can tell you the different ways they can cook everything and offer recommendations.

We were lucky enough to find a waiter who did speak English well and could help us out. Spanish would have helped with the majority of the staff there. We had a group of 5 of us so we ordered a ceviche, a whole fish, grilled and served with risotto and veggies on the side. We also tried a few chocolate clams: a few of us had them raw with a squeeze of lime juice and the others tried them grilled in a butter sauce. Everything was delicious and very fresh. We would highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the Cancun area.

You can visit their website for more information: http://www.mar-bella.com.mx/en/

What are you favorite restaurants near Cancun? Leave us a comment below!

Categories
Travel Wine

A Morning in Parras, and Wine Tasting at Don Leo

The Mexican winery that got the most praise in our internet research was Don Leo – which is about one hour from Parras de la Fuente. It is situated 7000 feet above sea level in its own small valley. Saturday morning we woke up, took a very cold shower (no heat!), and did a quick yoga. We then went into town to see about some breakfast – I had found a gordita place on TripAdvisor, but we were not able to locate it. We did get some gas at the Pemex since we were just under a half tank and the stations are sparse in the desert. After refueling, we continued our search for breakfast, which ended up at Casa Vieja, which was a small family-run restaurant that served some really good Cafe de Olla and huevos divorciados along with some elephant ear-like glazed tortillas. The eggs were great, and both the red and green salsas were very good. After breakfast, we decided to head up to Iglesia de Santo Madero. The curvy path we took was a bit sketchy and precarious, Siri wanted us to go up a steep road that our trusty Nissan March was terrified of (so was Erika). We finally got up to where the walk to the church starts and took a few pictures. The hike up to the church is a pretty wide brick path width steps on one side. You spiral your way around the church on the way up and there are a few benches along the way to take a rest or picture on the way. Where the path ends, steps start to the top of the hill. You can take the path on the left, which is made up of really steep stone steps, or the right, which has more gradual and consistent steps. We took the left route up, and on the way you up there is a short tunnel you walk through with a few places to light candles under a crucifix on either side. Once at the top, you have a great view of Parras below and are up at the small chapel. We took a few pictures and headed back down. There were great views not only of the valley but the surrounding mountain range that Parras is in the foothills of.

After the quick trip to the church, we headed back into town and got some cash before departing for Don Leo. We ended up stumbling upon a more lively market in a square near Las Parras De Santa Maria (restaurant) with a lot of cool stuff. We tried and bought some whiskey cream, but they also had Pecan cream liqueur that was good. They had a lot of wine-themed accessories and decorations. We knew we would be really early, but our map said it was an hour’s drive from our hotel so we didn’t want to take any chances. We were initially under the impression that Don Leo was in the Parras region, and while it technically might be, it is completely different. From Parras, it is about a 45-minute drive closer to Saltillo (but not taking the toll road). Then after a really scenic drive through orchards, desert, eroded river beds, and Don Leo signs meant to encourage you that you are on the right road, you reach the entrance sign for Don Leo. Picture driving through the desert without having seen a building for 25 miles and turning right on a dirt road that leads up the mountain – it was a nice looking sign that told us we were at least on the right path.

It was another 10 km or something up the mountain on this dirt road climbing roughly 2k feet of elevation to be at the roughly 7k ft of elevation Don Leo says they are located. Since we were about 45 minutes early we took the ride really slowly and took a bunch of pictures – it is a really pretty ride up, which ends up in a huge clearing in a high valley that resembles a bowl surrounded by mountains. In the middle, there is a massive field of cattle grazing on grass. In the distance there at other crops that are difficult to distinguish from the distance. You finally veer to the right to end up at the winery with the vineyard surrounding it. It was by far the most refined place we visited. We parked and found our way to the reception desk where we gave them the reservation names and paid. We were lucky that a nice English speaking gentleman that worked there caught our poor Spanish and showed us around for a few minutes since we were waiting. We walked around on the balcony and took in the views, which were great! When it got closer to our tour time, we went back to the reception desk where they corralled us onto a trailer for a vineyard tour. As I had expected, the tour was in Spanish (our communication in setting up the reservation made it sound like there was a chance at English) which wasn’t a huge deal: I can understand a fair bit and we have been to enough wineries to know what they are doing. We just missed some of the specifics of what made Don Leo unique. What I did gather is that they are a bit unique to the other Mexican wineries in that they are situated at a higher elevation. This allows them to grow grapes the others would not, such as Pinot Noir, Semillon, and others. When we got back to the winery after a trip around the vineyard, we unloaded and descended the steps ok to the barrel room – as with any winery, this is usually the highlight that most people get excited about and this one did not disappoint. It actually reminded me of a larger Loma Larga (Chile)- with backlit “Don Leo” signs in an otherwise dark room, all the barrels in neat rows, and ready for the pictures. From the barrels, I saw they used American, European (Hungary), and I heard our guide say French barrels (I didn’t see any though). There was also another tour going through their tasting in the barrel room, so it was a bit difficult to understand him. We then went into the winery – very modern and clean in comparison to the old Casa Madero winery we had seen the day before. He then proceeded to talk through the entire winemaking process from grapes to crushing/destemming to fermentation, pressing, and fining. Well, I am assuming so – my winemaking Spanish vocabulary could be a bit better, but he was very thorough in his explanation.

After another 15-20 minutes we had finally sat around a big table for the tasting (this was about an hour and 20 minutes in and we were getting restless). We sat down to a cheese and meat platter, with three tastings coming up. He then went into the tasting process (See/Swirl/Smell/Sip/Savor) as we stared longingly at our wine glasses hoping for permission to taste. The actual tasting, food pairings, and wine were all very good. We ended up liking the Cab/Syrah the best of the wines we tasted. There was also a Zinfandel rose (thankfully it was dry), and Merlot – which was good, but not as full-bodied after having the Cab/Syrah (I probably would have structured the Merlot before the Cab/Syrah). After the tasting, some of the group went upstairs to have a meal paired with wine, but we didn’t opt for that and just bought a bottle of Syrah, which we hadn’t tried, and started our journey back to Saltillo.

-Overall impression of Don Leo was that they were putting in a lot of effort to educate the people on wine: what it is, what the process is, how to taste it, etc. The guide at Rivero Gonzales had mentioned that they are trying to create more of a wine culture in Mexico since right now people view it more as a mixer (sweet reds, sangria, etc.). In that regard, I think Don Leo is doing a good job on the education side. I would say that the tour, while educational was a bit drawn out – two hours total for a tour and tasting of three wines is a long time. I think a solid hour could have kept people a bit more interested. To be fair, I was listening in a second language that isn’t super strong in an echoey loud room and I was just tired of trying to listen. The winery, vineyard, and surroundings are all really nice, and the wine was quite good.

– Tour- 7/10 English would have been nice, but more points were deducted because it was a bit longer than I thought it needed to be.

– Tasting 8/10 – He did a nice job of walking through the tasting process, the wines were all good, and the pairings were actually really good. For an almost 35 minute tasting, I probably would have preferred 4 or 5 wines (or cut the time down a bit) we talked about the wine sitting in the glass in front of us for 15 minutes before our first taste. The group was probably also about 25 people, which was part of the reason it took so long and made it much less personal. Ideal for this style of tour/taste would have probably been 10-12

– Wines – 8/10 All of the wines we tried were solid, nothing blew my socks off though. That being said, I would have liked to try their premium bottle – which I am guessing received first-use oak and better concentration. We probably also would have bought a bottle of it if we had.

– Winery/Vineyard – 9/10 it is an impressive place. Not a large scale operation, but the whole experience of the drive into the winery itself is on par with some of the better wineries we have been to. The view itself is worth the drive.

After we worked our way out of the Don Leo estate, we took the long backroad to Saltillo since it doesn’t make sense to backtrack to Parras to take the toll road. You are basically crossing the Coahuila Desert and you won’t see many cars, have any cell service, or see a gas station so make sure you are prepared (I preloaded a map before departing Parras). It is a really scenic route though and if you aren’t in too much of a hurry, plan to stop to take pictures.

Here are the links to our other posts about more wine tasting in this area of Mexico:

Rivero Gonzalez Wine Tasting

The Oldest Winery in North America

You can visit Don Leo’s website here: https://www.vinosdonleo.com/home/

What countries have you wine tasted in? Where would you recommend? Leave us a comment below!