Vinitech Innovation Tour Mexico from July 2 to 9, 2022 in Guanajuato and Baja California

At first glance, Mexico may not be known for its wine production, but vines have been cultivated in the country for decades, and the oldest vineyards on the American continent are to be found here. The eight companies in the Vinitech Innovation Tour delegation: Pépinières du Vieux Puit, Wax&Grafts, Lamouroux, Onafis, EtOh, Overdrive and Clairéo, and the Director of Viticulture and Oenology at the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture (Laurent Bernos) were able to discover two wine-producing states: Guanajuato and Baja California. Participants were accompanied by the Interco and Inno’vin teams.

In the regions of San Miguel de Allende (Guanajuato) and Ensenada (Baja California), technical visits, conferences, B2B meetings and networkings were organized to enable the delegation to meet the key players in the local ecosystems. The two regions present two different realities: in Guanajuato, the industry is concentrated around thirty or so bodegas, but the number has doubled in 10 years. Indeed, many of the bodegas we visited had very recent infrastructures. Baja California, which accounts for 85% of Mexican wine production, has a structured industry that will host the OIV Congress in October 2022.

In the course of discussions in the vineyards, conference rooms and, very often, over a glass of wine, the theme of water management and irrigation (which is the norm there) came up in both regions, even if the concern is greater in Baja California. Improving wine quality was also a concern expressed by industry professionals, who are constantly seeking to improve and innovate. Wine tourism is at the heart of the wineries’ development strategy, and all the bodegas we visited offer top-of-the-range wine tourism services to visitors.

Whether in Guanajuato or Baja California, the industry is dynamic and full of development projects, and we look forward to seeing you at Vinitech-Sifel 2022 to consolidate the links we’ve established.