A leisurely visit to the El Cielo ecotourism development, in the Guadalupe ValleyIt is a paradisiacal experience that you should try to live as soon as possible.
How was El Cielo formed?
The El Cielo project began in 2013 when Gustavo Ortega Joaquín and his wife, Daly Negrón, decided to make their dream of creating a comprehensive ecotourism space in a vineyard come true, which would include a winery, restaurant, organic garden and other high-standard environments to satisfy the most demanding customers.
The idea had germinated when the couple, based on the island of Cozumel, took a trip through the Loire Valley, France, and were struck by the experience of a boutique hotel in the middle of a beautiful vineyard.
The next step was to make a reconnaissance trip through the Guadalupe Valley, the quintessential wine region of Mexico.
Daly and Gustavo were impressed by the beauty, the climate, the wines and the cuisine of the valley and everything was launched; Gustavo would leave politics and Daly would retire from an airline, to leave for Baja California with the illusion of two modern pioneers.
Along the way, José Luis Martínez and his wife, Lolita López Lira, joined the society, and currently the two couples are the soul of El Cielo.
They began buying grapes, while their own vineyard reached adulthood, and they built their vinification facilities, while incorporating the experienced local winemaker Jesús Rivera into the project. They opted for a strategy of favoring the quality of the wine over volume and the results are in sight.
What are the great attractions of El Cielo?
Currently, El Cielo is an ecotourism project under development, which has a vineyard, winery, restaurant, boutique, cafeteria and wine club, with the missing piece being planned to round off the fantastic initial dream of its promoters: the boutique hotel.
The vineyard soil is clayey and silty, suitable for high-quality grapes and the water used is low in salts, which ensures the health and vigor of the 85,000 vines planted in an area of 29 hectares.
The vineyard has up to 12 varietals, which gives the winery great flexibility for the production of a wide range of wines and for experimentation with new products.
Alongside the classic varietals, such as Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Tempranillo, Zinfandel and Grenache, there are other more "modern" varieties, such as Syrah, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.
Taking advantage of the Mediterranean climate of the terroir, there is also a plantation of 700 olive trees, which coexist fraternally with the vines and with the organic horticultural, floral and fruit plants.
Chillies, cabbages, aromatic herbs, celery, lettuce, figs and citrus fruits are harvested in the orchard that supply the restaurant.
The winery was conceived in a totally environmentally friendly way, with tiled roofs, thermally insulated roof and walls, and ecological lighting with automatic on / off control.
This environmental conception and performance earned El Cielo being awarded first place in 2015 as an Eco Responsible Company of Ensenada.
El Cielo does gravity vinification and has high-tech equipment for selection and pressing, as well as 12 stainless steel fermentation tanks imported from Spain. The barrels are made of fine French and American oak.
What are El Cielo's wine lines?
The winery produces three lines of wines named in accordance with the name of the winery: Astrónomos, Constelaciones and Astros.
The Astronomers line is made of classic wines and its main labels are named after eminent figures of classical astronomy, such as Copernicus, Kepler, Halley, Galileo and Hubble.
The Constellations line is accredited by great names in mythology taken to name the spaces of the sky, such as Cassiopeia, Orion and Perseus. This line is of modern style wines, with creative blends.
The Astros line is young wines, with fresh and lively fruit flavors, with the Stella and Eclipse labels.
How are El Cielo's wines in terms of prices?
Based on the sale prices to date in the Las Nubes boutique, we can divide their wines into three categories: those of low prices, those of intermediate prices and the best wines and vintages, which have a higher price.
The former are priced at $ 260 and include the Eclipse and Stella (red), and Halley (white) labels. The Eclipse is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Nebbiol, and resides for 12 months in French oak barrels.
The Stella, made with a mixture of 60% Grenache and 40% Nebbiolo, is a wine that is distinguished by its freshness and freshness.
Edmund Halley, the first astronomer to predict the return of a comet on an exact date, back in the 18th century, is honored at El Cielo with the white wine that bears his name.
Halley is made with 100% Chardonnay and is a fresh wine, with balanced acidity, with a fruity aroma and well-integrated alcohol. It was recognized by the Mexican Wine Guide.
What are the best intermediate price wines?
Included in this category are wines marked at $ 380 in the winery's boutique. Here enter the labels Copernicus, Galileo, Hubble and Kepler, "red astronomers" and Capricornius and Cassiopea, "white constellations"
The Copernicus comes from a 60/40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; the Galileo is 100% Tempranillo, the Hubble is 100% Merlot and the Kepler is Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wine that honors the astronomer who dared to affirm that the center of the known universe in the 16th century was the Sun and not the Earth, is made with a usual blend in Bordeaux, but with the charm of the Guadalupana grape. Copernicus is a full-bodied broth, with a long finish and balanced acidity.
The astronomer who was subjected to the most famous judicial process in the history of science gives his name to a red wine from El Cielo that is full, intense and sweet and ripe tannins. Galileo is an almost black broth, which leaves aromas of vanilla, fennel and chocolate on the nose.
Edwin Hubble was the man who discovered that the universe was not only made up of the Milky Way and that there were other galaxies beyond our own. Its El Cielo label identifies an aromatic wine with black and dark fruits, medium body and velvety tannins.
Johannes Kepler, the German who revolutionized astronomy in the seventeenth century with his laws on the movements of the planets, has also been present at El Cielo with an intense, elegant wine with expressive tannins.
One of El Cielo's whites at $ 380 is Capricornius, a 100% Chardonnay wine with a portentous body, which offers to the nose aromas of toast and caramel, ripe pineapple, orange, tropical fruits and fennel. Capricornius is a fresh, substantial nectar with balanced acidity.
The other intermediate-priced white ($ 380) that El Cielo produces is Cassiopea, a wine with a cold maceration process, which is fresh, cheerful and pleasant.
What are the highest quality wines from El Cielo?
In the Constellations line are the red Orion and Perseus, the first with a price of $ 690 and the second of $ 780.
The wine known as the mythological giant that was raised to the skies by Zeus, giving its name to the best-known constellation in the sky, is controlled from the vine, limiting the number of clusters of Tempranillo grapes per plant.
The Orión is manufactured with a mixture of 75% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache and 5% Merlot, and another of the virtues of the combination is that the Grenaches come from vineyards that are 50 years old.
Orión wine is round, powerful, well structured and with intense moods. It feels slightly sweet on the attack and its tannins are ripe and consistent. It has a measured acidity and its finish is long, with notes of mocha, toasted coffee, thyme and liquorice.
The red that recalls the son of Zeus who cut off the head of the Medusa arises from a process of selection of grapes of maximum rigor and resides for 24 months in new French oak barrels.
The Perseus is made with 70% Nebbiolo and 30% Sangiovese, enhancing its elegant fruity personality with this grape.
The mass of ripe tannins in the Perseus red wine gives it a solid structure, on which aromas of toast from the barrel are perceived, as well as berries, chocolate and smoke.
The highest representative of the El Cielo winery is Sirius, a high-end wine priced at $ 1,140, named as the brightest star in the sky.
Sirius originates from 90% Nebbiolo and 10% Malbec, and spends 22 months in barrels and 20 months in bottle. Its strict fruit selection process begins with the bunch harvested manually and continues with the grain, discarding those with the slightest defect.
The period of cold maceration and controlled fermentation with skins takes 27 days, before the wine enters the best new French oak barrels.
The color of the Sirius is a deep cherry red, also providing violet hues. It is clean, bright and with a high robe.
It leaves on the nose red and black fruits such as blackberries, prunes and blackberries, with hints of black pepper, cloves and tobacco. On the palate it is fine, full-bodied, with a long finish and an excellent balance of acidity, tannins and alcohol.
For a Sirius bottle you have to choose the best cuts of red meat, the best game and the highest quality aged cheeses. Its $ 1,140 price tag is well worth it.
What is El Cielo's restaurant like?
The CV of Marco Marín, the chef from Veracruz who runs the kitchens of Latitud 32, El Cielo's restaurant, already indicates that the cuisine of the place cannot be anything other than exclusive and delicious.
Marín began bringing heat to his family's restaurants in Coatzacoalcos, the city of Veracruz that invented the taminilla, the tasty tamale made with shredded and stewed fish.
After his "baptism of fire" on the American side of the Atlantic, the coatzalqueño spent a season in Europe, where in Denmark he was part of the NOMA team, a restaurant that for three consecutive years topped the prestigious San Pellegrino list as the best in the world.
Marín also worked at Botafumeiro, the distinguished seafood restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, and in Mexico he passed through the Meridian houses Nectar and Almíbar, where he obtained experiences in Yucatecan food that allowed him to make the original Baja-Yucatan Fusion that he practices. at Latitude 32.
Lettuces, aromatic herbs and other vegetables and greens only have to travel a few dozen meters to get from the plants in the garden of El Cielo to the kitchen and tables of Latitud 32.
The steaks and Rib Eye with Certified Angus Beef, accompanied by a salad of fresh lettuce and tomatoes from the garden and a good wine from the winery, guarantee an unforgettable gastronomic experience in El Cielo.
The restaurant has an upper terrace that is an ideal place to dine sheltered by the beautiful Baja California night sky, admiring the silhouette of the El Cielo vineyards. Latitud 32 accepts orders for up to 150 people, so you can hold your birthday party, business lunch and other celebrations there.
Apart from the wines, what else does the El Cielo boutique offer?
El Cielo's boutique is elegant and welcoming, turning a shopping visit into a pleasant experience for the senses.
Apart from the entire range of wines at the best prices, in the boutique you can buy tools and accessories to handle and serve them properly, such as corkscrews in various models, glasses, anti-drip rings, decanters and bottle holders. Likewise, in the gourmet store you can buy delicacies such as cheeses, chocolates, olive oil, tapenades and salts.
The boutique also has a space reserved for Pineda Covalin, Mexican designers specialized in silk garments, who inspire their creations in pre-Hispanic Mexico.
Other charming environments in the boutique are dedicated to clothing and accessories with the El Cielo logo and regional crafts, in which the works of the Kumiai ethnic group stand out.
Ready to put your 5 senses in orbit in Heaven? Happy stay!
