Mexican Sparkling Wine

Exploring the South American Sparkling Wine world will have you travelling to Mexico, a country with a wine history starting with the Spanish in the 16th century, Spaniards brought vines with them from Europe and the knowledge of Winemaking.

Mexico was a country that had its own indigenous grapes growing before the Spanish, but there is no evidence that anyone used them to create wine.

Mexican Wine took a big hit in 1699 when King Charles II of Spain prohibited Mexico from making Wine unless it was for Church Purposes. It wasn’t until Mexico’s Independence in 1821 that they started making Wine on a larger scale again.

Mexico has over 400 wineries and 35,900 ha. (88,700 acres) of vineyards, but only 8,600 ha (21,251 acres) are used for the production of wine.

There are 14 wine regions in Mexico to explore:

• Baja California
• Valle de Guadalupe
• Valle de Parras
• Querétaro
• Aguascalientes
• Ensenada
• Northern Baja
• Sonora
• Durango
• Coahuila
• Zacatecas

Baja California is the largest and most well known wine region in Mexico, producing around 90% of the country’s wine. The Valle de Guadalupe, located in the northern part of Baja California, is considered the epicentre of Mexico’s wine industry. The region’s unique Mediterranean climate, with hot days and cool nights, sets the ideal tone for growing grapes for sparkling wines, especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Located in northern Mexico, the region of Coahuila is also gaining recognition for its winemaking potential, alongside the likes of Querétaro, which is situated in central Mexico, with many of the region’s producers experimenting with organic and biodynamic farming.

Some of the grapes grown in Mexico:

• Chenin Blanc
• Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Viognier
• Grenache
• Tempranillo
• Dolcetto
• Syrah
• Petite Sirah

The United States is currently the largest importer of Mexican sparkling wine, with Canada, the United Kingdom, and certain European countries taking further interest in the market.

Mexico is an emerging market for Sparkling Wines, with their domestic population embracing a glass of bubbly as part of their celebrations, catching up with the brand image that Champagne has across the Western world.

Image Credit for the Mexican Flag goes to Chickenonline on Pixabay