Baja California has become a tourism attraction for wine connoisseurs. It is home to more than three dozen wineries and this is the time a year known as crush season when grapes our quest for a year supply of wine. Joining me to talk about the popularity of Baja wines is the owner of the winery Fernando Perez Castro . Welcome. Thank you for having me. Also is Fernando Gaxiola . Here's the owner of the largest importer of how wine, Baja Food + Wine. Welcome. Thank you so much. Fernando Perez Castro , -- We are just kind of figuring that out. I would think there is a lot of varieties that behave very well and I would say several wines but we don't have a signature. Maybe we are not looking for. Because it is more oriented in terms of the style of wine. We haven't bought that -- work that much with the in order for me to say it is Cabernet or Merlot. Right now what is happening in terms of the styles of wine or what kind of wine are we making its more about the plans then be one Friday. Tell us about crush season. A lot of things happen. It is a part of the year that is the busiest for us. The harvest season is where we have to make a lot of decisions and a lot of crucial elements that have to do with the winemaking process to take place during that stage of the year. We are basically making decisions in order to choose the right date for us to cut the fruit from the vine. The time when we receive the grapes on the winery and we have to kind of sort out what kind of process do we have to implement for each variety. It is when the fermentation takes place so it is a lot of things happening in a short. Time. It is very busy and a lot of hard work but this is very fun. Fernando Gaxiola, we maybe 20 minutes for the border but I understand that getting Baja wines into the West has been a major obstacle. Not any more. The wine maybe three or for years ago they were difficult to find in the U.S. maybe three or for years ago they were difficult to find in the U.S. Today we have over 50 restaurants just in San Diego were you can find them and there is wine stores and even supermarkets like Whole Foods carry our wines. So bringing across the board he is -- border is very simple. There are more international wines than anywhere else. It is not really an issue. I guess the issue for Baja wines was the pricing. Because most of these wines come from family-owned wineries in the volumes are very small. The cost of production is higher bringing the wind across the border with the three-tiered system in the U.S. once landed at a price that was very -- not very competitive. I would said that is the issue. So why are wine tastings so important for Mexican wines? I believe that this applies for anything. You want to try things before you buy them so wines from Valle De Guadalupe is different. The wines from Mexico have a different flavors of different profiles and some people might like them and some people -- Are people hesitant to taste Mexican wine? Less and less. When I first started doing tastings they were curious. They did not know anything about Mexican wines and they were just interested in trying them. Today we have a lot of people that are looking for them. So things change in the last three or for years because of quality wise. Producers are doing something really exceptional have crossed the border in the last three or for years. I would think they are very interested in trying. There's certainly is a low expectations. Fernando Perez Castro you are participating in a special of that. What can people expect? They will have great wine from Valle De Guadalupe and any questions that they have about Valle De Guadalupe it does not only a place were valuable wine is done but also a place that you can visit. More and more we have people from South Carolina for North -- South Carolina fight -- South turn -- Sal it will be like the ambassador. The winetasting is this Sunday. I have been speaking with Fernando Perez Castro owner of the winery and Fernando Gaxiola owner of Baja Food + Wine . Thank you both very much. Thank you. Still ahead Florida serves as a bizarre backdrop again in the latest Carl Hiaasen novel.
Baja California has become a tourist attraction for wine connoisseurs. But it hasn't been easy.
Baja's Valle De Guadalupe produces 90 percent of Mexico's wine, a fact that is all-but-unknown to many Californians who live north of the border.
The Los Angeles Times reported six months ago that Mexicans promoting Baja California wine were often met with the question, "Mexico produces wine?"
And those who are admirers of Mexican reds, whites and blends are often unable to find any bottles on this side of the border.
But that may be changing.
Javier Plascencia of the acclaimed restaurant Bracero in Little Italy has become an advocate for Baja wines.
San Diegans who wish to taste for themselves can do so Sunday, Sept. 18, when Fernando Perez Castro, owner of Lomita winery, leads a tasting of Baja wines and teaches attendees about fall's "crush season" at the Wine Pub in Point Loma.
Perez Castro joined Midday Edition Wednesday to talk about the Valle de Guadalupe and Mexican wine.
