Wine at 6,560 Feet (2,000 m): Why Elevation Is the Secret Advantage of Mexican Wine

In Trancoso, Zacatecas, the train at Vinícola Campo Real rolls slowly between rows of vines at about 7,550 ft (2,300 m) above sea level. At midday the sun of the high plateau beats straight down on the pale earth. When it leaves, it gives way to thin air that cools quickly. That swing between day and night is the reason high-altitude winemaking exists in Mexico, and it explains how vineyards south of the Tropic of Cancer can make fresh wines.

The logic is simple. Where there is too much heat, grapes ripen fast and lose acidity, and the wine comes out flat. In the valleys around Ensenada the cool comes from the Pacific. In the center and north of the country, it comes from the elevation. Every listing in our directory that notes an altitude in Querétaro, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes is above 5,250 ft (1,600 m).

01Why does altitude change the wine?

Mostly because of temperature. A scientific review published in the journal OENO One, which gathers studies of mountain vineyards from several countries, notes that the air cools between 1.2 and 1.8°F for every 330 ft of climb (0.65 to 1°C per 100 m). Do the math: at 6,560 ft (2,000 m), in theory, that is 23 to 36°F (13 to 20°C) cooler than at sea level at the same latitude.

What matters most to the grape is the distance between day and night, called the diurnal range. With the sun of the day, the plant makes sugar. With the cold of the night, the grape burns less of its acids and reaches harvest fresher. The same review finds that high-altitude grapes have more acidity and more aromatic compounds, and in the skin more anthocyanins and tannins, which are what give a red its color and texture.

The wineries tell it in their own words. Viñedos La Redonda describes its vineyard in Ezequiel Montes, at about 6,400 ft (1,950 m), with warm days and cold nights. Vinícola Santa Elena, in Pabellón de Arteaga, Aguascalientes, at about 6,070 ft (1,850 m), credits the character of its grapes to a sandy-clay soil and to temperatures that, according to the house, run from 93°F to 32°F (34°C to 0°C) over the year.

02Where are Mexico's high-altitude vineyards?

On the high plateau of the center and north. These are the altitudes noted by the listings in our directory:

• Querétaro. The listings for Querétaro wineries that give their altitude range from about 6,280 ft (1,915 m) in Tequisquiapan to 6,560 ft (2,000 m) in the Valle del Marqués.
• Guanajuato. The widest range: from about 5,910 ft (1,800 m) in San Felipe to 7,870 ft (2,400 m) in Sangre de Cristo, near the Cerro del Cubilete, among the Guanajuato wineries.
• Zacatecas. The four houses on the Zacatecas route run from 6,460 ft (1,970 m) in Luis Moya to about 7,550 ft (2,300 m) in Trancoso.
• San Luis Potosí. Somewhat lower, but still high: from 5,350 ft (1,630 m) in Moctezuma to 6,140 ft (1,870 m) next to the capital, among the San Luis Potosí wineries.
• And more. In Aguascalientes, from about 6,000 to 6,630 ft (1,830 to 2,020 m). In Coahuila, from about 3,940 ft (1,200 m) in San Buenaventura to 6,990 ft (2,130 m) in Arteaga. And in Hidalgo, 7,350 ft (2,240 m) in the Valle del Mezquital.

For comparison, the Baja California listings that give their altitude speak of 1,180 ft (360 m) in the upper part of Guadalupe Valley (Valle de Guadalupe) and 1,310 ft (400 m) in the Cañada de Guadalupe.

03Which are the highest vineyards in Mexico?

We did not find an official record of altitudes, so we answer with what we have: the directory listings that publish their own. On that list, the four highest are these:

1. Camino de Vinos, in Sangre de Cristo, Guanajuato: about 7,870 ft (2,400 m), in the ruins of a former mining-processing hacienda, about 5 miles (8 km) from the Cerro del Cubilete. Milenio presented it as the highest vineyard in Mexico.
2. Campo Real, in Trancoso, Zacatecas: about 7,550 ft (2,300 m) and 148 acres (60 hectares) of vineyard.
3. Viñedo El Refugio, in Nopala de Villagrán, Hidalgo: 7,350 ft (2,240 m), with two Argentine winemakers, Agostina Astegiano and Fabricio Hernández.
4. López Rosso Cavas, in the Valle de las Arsinas, Zacatecas: about 7,220 ft (2,200 m), with intense sun and a dry climate.

Behind them come four houses at around 6,890 ft (2,100 m), three in Coahuila and one in Zacatecas. Each winery declares its own altitude, and the list changes when we add listings.

04What do you notice in the glass between Guadalupe Valley and the high plateau?

The two regions solve the same problem, heat, by different roads. In Guadalupe Valley, at a few hundred meters of altitude, the Pacific breeze comes in the morning and cools the nights, though less and less: we cover it in what is happening with the climate in Guadalupe Valley. On the high plateau there is no sea. The cool comes from the height.

When you taste, look for an acidity that makes your mouth water, fruit that feels fresh and, in reds, deep color. Research associates those traits with altitude, but it is not a fixed rule: the vintage, the grape, the soil and the hand of the person making the wine weigh as much as the feet. What our guide to Mexican white wines says holds here too: where there is altitude or breeze, there is acidity.

Altitude also exacts its price. Lluís Raventós, winemaker at Finca Sala Vivé, describes his Querétaro zone as extreme viticulture: semi-desert, cold and dry winters and humid summers without much heat. That humid summer coincides with the harvest season of the Bajío, the highland region of central Mexico, which runs from August to October.

05Which grapes do well at altitude?

The listings repeat a few names: red grapes of Bordeaux and the Rhône, Malbec and aromatic whites.

• Malbec. Pozo de Luna, at 6,140 ft (1,870 m) next to the city of San Luis Potosí, won a Grand Gold at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2020 with its 2015 Malbec. In Colón, Querétaro, at about 6,400 ft (1,950 m), Viñedos Paso de Serra makes its Previo blend with 70% Malbec.
• Syrah. Pozo de Luna bottles it by plot, and López Rosso works it at about 7,220 ft (2,200 m).
• Cabernet and Merlot. Vinícola El Consuelo, at more than 6,890 ft (2,100 m) near Trancoso, brings Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot together in its Viento Negro. Campo Real's 2019 Merlot won gold at the China Wine & Spirits Awards Best Value 2023.
• Whites. López Rosso's Viognier won silver at the Mexican edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2019, and Santa Elena leans on Viognier and Chenin Blanc.

And there are surprises. In San Luis Potosí, Viña Cordelia has made a mistela (a sweet fortified wine style) from Rosa del Perú since 1948, a pink grape from the old tradition of the north, aged two years in barrel. At 5,350 ft (1,630 m), in Moctezuma, Cava Quintanilla made Nebbiolo of an Italian clone the thread running through its whole catalog, on land where tomatoes and chiles used to grow.

06How do you tour high-altitude wine in the Bajío in three days?

Querétaro and Guanajuato combine well on a long weekend. One proposal, from east to west:

1. Day 1, Querétaro. In the morning, La Redonda, in Ezequiel Montes: it is open every day and the visit is reserved by email at least one day ahead. In the afternoon, Paso de Serra, in the Valle de Colón, near Bernal, with a restaurant among the vines. Call ahead to confirm hours.
2. Day 2, San Miguel de Allende. Bodega Dos Búhos, between 6,230 and 6,560 ft (1,900 and 2,000 m) at the foot of Los Picachos: a tour of about two hours that ends with four wines, and a restaurant. It is open Wednesday through Sunday.
3. Day 3, the Guanajuato highlands. Head up to Camino de Vinos, at about 7,870 ft (2,400 m) in Sangre de Cristo, with tastings, vineyard tours, two restaurants and a 25-room hotel with a view of the vines and the Cristo Rey.

There are more options in the Guanajuato wine route and in the Querétaro vineyards guide. Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí call for another trip: Campo Real is toured by train or horse-drawn carriage, and Pozo de Luna sells its tours on its site, with prepayment.

Before you leave, pack a notebook. At each house, write down how high its vineyard sits, which grape you tried and what you noticed in the glass. By the third day you will have your own map of high-altitude wine.