Cava Maciel

The house

Editorial review · reviewed on October 11, 2026

In 2000, Jorge Maciel made his first wines in the garage of his parents' house in Ensenada. A 1993 trip to Italy, which the house says changed his life, set him on the path. What began as a hobby became a trade, and in 2005 he put his wines on sale. More than two decades of work lie between that garage and today's winery.

Maciel is still the owner and winemaker. His winery is in San Antonio de las Minas, at the entrance to Guadalupe Valley (Valle de Guadalupe), and his labels carry names from the sky: Venus, Órbita, Apogeo, Alba, Vino de Luna. Most of his reds are single-variety, so each grape speaks for itself. It is a winery with one author, and every label has come from the same hands for more than twenty years.

The range covers a good part of what the valley grows: Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of Tempranillo and Syrah, a barrel-aged Chardonnay, and Grenache rosés, one of them a sparkling wine made in the ancestral method.

On weekends, by reservation, Maciel himself leads tastings straight from the barrel. In a private room next to the barrel room you can try vintages from his collection going back to 2011, with a board of cheeses and cured meats, for groups of up to ten. The house has a terrace and a small shop.