2026 SUMMER WINE ROAD TRIP: Valle de Guadalupe

Join us for another incredible edu-tasting vacation June 1-5 as our annual summer wine trip returns! This time we're heading to the wine region of Valle de Guadalupe in Baja Mexico where we'll be exploring the the grapes, vineyards, wines and culinary delights of this up and coming wine region. We'll meet in San Diego and enjoy private transportation across the border to arrive at the gorgeous El Cielo Winery and Resort located in the heart of the wine region where we'll indulge in pure luxury during our 5 day-4 night tour.

Activities & Itinerary

Co-Owners Kristin Campbell, CWAS and Master Sommelier David Glancy will lead our intimate, private group.   We'll enjoy a number of edu-taining activities together including welcome reception, Valle De Guadalupe regional overview and seated tasting, VIP vineyard and winery tours and tastings, private group lunches and dinners, and transportation.   You'll have the option to take advantage of our preferred resort rates and extend your stay in either Valle de Guadalupe or San Diego to give yourself some free time to relax and choose your own adventure.  View Draft Itinerary

Registration Fees include:

• round transportation between San Diego's Sheraton Marina & El Cielo Resort
• admission to the regional trade seminar
• all tastings & tours
• all group meals (they're an exquisite culinary adventure!)
• transportation around Valle de Guadalupe
  

Host and Activity Fees do not include lodging. 

To keep our experiences intimate and allow access into smaller wineries, we limit this private group trip to only 30 guests.  

Lodging

Group rates are available at El Cielo and include full breakfast at Polaris Restaurant daily, room and breakfast taxes, and service. Need a roommate?  Contact us

RATES PER NIGHT, PER SUITE
Junior Suites 
$384.19 single occupancy
$419.19 double occupancy w/ 1 king or 2 queens

Master Suites
$719.19 single occupancy
$746.19 double occupancy w/ 1 king or 2 queens

Additional guests up to 4 for total per room
$90.64 per guest 

Reservations may be made by phone at 52 (55) 5327 7777 or by emailing hotelesreservaciones@grupopresidente.com. Make sure to tell them you're attending San Francisco Wine School´s Group in order to book special rates.

Tour arrives and departs at Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.  Reservations may be made one their website or by phone at +1 619-291-2900.  

About the El Cielo Resort

El Cielo Resort in Valle de Quadalupe is a dream among the vineyards.  This Boutique Hotel is strategically located on the famous "Wine Route" of Ensenada, Baja California, surrounded by beautiful vineyards and mountains that create harmony with the landscape and nature.  Their Tuscan-Californian design offers a free and relaxed atmosphere, where you can enjoy beautiful views, spectacular sunsets and picturesque landscapes.

About Valle de Guadalupe and How This Trip Came to Be

By Master Sommelier David Glancy

In July 2016 Kristin and I took a magical, spiritual, wine & food journey through Mexico's Valle de Guadalupe. Prior to this I had heard of and tasted a few Baja Nebbiolos and they were interesting but not motivating me to visit. When we heard about the food scene from colleagues in San Diego we started packing.

Some quick background is that wine has been made in Mexico longer than in California but the Valle de Guadalupe has grown from a handful of wineries in 1989 to over 100 today. The most common wines you will find are from Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, but one winery, Casa Magoni (where we'll be touring with the founder), is experimenting with 120 different grape varieties as the region searches for their wine identity. There is experimentation with single variety and unusual blends of various warm climate grapes from France, Italy, and Spain, including Barbera, Tempranillo, Syrah, Zinfandel, Vermentino and more. There are also a few wineries making dry white wines from the Mission grape. Nebbiolo here is different from Piemonte Italy and numerous theories about its true DNA range from it actually being Lambrusco or Dolcetto, to it being a cross of Nebbiolo and Piedirosso. Regardless, the wines from Baja Nebbiolo are darker with less acid and tannin than those of Barolo and Barbaresco. The wines have salinity from the heat drenched soils and having the Pacific and Sea of Cortez on each side of the Baja Peninsula.

The architecture and creative hospitality of the restaurants, wineries, & hotels are even more interesting. We visited a winery and restaurant made entirely from recycled boat parts, looked up at a dozen yurts scattered along the steep slopes above a winery, and sipped wine sitting on benches in the top of a large oak vat in the middle of a vineyard. And every restaurant it seems is more than half outside seating with farm-to-table embraced here more than anywhere we've traveled. The quality and diversity of the food was spectacular. Even entering restaurants we saw a brigade of culinary school jackets from around the world and heard of this Michelin-starred chef or that who decided to open a restaurant here similar to the explosion of destination dining in Las Vegas.

I was so impressed that I still place Valle de Guadalupe as one of my top 5 food & wine destinations on the planet along with Verona Italy, Alto Adige Italy, Barcelona, New York City, and Napa-San Francisco. But VdG's playfulness and passion has mi corazón!  We returned with a small group of students in 2023 and it did not disappoint.  View Our 2023 Trip Slideshow.  The growth of the wine industry and continued cullinary innovation has us excited to return in 2026!  We hope you'll join us!