Ansell Wine Tours Valle Experience

Our driver Ricardo arrived in a nice 4-door sedan. He had bottled water handy for us. He was a safe driver and shared interesting facts about the area. He took us to 4 wineries plus gave us a quick tour of a few spots in Ensenada for food/libations. w 1st Stop: Vinas de Frannes. What a beautiful site! It was a long, dusty road to get to the very modern wine tasting room with expansive outdoor deck overlooking the vineyard and mountains. They offer 3 wine tastings, “Cuator Vinos” $300 MEX; “Los Frannes” $400 MEX; “Legat Y Pater” $500 MEX. This winery is known for their Cabernet Franc. I opted for a glass of 2017 Cabernet Franc. Very good. I also had a glass of the 2014 Duz. I have a sweet tooth and this wine hit the spot. They also offer a good selection of food. 2nd Stop: Torres Alegres. This winery has a tasting room on the second floor of their building, which allowed for a “treetop” view of the vineyard. The wine tasting room is a modest-sized with a modern rustic charm. There was also an outdoor deck. Before we started our wine tasting, we were given a few olives and chucks of cheese, delicious! Their wines are organic, so sometimes the wines looked brownish and a bit murky, but good tasting. They offer 4 different wine tastings ranging from $300 MEX to $550 MEX. I opted for a glass of white wine, 2019 Del Viko Blanco (French Colombard/Chenin Blanc blend, $120 MEX) which was light and perfect for a hot day. I also ordered the “Tabla de Carnes Frias”, $450 MEX, and it was a delicious chartucherie board, filled with cold meats, olives and artisan breads. Yum! 3rd Stop: Paoloni (formerly Montefiori). Another beautiful setting with views of the vineyards and mountains in the background. They had a modest-sized indoor tasting room as well as a spacious outdoor deck seating area. They offer 3 different wine tastings, Premium $200 MEX; Super Premium $350 MEX; and Winemaker’s Suggestion $500 MEX. I opted for a glass of Nebbiolo de Guadalupe, $150 Mex, delicious. They offered a small but great selection of food including pasta dishes like duck-filled ravioli, green fettuccini with mushrooms and gorgonzola cheese, salmon and asparagus tagliatelle as well as Italian desserts. Most dishes ranged from $11 USD to $14 USD. 4th Stop: Vena Cava. Innovative use of recycled materials throughout this winery. Unfortunately we were there late in the day and it was so busy, we weren’t able to have an adequate wine tasting. Actually, I didn’t have any wine. I just checked out the place and it’s interesting use of materials…old boats were converted to roofs; wine bottle bottoms used to create a light-rayed door, water life saving rings as mirrors. There’s a food truck, “Troika” but we out of luck there too. But I hear the food is good. I’ll have to come back to try their wines.

I highly recommend Ansell Wine tours, they went above and beyond making sure we had a good time. We ran into a lot of issues the morning of the tour, making us push back the time. However, they were extremely flexible and understanding. Our tour guide, Ricardo, was also very helpful and understanding allowing us to enjoy the rest of the day.

Are they spent winetasting was amazing, Victor knew all the ins and outs of the area and exactly where to take us.

Overall great experience! Great communication leading up to the tour from the whole company. They planned the perfect mix of wineries/places to visit and took into account our needs/ideas as well when doing so. Victor, our driver, was right on time and we had the best day. Loved that the transport was private, everything was on our time, and the reservations were all taken care of by Ansell ahead of time. Would highly recommend them & use them again!