Santo Tomas Winery

By Steve Dryden

Miguel Ormart and Francisco Andonegui founded Bodegas de Santo Tomas near Ensenada in 1888 making it one of the oldest wineries in Mexico. Vineyards established by missionaries and Loreto Amador in the early 1800’s south of town in Valle de Santo Tomas continue to provide winemakers with quality grapes. General Abelardo Rodriquez purchased the winery in 1932 and transformed the winery into a productive and successful operation making up to 600,000 cases of wine annually. The winery has updated equipment over the years and is a top Mexican producer.

Today the winery is managed by Santiago Cosio who leads the effort to create quality wines meriting international attention and providing affordable products to the masses. The winery is now producing international award-winning wines and a wide variety of quality Mexican wines. Santo Tomas 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon recently was awarded a gold medal in Brussels with several other wines receiving merit and attention throughout the global wine industry.

Santo Tomas 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderful wine that should be enjoyed by everyone including the most sophisticated consumers. It is aged in french oak for 15 months, minimum of one year bottle aging, producing medium tannins, well-balanced acidity with slight mineral undertones. The wine has intense red color with cherry tones, slight mahogany borders with rich and intense varietal aromas and a hint of cocoa and coffee. The flavors of red fruits, dried plums. cranberry, mint are finalized with a soft, clean finish making this a perfect example of quality Mexican wine. This wine matches well with red meats such as carne asada, lamb, tomato based dishes and more.

Bodegas de-Santo Tomas is producing a “best buy” value wine with it new release, 2003 ST Vino Tinto, a red table wine of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Tempranillo. It’s a delightful and smooth table wine perfect for informal or formal occasions with a budget price of $6.50.

Good wine demands good food and Santo Tomas has one of Ensenada’s best restaurants, La Embotelladora Vieja located at the downtown winery at 666 Avenida Miramar. Reservations are recommended (646) 174-0807. Open M-Th 12-10 and F-Sat 12-12, closed on Sundays.

This excellent culinary icon is the forerunner of fine cuisine and culinary events in the Ensenada region. The focus has been combining Baja’s fine wines with creative wine-based dishes featuring seafood, lamb, chicken, duck and premium beef. Their chefs use local herbs, spices and baby vegetables to create irresistible and ingenious entries of superior quality. Locals and visitors favor the House Filete Mignon La Embottadora cooked in a reduced port wine sauce, topped with fresh mushrooms served with a side of wild rice and potato galette. This meal can be complimented with Santo Tomas 2001 Unico, an award-winning blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The newest culinary delight on the menu is marinated ahi served on a bed of asparagus with star anise and organic tomatoes. The 2003 Chardonnay makes a fine companion to this mouth-watering dish.

Bodega Santo Tomas has built a state of the art wine facility south on Ensendada in Valle de Santo Tomas. The novel design allows for handling of the grapes by means of gravity as opposed to pumping which allows for better quality control and superior juice. The finishing touches are being completed, tours and wine tasting are available with reservations.

Santo Tomas winery owns vineyards and a rural boutique winery in Guadalupe Valley near San Antonio de las Minas. Jorge G. Barrios has an alliance with the winery and operates an intriguing and interesting wine tasting room and art gallery . He offers wine tasting, tours, art exhibits, special events, catered dining and more. This popular facility is located near San Antonio de las Minas behind Los Encinos market up the dirt road next to the store--about 100 yards to the first left and 500 yards to the gate at Rancho Nova. Open Wednesday-Sunday 9 am-1 p.m.. Jorge Barrios can be reached at 646-174-6051 or cell # 947-6050.