Baja Wineries Say New Law Allowing Development Threatens Budding Industry Jill Replogle - Fronteras Desk
go to original December 2, 2013

Natalia Badán, a winery owner and longtime resident of the Guadalupe Valley, called a zoning change “an aggression.” (Max Whittaker/The New York Times)

Baja California's budding wine industry is fighting against new land use regulations that they say would ruin the valley's rural charm and compromise its scarce water supply.

Winemakers in Baja California, Mexico are outraged by a recent change in land use regulations that they say opens the main wine valley to urbanization. The Valle de Guadalupe, just outside of Ensenada, has gained popularity in recent years as a producer of quality artisanal wines. It has also become a low-key tourist destination for sipping, relaxing and eating at an increasing number of trendy farm-to-table restaurants serving “Baja Med” cuisine.

But Ensenada’s city council recently approved new zoning regulations that allow for more dense housing developments than currently allowed in the valley. Winemakers worry the change will open up the area to housing density and real estate speculation, and strain the already scarce and dwindling water supply.

“We see it as a strong threat to the valley,” said Natalie Badán, owner of Cavas del Mogor winery, in a phone interview. “The valley’s (rural) landscape is its principal value. It can’t have an urban landscape.”

Currently, the Valle de Guadalupe is sparsely populated, with most of its inhabitants concentrated in a handful of small villages. Vineyards and olive trees dominate the valley floor, while small hotels and wine tasting venues are springing up along the valley’s mostly dirt roads.The Wall Street Journal recently likened the valley to Napa in the 1970s.

The majority of winemakers in the Valle de Guadalupe had banded together to oppose the zoning change, which has been in the works for the past few months. The change was finally approved earlier this month in what winemakers say was an unannounced city council session, which may have been illegal.

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