The vine arrived in Mexico in 1521 with the Spanish conquerors and missionaries. The grape was considered essential for the production of the wine to be consecrated. This movement accelerated in 1531 when King Charles V of Spain ordered every ship that sailed to New Spain to carry vines for planting.
In 1593, the vines began to ripen, evidence of this was when Captain Francisco de Urdiñola founded “Marqués de Aguayo”, the first commercial winery in the country, which was located in Parras, Coahuila.
In 1595, following a terrible plague that hit the wine plantations in New Spain, Felipe II, under pressure from Spanish producers, forbade the planting of vines throughout the New World and decreed the destruction of the existing vineyards. The missionaries managed to keep their plantations for religious purposes.
The real growth of Mexican wine came a century later, thanks to the Jesuit missionary Juan de Ugarte, who is credited with planting the first vineyard in Baja California in the year 1717. However, it was only in 1767 that the Jesuit missionaries began to cultivate vineyards for all their missions on the California peninsula.
With Independence, imported wines were heavily taxed, while taxes on domestic crops were abolished, stimulating the domestic wine industry.
During the Mexican Revolution, the vineyards were forgotten. In 1939, with the development of the wine industry in Saltillo, the sector began to regain strength.
After the Second World War, viticulture began to gain importance in some regions of the country, as wines from other countries were not imported. The growth was so important that the Mexican Vitivinícola Council (CMV) was founded in 1949 to promote and support the wine industry in Mexico.
Currently, Mexican wine is produced in 15 states of the republic. The CMV has registered the collective brand “Vino Mexicano” which distinguishes wines of national production from those of foreign origin. The Mexican wine industry continues to reap successes, medals and high quality wines all over the world.
Let’s find out more from the words of Paz Austin, Director of the Consejo Mexicano Vitivinícola.
For the full interview click here.
