With over a decade of hands-on winemaking experience in Bordeaux, France, Bruma winemaker Lourdes “Lulu” Martínez Ojeda returned home to Baja California in 2016. A native of Ensenada, Martinez grew up with a father in the wine business. But she left Ensenada for France 15 years not to learn about winemaking, but with the idea of studying French. As an exchange student she ended up in Brittany where she reunited with a friend studying science at the University of Bordeaux. During that visit she discovered the University also offered a program in oenology, and so began her studies in winemaking. Before returning to Ensenada where she served as the head winemaker for Henri Lurton, Martinez worked at the celebrated Château Brane-Cantenac, one of the oldest and most celebrated wine houses in Bourdeux.

Martinez brought back to Mexico techniques learned from years of hands-on winemaking in Bordeaux. At Bruma, she works to make aromatically complex wines, with varietal typicity, natural freshness and balance. “To let the land and the fruit talk,” she says.

Visit Bruma Winery online at http://www.bruma.mx and connect with Lulu via social media @lulumtzojeda.

Ivette Vaillard was born in México City, the 4th generation of French settlers from Veracrúz, from whom she learned to appreciate a farmer’s lifestyle. Ivette moved to Ensenada, Baja California in 1976 to study marine sciences. In 1982, Ivette started her ranch in the Valle de Guadalupe where she began making pottery and ceramics, choosing to live a “neorural” lifestyle in harmony with the land.

One of the first disciples of local non-profit winemaking school, “La Escuelita,” Ivette was taught the craft by Mexican winemaking legend Hugo D’Acosta. In 2001 she opened her own winery, “3 Mujeres,” on her ranch in the Valle de Guadalupe, where it continues as a micro-producer today. Ivette’s wines reflects her respect for nature — they are sincere, happy, fruit-forward, and tasty! A unique aspect of her winemaking experimentation, her “Guadalupean” wines are sometimes blended with wine made in Languedoc, France as part of the “Troposfera Project,” a collective of Mexican winemakers working in France and Mexico led by D’Acosta.

Since its founding in 2001, 3 Mujeres has become well known for their sustainable winemaking practices, their small batch production, and their attention to detail.

Visit 3 Mujeres online at https://www.facebook.com/Vinicola3Mujeres/ and connect with Ivette via social media @vinicola3mujeres.

After a 23 year career in film production, Vintango Winery owner and winemaker Jo Ann Knox moved to Baja California in 1996. She continued to commute to Los Angeles for a number of years for film work, and in 2003 Knox opened an art gallery and wine bar on the Baja coast, just south of Rosarito, where she eventually started making her own wine in 2009. That same year, she won a blind tasting competition amongst 16 small wineries with her Zinfandel. At that point Knox moved to the Valle de Guadalupe and founded the boutique winery Vintango. Most recently she has opened a tasting room and art gallery in the oldest standing house in Valle de Guadalupe, La Casa Vieja, and occasionally takes on film projects in her spare time. The winery now boasts four labels including Zinfandel, Cabernet, Nebbiolo, and a blend of Cabernet and Nebbiolo.

Visit Vintango online at and connect with Jo Ann at https://www.facebook.com/cavavintango/.

Kristin Magnussen Shute is the award-winning winemaker for Valle de Guadalupe winery Vinos Lechuza. Started by her father Ray Magnussen as a hobby in 2010, Lechuza has grown into one of the most popular wineries in the region because of their dedication to the craft and the merging of old world and new world styles. Lechuza is known for their sophisticated but approachable wines that have won over sommeliers and chefs around the world and have landed them accolades that include a coveted place on the wine list at The French Laundry in Napa, California (3 Michelin Stars). Kristin is proud of her family’s commitment to working “without borders” as ambassadors to Mexico’s modern wine movement around the world.

Visit Lechuza online at http://vinoslechuza.com and connect with Kristin via social media @vinoslechuza.