Hola! Muy Feliz Año Nuevo! 2022 is now in our rear-view mirror. However, we certainly had some great experiences last year eating and drinking in Baja.

2022 brought the post-pandemic return of some of our favorite food and wine festivals. Excited by the revival of the Festival de Las Conchas y el Vino Nuevo along the marina at Hotel Coral in May, we arrived super early and secured a fabulous table as our hub for the afternoon. That was key, since Team EatDrinkBaja later swelled to 13 strong! (Thanks, all.) Conchas features many of Baja’s best wineries and restaurants. Although celebrity chefs Javier Plascencia and Drew Deckman did not appear to be in attendance as in the past, we mowed our way through dozens of booths with oysters, clams, abalone and more . . . and, of course, multiple wine tastings! It was wonderful to spot other Team EDB members in the crowd and exchange “reviews” of recently-visited booths. Our MO: eat, drink, compare notes, get back in line, repeat. An incredibly fun afternoon.

Team EDB!!

On June 11 we traveled down to Valle de Guadalupe for the Viñedos en Flor festival, held on the grounds of the Monte Xanic winery. While not as impressive as Conchas, Viñedos has a cool, rural, family-oriented vibe, with kids’ activities and a petting zoo. And it was fantastic to reunite with Natalia Badan, an early founder of wine making in the Valle who chaired this fest five or so years ago when it took place at Finca La Carrodilla.

I consider Natalia as the Katherine Hepburn of the Valle.

Very special: the patriarch of F. Rubio pouring their vinos.

In July, the Cocina La Baja festival returned to the Estero Beach Hotel south of Ensenada. Bob attended solo, but reported that it was among his favorite Baja food fests due to the variety of dishes available to attendees, the chef cooking demonstrations, the abundance of offerings by Baja craft breweries . . . and, of course, the spectacular seaside venue!

Ah, August . . . the Concurso de Paellas at Viñas Liceaga in Valle de Guadalupe! Truly my favorite way to spend a sweltering summer afternoon. This event is so special – you can bring in food and non-alcoholic beverages. Attending over the years has taught us to not only pack hats and sunscreen . . . but also a tablecloth, veggie and hummus tray, and a small rolling cooler. Gotta get there early and stake out a great table in the shade of the big oak trees, strategically positioned between the wine tasting and paella-serving booths. Some folks do it up really fancy, with china, silverware and cloth napkins! But the paella –  cooked over wood fires by 90 teams competing for honors – is the star of the show. Plus, there’s live music and/or a DJ on two stages. A Baja tradition – in reality, a Baja happening.

We were glad to see the Valle Food and Wine Fest return in October, albeit with some changes. Due to limitations on really large events in Valle de Guadalupe in recent years, this fest downsized . . . and increased significantly in price. Relocating from Finca Altozano to Bruma (on the eastern end of the Valle), the 3-day fest included chef’s dinners on Friday evening, a main event on Saturday night, and a “Valle Fest Brunch” on Sunday, which we attended . . . since we were just coming back from taking Bob’s boat to Avalon for the Catalina Jazz Festival! (Yes . . . living la vida loca.) To their credit, the Valle Fest brings in major, internationally-known chefs. It was wonderful to see and chat with Rick Bayless and other chefs at the brunch. And attendees appeared to be having a good time. However, this event is definitely at the high end of the $$ spectrum compared to other Baja food and wine fests, with the Saturday night event at $250 and the Sunday brunch at $190 (once they finally lowered the price, thank you). As Bob opined, it was a nice event, but should have been half the price. I agree whole heartedly.

Rick Bayless, an impressive chef and an early advocate of Mexican cuisine.

That’s our wrap-up of the 2022 Baja food fests we enjoyed! Promise: we’ll soon give you a quick recap of Baja restaurants visited in the past year or so, as well as a preview of 2023 Baja food fests. We’re back on the post-pandemic track now!

As Daisy Fuentes famously said at the end of her MTV Latino shows years ago, “Ciao-cito, babies!”

Como siempre, muchisimas gracias por photos by Bob Gove.