The state of Queretaro in Central Mexico came up with an Art, Cheese and Wine Route to put its wines on the map. The wine region is scenically located between two pueblos mágicos and makes for a perfect weekend getaway from Mexico City. Plan your trip with this weekend guide to the Art, Cheese and Wine Route in Queretaro.

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Getting There

The state of Queretaro is located directly north of Mexico State. The southern gateway to the Art, Cheese and Wine Route is the town of Tequisquiapan, a pueblo mágico. These “magical towns” can be found in every Mexican state with the goal of promoting tourism. Some towns hide the magic better than others, but Tequisquiapan is definitely one of the more charming ones that we visited.

Tequisquiapan is located 125 miles north of Mexico City, which equals a little under three hours of driving. This makes it a perfect weekend escape from the capital. We embarked on a self-guided tour of the Art, Cheese and Wine Route, but the official website offers many tour packages that leave from Tequisquiapan.

Where to Stay

Tequisquiapan

We stayed Friday night in Hotel La Plaza de Tequisquiapan, centrally located on the main square. The hotel has a beautiful courtyard with a swimming pool and the pink cathedral as a backdrop.

The town is small but charming, with picturesque streets, shops and restaurants. Freixenet Winery has a wine bar in town where you can do tastings and order wine by the bottle, as an alternative to visiting the winery upstate. There are several cheese shops in town to sample local cheeses.

Bernal

The second night on the Art, Cheese and Wine Route, we stayed in the pueblo mágico of Bernal. During golden hour, Bernal looks truly magical. The large monolith Peña de Bernal towers out above town, creating a unique backdrop everywhere you look. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and a delicious meal at the rooftop restaurant of boutique hotel Casa Mateo.

Wineries to Visit

We focussed on the wine-part of the Art, Cheese and Wine Route and visited four wineries in two days. The first three are located on the Wine Route, while the last one is slightly off-the-beaten-track and was recommended to us by a sommelier.

Viñedos La Redonda

One of the first wineries if coming from the south, La Redonda is hard to miss. It takes up a very large space, with a restaurant area and several open-air bars. The beautiful property and gardens are the star of the show here, not the wines. The winery still makes for a great stop to enjoy a bottle of wine while taking in the scenery and exploring the grounds.

Viñedos Azteca

Viñedos Azteca resembles a Mexican ranch, with horses and a large pond. Just like Viñedos Redonda, the beautiful grounds are the main attraction here. There are ample green spaces where you can enjoy wines by the glass or bottle. The wines are better than La Redonda’s, but didn’t really stand out to us.

Finca Sala Vivé by Freixenet

To our surprise, we learned that the famous Cava Freixenet from Spain has a winery in Queretaro. The Sala Vivé by Freixenet is an impressive finca that offers cellar tours, premium tastings and horseback riding through the vineyards. We opted for a visit to the winery followed by a wine tasting with sommelier. The Freixenet wines are very good, but it was a recommendation by their sommelier that led to our favorite winery in Queretaro.

San Juanito

The Freixenet sommelier recommended San Juanito, an up-and-coming winery located slightly off the main Wine Route. Unlike us, make sure to access the winery from the south. We arrived shaken-up after a bumpy, off-road experience trying to access from the north. Although we came for the Malbec, we ended up staying for the Brut Rosé. Not only were the San Juanito wines the best we tried on the entire weekend, the winery offered a more intimate, less commercial tasting experience.

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