The Russian colony that arrived to the Guadalupe Valley
It was the Spanish missionaries who first brought wine to Baja California. However most of the vineyards of the
Guadalupe Valley were cultivated by Molokan Russians, a pacifist group that exiled to Mexico in the early 20th century fleeing Czarist repression. Today some descendants of that Russian colony still make wine in wineries like
Bibayoff and
Pasión Biba.
You can learn about their fascinating story at the
Museo Comunitario Ruso, managed by the Samarín family, who kept the original house and turned it into an interesting museum filled with memorabilia from the Russian families that originally settled in the Valley and, surprisingly enough, were the ones responsible for bringing the Mediterranean diet to the Guadalupe Valley.
Mediterranean bites at the Baja California Wine Country
At the same location as the museum you will find an extraordinary shop where you can taste different varieties of the craft cheese they make, their own award-winning wine, bread, olives, oils and preserves. If you notice, Mediterranean diet is present in this typical products and in the aromatic herbs: oregano, rosemary, thyme and basil flavor cheeses, tapenades and jellies. Feels like Italy, however all products are made in Mexico, locally, by the same people selling them.