2014 Cava Maciel Petite Sirah, ‘Perigeo’

Cava Maciel: From then to now

Cava Maciel has been called the “king of mom and pop boutique wineries”, and it’s incredible to think that Jorge is a completely self-taught winemaker. Jorge’s entrance into the world of winemaking was slow and steady. For the first decade after becoming a commercial winemaker, he sourced his grapes from other vineyards in the greater Valle de Guadalupe, as well as San Vicente and Ojos Negros.

Only in the last few years has he begun working with his own vines with the intention of producing wine from grapes whose cultivation he is overseeing. Production is growing too, with Cava Maciel now bottling 3,000 cases of wine a year. The tasting room has a nearly anonymous series of 5-star Google reviews, and it’s a favorite in the growing Baja wine scene.

Jorge currently works with chardonnay, tempranillo, syrah, merlot, nebbiolo, mourvedre, cabernet sauvignon, and of course, petite sirah.

Seeking Inspiration in the Stars

The term ‘terroir’ means different things to different winemakers, but the general sense of this wine term instills a sense of place (soil, microclimate, the biodiversity of a vineyard, etc.). Jorge goes one step further and brings a celestial element to terroir and to his wines. You see, all of Cava Maciel’s wines have celestial-inspired names because Valle de Guadalupe is known for its incredibly clear nights that have almost no light pollution and allow for easy star viewing. Jorge and his wife even have a telescope set up in their backyard to get a closer view of the twinkling heavens.

The 2014 Cava Maciel Petite Sirah, ‘Perigeo’, is named after ‘perigee’, which is the point at which the moon is closest in its orbit to the earth. Rather than simply focusing on the earthly terroirs (and, of course, recognizing that ‘earthly terroirs’ is a little redundant), Jorge celebrates and honors this “sense of place” by giving a nod to the clear dark skies that have for so long inspired him.

San Antonio de las Minas: A Baja Sub-Regions  

Cava Maciel is located in San Antonio de las Minas, a sub-region in the greater Valle de Guadalupe wine region. Just about ten miles from the Pacific Ocean and San Miguel Bay, San Antonio de las Minas is typically cooler than grape-growing areas in the northernmost part of the valley. The vines here benefit from foggy mornings and pleasant breezes that help the grapes ripen slowly.

Much of the soil in San Antonio de las Minas is decomposed granite, like the vineyard soil in Northern Rhône. Granite is excellent for grape growing because granite’s inability to retain water means that the vines must really struggle to reach their water source, and that leads to stronger vineyards and concentrated fruit qualities.