One luxury of living in San Diego is taking an easy day trip to Ensenada. The best part about living close to a growing wine and culinary destination is that Ensenada is not as expensive compared to what you get at let’s say, Napa Valley.

Lechuza Wines

Carretera Tecate-Ensenda Km 82.5, Valle de Guadalupe, B.C. | Website | @vinoslechuza

We started our Ensenada day trip at Lechuza Wines, a family-owned and operated vineyard. Our Uber ride was an hour and a half from the Tijuana border. At the end of our short journey, Kristin, one of the owners of Lechuza, greeted us with warm hospitality.

The location of Lechuza is serene, as most wineries are, except you feel like you’ve taken an international trip being there.

Her dad later joined our group to give us a tour of their wine cellar. What impressed me the most about the daughter and father duo is that they’re SoCal natives!

They relocated to Ensenada once they decided to pursue their passion for wine together. This is what I imagine success looking like—turning what’s supposed to be a meaningful hobby into a thriving business.

Naturally, when it came time to celebrate Mr. Sweet’s birthday, we knew where we had to go. A day trip to Ensenada is a culinary adventure, and to top it off, the scenery is stunning.

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Dinner at Malva

Carretera Federal 3 Km 96, México 3, 22760 Ensenada, B.C | @malvarestaurant

The staff at Malva, with Chef Roberto Alcocer heading the kitchen, uses malva in their dishes. We saw the staff pluck the herbs from the restaurant’s garden as they were creating our meals—very cool. 

Chef Roberto, with his outgoing personality, curated each dish and wine pairing. We had a 10-course meal but over a span of three hours. With no packed agenda, every devoured dish and cheers felt sweet. 

The cost of our 10-course meal

Enjoying a multi-course curated dinner with an open landscape of vineyards all around us cost around $100 USD. Not bad for an “international” trip, right?

From personal experience, a similar meal in Napa Valley could cost you upwards of $150 – $200 or way more.

Ensenada, your new favorite quick getaway

Ensenada not being too expensive, its quality of food and the full fine-dining experience you’ll get makes for an awesome day or weekend trip. Check out Lechuza and Malva to start.

The short journey is especially worthwhile if you’re there celebrating a special occasion with that special someone in your life.

Thank you for reading!

With glamour,

Rizzy