Episode 171: Wines of Mexico With Sommelier Sandra Fernández Gaytán
Joining us from Mexico City is superstar sommelier & owner of SFG Public Relations for Premium Wine & Spirits, Sandra Fernández Gaytán. Not only did she guide us on an audio tour of the Mexican wine producing states, geography, history, wine styles & grapes, but she brought lessons in coffee & tequila! Bonus!
She’s been recognized for her outstanding contributions as a leader in the wine industry by the Association of Mexican Sommeliers, El Conocedor Magazine, Oaxaca City, & Líderes Mexicanos Magazine five years in a row.
About Sandra
“Seventeen years ago, Sandra started what was unthinkable at that time, achieving as a woman in Mexico, a full career and recognition in the world of wine and spirits. Today, she is considered the most important and influential leader in her field. Credibility, discipline and professionalism are her greatest and most faithful references”. (Jose Ramón Ruiz, La Europea CEO. (Mexico’s biggest wine retailer))
Education
Among her major curricular achievements are the courses she has taken in various institutes such as UC Davis, The Court of Master Sommeliers, The Society of Wine Educators, The Rudd Center at the Culinary Institute of America, The Napa Valley Vintners, The California Wine Institute, the Regulatory Council of Sherry Wines, Maestra Tequilera by The National Academy of Tequila Tasters, among others.
Professional achievements:
- Casa Madero, creation and design of 3V and 2V Casa Madero, two of the most famous and sold wine labels in the country. Currently, she has the experience of creating seven additional wine labels under her command, two in Spain and five more in Mexico.
- Tierra de Vinos, Wine Director & Partner. Mexico’s most famous enoteque & pairing restaurant. First place where premium Australian wine was featured.
- La Europea, Chief Sommelier and Wine Director. Most important wine retailer in the country.
- American Express Wine Advisor
- Nespresso Sommelier and spokesperson
- Grandes Pagos de España, country manger
- Wine Australia country event coordinator
- International speaker. First Mexican woman to offer lectures on Tequila, Mezcal and Mexican Wine in the United States.
- El Colegio Nacional de Mexico, Speaker during the neuroscience symposium.
Business
She owns the firm SFG Public Relations for Premium Wine and Spirits, a consulting company that offers communication and marketing strategies, brand management, event planning, staff training, wine lists, media broadcasting and personalized wines for companies and individuals.
Recognition
2017 was a year of consolidation. She was recognized as the most important figure in the wine industry by El Conocedor Magazine. She was named the most outstanding figure by the Association of Mexican Sommeliers; received a public recognition in Oaxaca city and a piece of art for her outstanding career. She has been considered by the Líderes Mexicanos Magazine one of the 25 most important and influential wine leaders for 5 consecutive years.
Media references
Newsweek, Reforma, El Universal, Excelsior, El Financiero, Sibarita, Robb Report, Quien, Aire, Mujer Ejecutiva, In Style, Central, Glow, Esquire, Clase. Interviewed by: Ricardo Rocha, Carlos Alazraki, Jorge Ferráez, Montserrat Olivier, Jordi Rosado, Netas Divinas.
Spokesperson of the Wine & Spirits section at Eddy Warman’s radio show. Spokesperson of Adela Micha in The World of Wine section.
(Bio & photo courtesy of Sandra Fernández Gaytán)
In Our Glasses (1:16)
Sandra: 2015, 9 – a blend made in Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja, Mexico.
The blend was created by Sandra with eight other people (hence the name “9”).
It is 60% Shiraz, 23% Merlot, and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and was released in November of 2017.
Val: 2017 Marchese Guadagni Rose’, Bardolino Chiaretto, DOC, Bardolino, Veneto, Italia
Steph: 2016 Dawn’s Dream Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, Carmel Valley, CA.
It all Started in the CIA Library (9:30)
One of Sandra’s first teachers, and mentor, was Karen MacNeil. She was one of the first generation of wine students to take classes at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA while the Rudd Center was still being built.
A Somm Walks into a Mexico City Wine Bar (11:25)
After three years of school, she returned to Mexico to start her wine career in an up and coming wine bar, Tierra de Vinos, in Mexico City. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, but she knew she wanted a career in wine. She eventually became the wine director.
About that Nespresso Thing (13:30)
“Coffee can be fun” Sandra says, as she describes coffee and food pairings. She also intrigues us with a particular pairing of a vintage Nespresso capsule coffee with aged cheese. If you’re a coffee lover, even if you don’t use Nespresso, you’ll want to listen to this segment.
Mexico’s Wine History and the Present (17:57)
Four hundred and fifty years of history and the oldest winery in the Americas, along with a prohibition on producing wine due to Spanish influence, are where we find the origins of Mexico’s wine production.
The first premium winery was created in 1987, and production and consumption have been booming ever since.
Production Stats (20:30)
Sandra breaks it down by the numbers. Just over two million cases of wine are now produced every year by Mexican wineries. They also have 6500 hectares of vines, which is not a lot of plantings spread out over eight states.
Wine Producing States (21:20)
In just over six minutes, tour the eight Mexican wine producing states, have a geography lesson, and gain even more important historical nuggets.
Do you hear that? That is the sound of corkdorks’ ears perking up around the world.
Oh, and here’s a map Sandra was kind enough to send us! Rewind, click play again, and follow along!
Some of these wine regions are actually outside what we are usually taught to be the ideal latitudes for vine growing, but some good wine is still produced despite this fact.
So, What’s in Those Bottles? (27:50)
Here we learn about the wine styles, grapes, and profiles of common wines produced around Mexico. Unlike many new world wine regions, there is no signature grape that is associated with the country.
We were surprised to find (and taste), during a seminar with Sandra back in 2016, that in addition to the international varieties, there’s a plethora of Italian varietal wines showing up in glasses around Mexico.
This is all thanks to Camilo Magoni, an Italian who brought cuttings over. Although Camilo is retired, his winery in Baja is still producing wines under the name Casa Magoni.
In Addition to Being a Maestra Tequilera (31:34)
Sandra lets us in on all the other things she is doing around the world. As a brand ambassador for an ultra premium tequila brand, Casa Dragones, she educates people about enjoying Tequila as a sipping beverage. And what does Oprah have to do with this?
Yes – a bonus tequila lesson in this segment! Hear that? That’s the sound of spirit lovers’ ears perking up all over the world!
*Insert a nice plug here for the Society of Wine Educators’ spirits studies program, AKA, the CSS.* (Gracias, Sandra!)
Wine With Sandra’s Lunch (37:04)
When she’s not blending wines in Mexico, pairing cheeses and coffee, or teaching people how to sip tequila, she’s enjoying wines from around the world. When we asked her what she loves outside of Mexico, she gives us a lovely description of a favorite Portuguese wine made by women.
There’s a great field blend lesson happening here around 38:38.
If you’re headed to Portugal anytime soon, then listen to this segment. Field blends are important to Portuguese wine culture and tradition. Our favorite line from this part was of the winemakers upon asking what kind of grapes are in a wine, “They just stare, and make a glaze[d expression] at you and say, ‘if I don’t know, why should you’!”
So in other words, free yourself. We are not advising you, however, to write “if I don’t know, why should you” on an exam tasting paper. Just sayin’.
*Fun fact: as this episode was being edited, Steph was landing in Portugal for some wine tasting, and visiting the Yeatman, mentioned by Adrian Bridge in Episode 154.*
Her Funny Wine Story (41:47)
This was more like a “Words of Wisdom” segment, so we’ll let you gather the nuance from the audio. Life’s teaching moments sometimes happen when you listen to the experiences, and not so much the words.
But wait, she offered us another moment that was embarrassing regarding a premium Cava brand, but we are putting this in the bonus content section of this episode for patrons.
Learn More and Connect With Sandra (43:54)
To learn more about Mexico’s wines, check out: Consejo Mexicano Vitivinícola: 
uvayvino.org.mx
She also contributes to the Robb Report, which does monthly tastings of Mexican wine: https://robbreport.mx/category/wine/
Be on the lookout for the forthcoming edition of the Oxford Companion of Wine! It will have two pages dedicated to Mexican wine. Sandra got to have her eyes on the information and assures us it will be accurate and as current as possible. We’ll have it in our “Recommended” section of the weekly blog when it’s released in a couple of months. As usual, we’ll probably make a big freaking deal out of it because, well, it’s the OCW, yo, and we love it.
Also, here is a link to Sandra’s presentation on Wines of Mexico from the DC SWE Conference in 2016: http://winewitandwisdomswe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mexico-a-New-and-Exciting-Wine-Country-presented-by-Sandra-Fernandeez.pdf
Website:
Email: sandra@sandrafernandezgaytan.com
Shoutouts (49:05)
Thank you to Sandra Fernandez for sipping and sharing with us today!
Shout out also to CJN in Michigan for the awesome new iTunes review! “I love listening to this podcast. I learn so much and the hosts make the topic approachable. They have occasional guests who are fascinating too. Great job!”
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Connect: (37:40)
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