San Antonio’s only tasting room dedicated to Mexican wine is making moves at La Villita. The West Side’s Casa Guipzot will officially debut its second bottle shop in the internationally known historic district on Friday, August 15.
Owner Salena Guipzot fell in love with wine while living in Portland, Oregon, but she never tasted Mexican varieties until an anniversary trip to Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila, with husband Eduardo “Lalo” Guipzot. Since then, the country’s viticultural exports have become a passion.
She opened the first Casa Guipzot at 118 S. Sabinas St. #101 in 2022 before expanding to La Villita this year. Both neighborhoods have a deep personal meaning for the couple. During the ’60s, Eduardo’s grandfather lived on the West Side, commuting downtown to help build the Tower of the Americas for HemisFair ’68.
“La Villita is the perfect place to bring our vision to life — it’s a cultural crossroads where history, art, and wine meet,” says Salena via an Instagram message.
Although wine has been produced in Mexico since the arrival of Spanish colonists in the 16th century, it was seldom imbibed. The Mexican wine industry, however, has experienced significant growth over the last two decades, with a new focus on microclimates and terroir instead of the process of winemaking.
“It’s strange to think of a region with 500 years of winemaking history as ’emerging,’ but few areas have leaped as significantly in quality over the last several years as Mexico,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributing editor Nils Bernstein in an industry overview. “While its warm climate delivers full-bodied, fruit-forward wines with ease, producers are replacing power with balance, complexity, and variety experimentation.”
San Antonians can fall under the spell of Mexico’s wines through Casa Guipzot’s packed calendar of events, from guided tastings to pairing classes. Once fully converted, they can join a wine club that offers curated bottles every quarter.
Casa Guipzot will celebrate its grand opening from 5-8 pm on August 15 with bites, mariachi, samples, and a ribbon cutting at 6 pm. The first 30 people to arrive will receive a complimentary glass of bubbles to toast the debut.