Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Cava L.A. Cetto

Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

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Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Billy and I went to Ensenada and specifically to the Valley of Guadalupe to taste the wines available in this region. Over and over we were told that this was the "Napa Valley of Mexico."

Having owned a famous boutique restaurant in Santa Cruz, California for a  decade, our wine list had over 100 selections - more than any other restaurant in town.

So, naturally, tasting the wines in this region was a great interest of ours.

Map showing Cava L.A. Cettto

From our hotel we called an Uber driver to take us to Cava L.A. Cetto. The price of the Uber was about $3.50USD.

Somehow, we thought that we were going directly to the winery for a tasting and was a bit confused when we arrived.

Inside Cava L.A. Cetto

Our plan was to taste some wines pared with food.

Arriving just before 11am, the place was deserted.

A man walked up to us and we spoke to him about tasting some wine and having some food.

He said "No."

First of all, he said, this wasn't the winery, there are no tastings here, and the restaurant wouldn't open until about 2pm. This location was the outlet for the winery and we could purchase anything we wanted - basically - at cost plus a skinny.

A closer view of the kinds of wines L.A. Cetto offers

Well, THAT was a fine How-do-you-do...!

Not being Newbies to wines, to restaurants, to the local Mexicans or to vendors... We kinda hung around, chatting in our best Spanish about L.A. Cetto and asking substantial questions.

Oscar explained that the winery makes 9 different lines of wines, each with their own character and reasons to drink them and showed them to us in the storage bins you see above.

We paid respectable attention to what he said and to the bottles of wine themselves.

Then I had a question for Oscar, which seemed to open him up. "Why," I asked "was this place called La Cetto instead of El Cetto. The Spanish articles did not match the gender of the name."

Aaaaaah.... he said. "That's because it's not La Cetto, its L.A. Cetto and that's the name of the founder."

An imperceptible door had been opened.

We were making progress.

L.A. Cetto has won more than 700 International Medals

Don Angelo Cetto came from Trento, Italy (near the capitol of Trentino) as an immigrant looking to make a new life for himself. He founded L.A. Cetto in 1928, and the first wines he sold were fortified because the grape quality was so bad.

But to the locals and to Prohibition America, these quality sherries and port style wines were a hit.

Following Angelo's lead, his sons, Luis Augustine Cetto and Luis Alberto Cetto (hence the L.A. Cetto label) have also been dedicated to the art of producing wine.

Exporting wine to 27 countries around the world, L.A. Cetto is the main wine producer in Mexico.

Wines under different labels made by L.A. Cetto:

Classic Line, Stations, Sierra Blanca, Private Reserve, Don Luis, Boutique, Memorial, Special, Peninsula

Well, it was at this point I batted my eyelashes and demurely asked if we could possibly taste some wine there at the Cava.

Oscar softened and offered - as a way of meeting us half way - the idea that we could purchase any wine and he'd allow us to drink it there on the premises.

If we'd like.

It was still a bit early in the day, and Billy and I discussed it together. We thought we could have a glass or so here, then go to lunch at the dock, bringing our bottle with us and we could finish it there.

Bingo!

That was it.

Private Reserve Chardonnay

So Oscar moved us to another room to taste our bottle.

The Private Reserve wines have the highest export from L.A. Cetto with sales in 19 countries. This line has gathered 200 medals and international recognition.

We ended up drinking a glass which we very much enjoyed! Then we called another Uber driver and for another $3.50USD he took us to the malecon where we had lunch.

While we didn't get to the winery itself, we would recommend this experience (come in after 2pm) and would certainly recommend this Chardonnay.

______

Cava L.A. Cetto

Address: Km. 73.5 Highway 3

Tecate-Ensenada City, Valle de Guadalupe

Hours: Mon-Sun 9am - 5pm Groups need to call ahead

Website: https://web.lacetto.mx/wp/

For more information, photos and stories about Ensenada, Baja California, Click Here

For more information, photos and stories about Mexico, Click Here

VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS! See Mexico for yourself! Beaches, Bars, Babes, Great Food, Live Music.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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