Ezequiel Montes

The zocalo (main plaza) is a modern looking plaza with more paved open spaces than a typical Mexican zocalo with less shade from the bright sun. There's still manicured gardens, a bandstand, and plenty of park benches and it still faces the town's main church.

Unlike every other town in Mexico, the main church is not historic, is not baroque, and is not ornate. It is beautiful though with contemporary architecture and a stone facade with a tall belfry. Inside, the church is bright, spacious and inviting.

Freixenet is known around the world for their sparkling wines. The Spanish-based company opened their Mexican vineyards in 1979. The winery is the largest in Central Mexico. Americans will be surprised to find no bottles of the Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut that's available in every store in America, but instead, a surprisingly wide variety of sweetness levels (and colors) across four main brand lines: Sala Vive, Vina Dolores, Vivante, and Petillant. This ain't the Freixenet back in Kansas!

Don Vittorio planted his first vines here in 1975. Varieties grown here include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Ugni Blanc, and Moscatel. Tours and tastings available and there's an upscale restaurant on-site. You can also buy wines by the bottle and enjoy them in the "wine garden" (which is so big, they should call it the "wine farm"). If you're looking for a place to stay, they also offer "WineGlamping", space age looking yurts for M$6700 (weekends only).

Super modern winery that emphasizes sustainable agriculture. Fun winery tour where you can go through the vineyards on bike (or walk or ride "the train"), then visit the main processing facility to learn how the wines are made, then down into the cava to see rack after rack of barrels aging in the cool environment. Upscale restaurant on-site. Some interesting surprises here like a Gewurtztraminer...not a grape typically grown in Mexico.

Varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, and Tempranillo. Their on-site restaurant, Itacate, has an Italian-Mexican fusion menu that includes a brick-oven pizza with cochinita pibil.

The vineyard has an upscale restaurant that serves breakfast on the lawn (before 12:00) and dinner in the inside dining room. They concentrate on red wines made with Merlot, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, they also have a rosado made with Grenache and a white made with San Emilion and Chenin Blanc.

They grow a range of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Chardonnay, Moscatel and Salvador. Their wines are bottled under four different brand lines, the most interesting of which is Chapulet Missions because it uses the Salvador grape (few vineyards grow that variety). There's no restaurant on-site, but they do have a food tent where you can buy cheese platters or desserts.