Over the last years, Mexican wine has experienced a boom and, although the industry is young and is still in the development process, it has all the essential features distinctive of a special wine. There are more and more new wine labels in the market,  and they all want to take the share from their competitors with innovative proposals and new tendencies.

According to data from the Mexican Wine Council (CMV), fourteen Mexican states produce wine at present, with around 220 wine cellars that accounted for a 12 percent annual growth in 2019. Mexican producers have demonstrated to be paying close attention to their processes as they have won 1,500 medals in international contests.

In an interview with Innovación Económica magazine, Hans Backhoff, president of the Mexican Wine Council, points out that, although the sector’s numbers are not favorable right now, it is important to break the paradigms of Mexicans consumers. For example, it is believed that wine is quite expensive, or that people should have wine only on special occasions, or that wine is for certain social statuses. 

“The truth is that you can combine wine with very traditional food, like tacos. There are brands you can buy for as low as 100 pesos. What this tells us is that we must work, together as an industry, to help Mexican consumers say goodbye to these preconceptions,” said Backhoff.

Furthermore, Backhoff indicated that 42.5 percent of the price of a wine bottle goes to taxes (value added and production and services), so it is the council’s duty to fight for a more even ground.

Nevertheless, the CMV is fostering the right scenarios to include wine—present in Mexico since 1522—in the daily lives of consumers. They are even working to start an alliance with the Mexican Consulate in Quebec to encourage the export and sale of Mexican labels in the Canadian region.

Backhoff also thinks that Aguascalientes can become a big player in the industry in the future as, only a few decades ago, this was the region with the largest wine production nationwide. The wine-making tradition still plays a very important role in the production of Aguascalientes today.