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e Baja California region beckons, and Fernando Gaxiola will take you there in style T HOUGH HE GREW UP IN SAN DIEGO, Fernando Gaxiola has always had one foot on each side of the border. "My parents wanted us to have a better life in the United States but also be close to our roots," he says of his childhood as a "cross-border kid." Family ties and his father's work in the Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, and Tijuana areas of Baja California offered plenty of exposure to Mexico as he built his life in the U.S., earning multiple master's degrees and developing a business management consulting career that took him around the world. When the economic recession hit and he was forced to close his firm in 2009, it was a perfect time for the Solana Beach resident to once again look southward and reconnect with those roots. He found himself drawn specifically to the world of food and wine. At the time, he says, "ere wasn't a lot happening in Valle de Guadalupe, but I could see it — I could see the potential." Searching for his niche, he decided that he wanted to be the one to help expose the vast talent in the region, and Baja Wine + Food, Gaxiola's travel, event, and lifestyle management agency, was born. "When we started, we were showcasing [Baja wines] at festivals, expos, competitions, all sorts of events that we had access to, and then we slowly started building a following and interest," he says. Little by little, awareness of the region grew, and with it, so did Gaxiola's company, expanding into high-end, bespoke private travel experiences to culinary destinations in Baja. "I was not interested in bringing the masses," he says, and that exclusivity and sophistication remain at the core of Baja Wine + Food. Excursions with Gaxiola's team are always and only private. ere are no set tours, no established schedules, no tour buses — just private vehicles and custom-tailored itineraries, where Gaxiola is just as happy to take you to the famous restaurant of an internationally acclaimed chef as he is to show you one you may never have heard of that, he says, is equally incredible. Baja Wine + Food's average group is about eight clients, who generally stay in the Valle for two nights, but he says he's done everything from day trips for two to weddings hosting 50 guests. ough Gaxiola's days of touting Baja wines at expos and shows in the U.S. are behind him, he does still bring the beauty of the region across the border occasionally at exclusive events Gaxiola produces that feature Valle chefs and winemakers, presented in partnership with premium destinations like Rancho Valencia. ese limited seating events are regular sellouts, but it's back in Baja where Gaxiola really wants to show you how the Valle sets itself apart from other destinations, and curated visits let the region's laidback spirit and signature Mexican hospitality truly shine. His invitation is beguiling in its simplicity: "Come here, relax, get a glass of wine at the end of the day, and look at the stars." bajawinefood.com BY DEANNA MURPHY | PHOTO BY VINCENT KNAKAL @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE JUNE 2024 81