I recently had the opportunity to meet with Erick Plata, the winemaker and owner of Vinos Plata from Valle de Guadalupe in northern Baja. Erick grew up in Cuernavaca and went to university for gastronomy and hospitality. Thinking that he was going to be a chef, he took internships in Ixtapa and Cancun. But his plans were derailed when it was suggested by one of his teachers that he take a course in wine making in the Valle de Guadalupe at NYVA with Hugo D’Acosta at La Esquelita. Arriving in the summer of 2005, he studied and worked at Casa de Piedra, one of D’Acosta’s wineries. His passion found, he returned to Cuernavaca to finish his degree. Erick was offered a scholarship by the Basque and Morelos governments to study viticulture and oenology in Rioja, Spain. After 8 months there, this sealed his fate and he returned to Valle de Guadalupe in 2009 to start his career as a winemaker.
Continuing to work with Hugo D’Acosta at VYVA, Vinos Plata was created with a vision of making a Tempranillo. But as a student of the land, he knew that he would have to blend grapes from different vineyards and regions of the Valle de Guadalupe to create the wines that he wanted. As a result, Vinos Plata sources their grapes from the Valle de Guadalupe (Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot grapes), from Ojos Negro (Tempranillo, Merlot and Syrah grapes) and Valle de San Vicente (Chardonnay, Grenache, Tempranillo and Syrah grapes). Given the different characteristics of the soil, he blends the same grape from different regions to make the components of this wines.
All of Vinos Plata’s wines are named for Silver. The first Plata 925 refers to the rating of pure silver as .925. Plata 925 is a blend of Tempranillo (55%), Grenache (35%) and Syrah (10%), although the grapes and their percentages have changed from year to year. Researching outlets that sell Plata 924 online, it is universally described as a very accessible wine with great flavors of blackberries, herbs and menthol. Following the creation and release of Plata 925, Vinos Plata created Plata Pura (Pure Silver). This wine is a full-bodied Merlot. The third wine in Vinos Plata’s portfolio is Granalla de Plata, a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. We had the opportunity to taste this wine during our interview. This is a light and fresh wine that blends the chardonnay stored in oak for a short time with the Sauvignon Blanc that has been stored in stainless steel. Each year, Vinos Plata also makes a “Best of the Best” from their grapes, Senora Bonita, named for this mother. So each year, it is a different blend based on whatever the best grapes of the season were. It is limited to very small production of 100 cases or less.
Currently, Vinos Plata produces about 30,000 bottles of wine per year. Erick wants to stay a boutique winery with great wines and does not expect to grow to more than 50,000 bottles per year. Their facility in Valle de Guadalupe is a series of converted shipping containers, one of which is for production and another is a unique tasting room. All of the wine names and labels play off of the Silver theme – 925, Pure and Silver Shavings. His latest venture is into a canned cocktail version of the white wine, called Alpaca (an alloy the color of silver, not the animal).
Thank you Dawn Solomon for introducing me to Erick Plata. If you would like to try his wines in Los Cabos contact Dawn Solomon via Instagram at @CaboWineDiva.
For more information about Vinos Plata visit their website at vinosplata.mx or visit them on Facebook here or Instagram at instagram.com/vinos.plata.
