ArcaMax

There's a memorable scene in the 1937 film "Lost Horizon" when Ronald Coleman, freezing to death in a snowy mountain pass, stumbles through a fissure in the rocks and looks down on the sun-drenched valley of Shangri-La. You might experience the same sense of wonder when you discover Baja California's Valle de Guadalupe -- Mexico's Napa Valley.

Dating back to the era of the Spanish missions but known today for its Mediterranean-style weather and endless rows of vineyards, Valle de Guadalupe has evolved into one of Mexico's premier tourist destinations.

The oft-sighted comparison to California's Napa Valley is definitely on-target with more than 100 operating wineries producing a vast variety of high-quality vintages. There are picturesque villages, Michelin-star eateries and traditional family-style Mexican favorites such as La Cocina Dona Esthela. And then there is the El Cielo Resort and Winery.

Located amid 71 acres of rolling hillside vineyards, El Cielo can provide the perfect location from which to explore all the valley has to offer. Or, once you pass through its grand gateway, you may discover you have no reason to leave because everything you could ask for is there.

El Cielo functions simultaneously as a luxury resort and a working winery. The vineyards provide a bucolic landscape, but it is the wine they produce and the food that's served with it that make the resort unique.

The tasting menu features 23 different vintage varietals. There are prize-winning sparkling wines (produced in collaboration with Piper-Heidsieck) along with red and white varietals that include chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, nebbiolo, syrah, zinfandel and malbec. And in keeping with the name El Cielo (the sky), the winery's 22 bottlings are all named for constellations and famous astronomers: Halley, Copernicus, Galileo, Cassiopea, Orion, Centaurus and Lyra.

Both large and intimate tasting rooms include the romantic library wine cellar. Wagon-ride tasting tours show off the vineyard, while tours of the bottling facilities and barrel rooms detail the methods inside the bottles. A special wine-flight experience pairs vintages with their ideal chocolate counterpart. Presiding over it all -- Gina Estrada, head sommelier and Jesus Rivera, lead winemaker.

At this Michelin Guide "Recommended" resort, El Cielo's cuisine is conceived as seriously as the wine it is meant to accompany. The two main restaurants are Polaris and Latitud 32, which features Baja-Med style farm-to-table creations by Chef Francisco Fernandez.

The resort, which is separate from the winery tasting rooms and dining area, features a lakeside village of two-story Tuscan-style villas, swimming pool, walking paths, fire-pit patios and a beautiful chapel -- Nuestra Senora de los Milagros, "Our Lady of Miracles." Perched on the highest point of the property with a spectacular view of the valley, it's the perfect location for wedding parties, which are the resort's specialty.

In essence, El Cielo Resort and Winery offers a paradise within the paradise of Valle de Guadalupe. Since it is located 90 miles south of Tijuana and has no local airport, the best way to visit El Cielo is by car. The resort will also arrange coach transportation from Los Angeles and San Diego, including airport pickup.

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WHEN YOU GO

El Cielo Resort and Winery: elcielovalledeguadalupe.com

La Cocina de Dona Esthela: donaesthela.com

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Jim Farber is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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