San Miguel Women: Julieta Aguilar Herrera — A Taste of San Miguel and Beyond

What if you could experience San Miguel not just through its restaurants, but through the vineyards, mezcal haciendas, farms, producers and people that give this region its flavor?

That is the world Julieta Aguilar Herrera, founder of Mexican Terroir, invites her guests to discover. Through privately guided food and wine experiences, vineyard visits, Mexican spirits tastings and trips into the countryside, Julieta tells the story of the region through what it grows, produces, cooks and pours.

When Julieta talks about terroir, she means much more than soil. For her, it is a sense of place—the land, certainly, but also its ingredients, history, traditions, people and the stories behind what we taste.

Originally from Aguascalientes, Julieta spent part of her childhood in Mérida, Yucatán, where she began to understand at a young age just how many different Mexicos exist within one country. Later, she studied culinary arts in France and lived there for seven years.

Surrounded by a culture where food and wine are deeply connected to place and season, her curiosity about wine grew, eventually leading her to study wine tourism at the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences) in Bordeaux. But living abroad also gave her a new appreciation for home. Compared with the distinct growing seasons she experienced in France, she began to recognize the extraordinary abundance and diversity of Mexico.

Ten years ago, Julieta found her way to San Miguel when a friend was opening a French restaurant. By 2017, she had entered the region’s then-emerging wine industry, first at Viñedo Dos Búhos and later helping with the opening of Viñedo Los Arcángeles in nearby Dolores Hidalgo.

Wine became her doorway into something much bigger. Through the vineyards, she met farmers, beekeepers, lavender growers, food producers and makers of Mexican spirits. Her wine tours naturally began expanding beyond what was in the glass to explore the history, culture and people behind it.

The deeper she went, the more she wanted to understand the why behind what we eat and drink here.

That curiosity eventually became Mexican Terroir, Julieta’s way of interpreting the territory and connecting visitors not simply with its flavors, but with the people, traditions and stories that give those flavors meaning. Because for Julieta, tasting a place is also a way of remembering it.

For someone discovering you for the first time, tell us about what you do and what inspired you to create it.

Mexican Terroir grew from my desire to help people understand a destination through its flavors, but also through its people and stories.

When I began working in wine tourism around San Miguel, I realized I was never interested in talking only about the wine. I wanted to understand what surrounded it: the history of the land, how people cook here, the local ingredients, mezcal and other Mexican spirits, the farmers and producers, and why these traditions exist. Through my work at the vineyards, I started meeting incredible people and when you taste something they've created, in a way you are tasting part of their story too.

How has San Miguel influenced the way you cook or create food?

San Miguel encouraged me to look much deeper at this region and also made me more creative.

Working in the vineyards introduced me to so many ingredients and producers I might not otherwise have discovered. At Viñedo Los Arcángeles, for example, we started thinking about how we could use the grape beyond wine—making flour for pizza, using it in desserts and making grape preserves. It made me think differently about what the land gives us and how many ways we can use it.

But San Miguel also made me want to understand the history behind everything. Why do we make wine here? Why do we cook the way we do? Where do our ingredients and traditions come from? What are the stories of the people producing them?

What role do you think women are playing in shaping San Miguel’s culinary scene today?

When I was in Bordeaux, I had the privilege of working with a woman winemaker in an industry that was still predominantly male. She used to talk about the particular sensitivity women bring to winemaking, and that stayed with me.

I see something similar happening here. Women have always been part of agriculture, wine, mezcal and food production, but now their work is becoming much more visible. Nunca se alzó la voz como ahora—their voices have never been heard the way they are today.

At Hacienda Vergel de Guadalupe, one of the places I visit on my tours, Bethy Castillo makes mezcal alongside her husband and is part of a growing community of women maestras mezcaleras. I also think of Maru Ramírez at Granja El Santuario, who took over her father's bee farm and has continued building it around sustainable agriculture and local products.

And there are so many women shaping the restaurant scene. I admire Chef Nelsy Martínez of Agavia and the way she honors Mexican roots, the land and ingredients like pulque and aguamiel in contemporary cooking. Chef Vanessa Romero of Raíces has created a local favorite known for its bold, deeply rooted flavors and a kitchen powered largely by women. Mariana Peraza of Luna de Queso has built one of San Miguel’s most beloved culinary institutions, supported also by an almost entirely female team, and continues to create with projects like her new restaurant, Amal. Chef Daniela Liberato of Hierba Santa, together with her husband Paco, has created a truly unique culinary experience and one of my musts for breakfast or lunch. And Roxana Prieto of Naakary, alongside chef Alexis Torres, offers an incredible seven-course menu that changes with the seasons. There are so many!

These women are producing, farming, cooking, leading businesses and preserving traditions while finding new ways to express them. The women were always there. What is different now is that we are finally hearing their voices and recognizing the importance of what they have been doing all along.

How important are local producers, farms, markets, or seasonal ingredients to your work?

Local producers are at the heart of what I do. Through Mexican Terroir, I’ve built relationships with farmers, winemakers, mezcaleros, beekeepers and other producers throughout the region. Their ingredients are important, but so are their stories. For me, understanding who made something, how it was produced and why it belongs to this land is what gives it meaning. You’re not just tasting a product—you’re tasting a person’s story and a piece of this place.

Fast Five

1. A local food, ingredient, or tradition you love: Tacos de piloncillo during Cuaresma and Semana Santa. They’re small, sweet folded tortillas filled with piloncillo, and my favorites are next to the San Juan de Dios market on San Antonio Abad. I had never tried them before coming to San Miguel. I also love garambullo, a local cactus fruit that grows wild throughout the region. From May through September, I love picking it myself.

2. One word that describes San Miguel’s food scene: Eclectic.

3. One San Miguel food experience everyone should try: Taste the wines of our region! La Reserva de Guanajuato is a great place to buy wines from different local vineyards all in one place, I offer a great experience to taste them. For something more off the beaten path, near Jalpa you can experience real home-style ranch cooking with Doña Betty—around 250 pesos for an all-you-can-eat meal with dishes like sopa de milpa, flor de calabaza, queso ranchero and Guanajuato-style mole.

4. One Mexican ingredient you always have in your kitchen: Chiles! I love spicy food, so habanero, chiltepín and chiles en escabeche will always be in my kitchen.

5. Where do you go for a special dinner? Hiija del Manantial, right in the heart of Centro. It’s perfect for botanear—ordering small dishes to share among friends—and it has a great atmosphere. Another great one is the San Mezcal, the food is a real apapacho.

Experience the Region with Julieta

Through Mexican Terroir, Julieta offers curated food, wine and spirits experiences throughout San Miguel and the surrounding region. Choose one of the experiences on her website or let her create something personalized for you. Her incredible knowledge of the region, its people and its stories makes every experience special.

🌐 mexicanterroir.com

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