Grilled sea bass with banchan-style sides at Diego in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico. Hernández follows his model of sustainable cooking with some of his former restaurant Corazón de Tierra’s greatest hits at the Museo De La Vid y El Vino in Valle de Guadalupe. On January 16, chef Diego Hernández and his business partner Malcolm Simkoff will open Diego inside the Museo De La Vid y El Vino. Though he was slated to take over the shuttered Laja space last spring, Hernández pulled out of that project to open a restaurant inside the museum. The expansive space, designed by Ensenada’s Romo Arquitectura, offers pristine views of the wine-growing region’s wide, flat valley below and is an ideal backdrop for Hernández’s inventive cooking. Once upon a time, the bumpy dirt roads that connect Baja California’s Valle de Guadalupe’s intersecting thoroughfares hosted only the most dedicated travelers bound by the prospect of tasting Mexican wines, grilled meats, and seafood under the stars. The modest band of adventurers moved like the countryside at a slow pace, seeking out the handful of well-made wines and things like grilled quail marinated in oyster sauce served on the side of the road. The guardians of Valle de Guadalupe’s viticultural region — pioneers like winemaker Hugo D’Acosta, Natalia Badan of Mogor Badan, chef Benito Molina, and chef Jaír Téllez — have fought against overdevelopment and overtourism in the recent past. In the last few years, pandemic challenges and heavy rains have returned Calle Principal to a treacherous patchwork of potholes and warped asphalt. These deteriorating forces run counter to the image of Mexico’s picturesque wine regions — one of the country’s most popular luxury destinations. As a result, tourism to the Valle region has slowed considerably. “I think this [last] year has been the worst year for Valle in terms of tourism,” says Hernández, who opened Parador Mercédes in October 2023, a casual breakfast and lunch restaurant. Hernández hopes to attract the right visitors to the region. The kind of passionate food and wine adventurers who were initially drawn to Mexico’s celebrated wine region and are undeterred by dusty, unpaved roads. While Hernández can point to several factors in the decline of tourism to Valle de Guadalupe, something that many have welcomed. The vocal Ensenada-born chef says he can’t ignore the hypocrisy that’s made Valle de Guadalupe a free-for-all for developers who aren’t necessarily concerned with keeping its cultural traditions intact. The success of Valle de Guadalupe has attracted investors to open large restaurants and build design projects that are incongruous with the natural beauty of the region — and the sustainability approaches required to preserve it. “People that love the Valle are tired of the same superficial [lip-service] and the big projects that cater to mass tourism,” says Hernández. Diego Hernandez (right) with executive sous chef Ana Carmona (left) at Diego restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California. At Diego, Hernández will serve an a la carte menu and an eight-course tasting menu titled Corazón de Tierra, a nod to Hernández’s former acclaimed restaurant that closed in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An extended tasting menu of 12 courses from the repertoire of Corazón de Tierra will be served at the chef’s counter inside the kitchen for eight diners. He will also honor his Corazón de Tierra roots, alongside other area restaurants like Malva, Lunario (which earned a Michelin one green star), and Damiana, in taking intentional steps to maintain a smaller ecological footprint. The main dining room will have 40 seats and handmade wooden tables fashioned by Tijuana carpenter Gerardo Re. They’ll be covered with elephant pink tablecloths and linens by fashion designer Zayda Tavárez. The interior walls will be framed by rustic fieldstone. The solar-powered kitchen consists of stainless steel islands designed by Hernández and his architect, Alejandro Candela, and fabricated by Tijuana-based Promotinox; the kitchen will employ induction burners to eliminate the need for natural gas. The entire museum also relies on solar power but in the new restaurant, an indispensable Valle de Guadalupe touch emanates from a portable camp grill that provides an essential countryside flavor of smoke. He will honor his Corazón de Tierra roots and other area restaurants by taking intentional steps to maintain a smaller ecological footprint. Within a few months, the restaurant’s garden will supply seasonal, organic produce for most dishes supplemented by other local farms like Finca La Carrodilla. For meats, Hernández has cut deals with local ranchers to buy whole animals that will be butchered in-house, inspired by his admiration for Animal, the groundbreaking restaurant by chef Vinny Dotolo and chef Jon Shook that closed in 2023. “I want to return to a time when everything here was very personal and boutique,” says Hernández. Just as it was at Corazón de Tierra before, diners at Diego can experience the elegant simplicity of local ingredients prepared at Manzanilla and Laja, where Valle de Guadalupe cuisine was born. The result of Hernández’s thoughtful efforts to conserve water, harness the energy of the sun, and use a whole animal approach has resulted in a relatively reasonably priced modern Mexican dining experience. Hernández says he thinks can maintain these prices for the next year but that he will need to consider financial and environmental viability in the long term, too. “It’s what we’ve been doing since we opened Corazón de Tierra, and it all makes sense if you simply respect the seasons,” he says. The view of the valley of Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California from the Museo De La Vid y El Vino. The eight-course Corazón de Tierra menu costs $80, drawing from the former restaurant’s “greatest hits.” Think lightly grilled Sol Azul Pacific oysters in melted butter and firm, fleshy strips of kanpachi crudo in pipián oil, which are then followed by local borage dumplings in a delicate chicken stock with strong lemongrass. Midway, a refried bean course of thick, umami-rich Oaxacan black beans, chorizo, sardines, and bacon is topped with salsa Baqueano, a chopped onion and chile serrano condiment. Based on his grandfather’s recipe, it’s finished with a flurry of shaved carne seca and served with buttery flour tortillas. Hernández has dubbed the dish Verlaine beans after Jonathan Gold penned his admiration for the dish in a Los Angeles Times review. The chef’s counter serves an extended tasting of 12 courses that costs $100 a person. One of the featured dishes is the gargouillou — a verdant medley of fresh leaves, broccolini stems, pan-fried shishito pepper and salt-cured cactus pad strips interrupted by a single glistening red cherry tomato, pureed carrot, and lemon skin. The delicate arrangement is dressed with a tepache vinaigrette as an homage to chef Michel Bras, who inspired Hernández’s culinary philosophy. The extended savory course menu concludes with beef ribeye strips grilled to medium rare and paired with burnt cactus juice and butternut squash puree. There will be three seatings a day for the chef’s counter: 1 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Those looking for a more affordable experience can order a la carte. Highlights include a braised then roasted half duck with duck jus, and beef or lamb shank slowly braised in black beans. Hernandez served the lamb shank to the late Anthony Bourdain on an episode of No Reservations: Baja in 2012. Diego’s wine program will be under the direction of sommelier George Parry, who will focus on grower-producer wines, largely from the Valle de Guadalupe, such as producers as Cava Maciel, Solar Fortún, and Vena Cava. Diners can reserve the chef’s counter beginning January 23, with the standard tasting menu, and a la carte menu released over time leading up to the restaurant’s grand opening on February 22. Reservations are now live on the restaurant’s website. Diego is open from Thursday to Monday, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for lunch and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for dinner.. It’s located at the Museo de La Vid y El Vino, Carr. Fed. Tecate-Ensenada KM 81.3371 Fracc. Norte, Francisco Zarco, B.C., Mexico. Grilling oysters with butter over open fire. Sea urchin over house-made tempeh and burrata. Fennel three ways. Grilled oysters with butter over rock salt. Hamachi crudo. Borage flower dumplings in consome. Taco de pulpo (octopus). Diego’s Verlaine beans. Grilled ribeye with burnt cactus juice and butternut squash puree. A medley of fresh seasonal vegetables called gargouillou inspired by chef Michel Bras. Onion soubise with queso Ramonetti. A look inside Diego, still unfinished, located inside Museo De La Vid y El Vino in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California.