Meet LIZETH OROPEZA of UVA EXPERIENCE

Today we’d like to introduce you to LIZETH OROPEZA.

Hi LIZETH, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Everything started with the deep love and pride I have always felt for my hometown, Ensenada, and for Valle de Guadalupe.

In 2018, I started as the host of our family Airbnb, Casa Santiago Valle, and it was there that I completely fell in love with the tourism spirit of the region and the special connection people created with this place.

But something I understood very quickly is that Valle de Guadalupe is not only about tourism. Wine tourism, even though it is now one of the main reasons people visit us, is actually the result of something much deeper: the agricultural and winemaking roots of the region. Behind every experience there are farmers, winemakers, chefs, producers, and families who have built the identity of the Valley for many years, and that is exactly what we have always wanted to share through Uva Experience.

A year later, I started developing the first Uva Experience tours as a personal project, alongside my sister Alejandra and my husband Javier, who to this day have continued building this dream with me while sharing the same vision: showing the region through a more genuine, thoughtful, and personal perspective.

We started by organizing experiences for our Casa Santiago´s guests, and shortly after we launched our first Airbnb Experience. Today, we are proudly the oldest active experience in Valle de Guadalupe on this platform.

Over time, that small project grew alongside Valle de Guadalupe as it started gaining international recognition as a destination. We grew together with the region, and that allowed us to understand it from the inside — not only as a tourist destination, but as a community in transformation.

Today, Uva Experience has become one of the highest-rated DMCs in the region, with hundreds of 5-star reviews, while also becoming a communication platform that shares content about wine, gastronomy, hospitality, and local culture, collaborating with hotels, wineries, restaurants, and brands that are part of the modern growth of the Valley.

What has brought us to where we are today is understanding that people no longer want to simply travel; they want to understand the places they visit, connect with the people behind them, and live experiences that truly stay with them. And that continues to be the essence of everything we do.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a completely easy road. One of the biggest challenges has been growing within an industry that is still relatively new in México.

When we started in 2018, Valle de Guadalupe was still unknown to many people, and the region’s wine tourism culture was only beginning to develop.

Because of that, a big part of our work has not only been promoting the destination, but also helping people understand what it really means to visit a wine region in México. For many travelers, it was a completely new experience: discovering the connection between wine, gastronomy, agriculture, landscapes, and the people behind each project.

In many ways, we feel that we grew at the same time the modern tourism industry of Valle de Guadalupe was taking shape. That also meant learning how to evolve without losing the closeness, care, and trust we wanted to offer from the beginning.

The pandemic was also an important moment for the tourism industry, but we were able to adapt quickly because Uva Experience was already built around this new way of traveling: more flexible, more personalized, and more focused on meaningful experiences. Still, that period pushed us to become more organized and more intentional about how we wanted to grow as a company.

At the same time, the easiest part has always been sharing something we genuinely fell in love with ourselves. We’ve been fortunate to surround ourselves with incredibly talented and passionate people, and one of the most rewarding things continues to be seeing new visitors discover and connect with our region every day.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about UVA EXPERIENCE?
Uva Experience is a hospitality and tourism company specialized in personalized experiences in Valle de Guadalupe and the Ensenada region. We design private tours, custom itineraries, and experiences centered around wine, gastronomy, wellness, and local culture.

Over time, however, we have become much more than a tourism DMC. Today, we also work as a communication and promotional platform for the region, sharing content about Valle de Guadalupe while collaborating with hotels, wineries, restaurants, wine associations and local brands that are part of the destination’s modern growth.

What makes us different is that we have experienced the modern evolution of Valle de Guadalupe very closely. We didn’t arrive once the destination was already established — we grew alongside the region as it started gaining international recognition. That has allowed us to understand the Valley from a much deeper perspective, connected to its agricultural, winemaking, and human identity.

We also believe that luxury today does not mean excess, but access to authentic, thoughtful, and emotionally memorable experiences. That philosophy has shaped our brand from the beginning.

From a brand perspective, what makes us most proud is that we have grown organically while maintaining a close relationship with both our travelers and the local community. Today, we are one of the highest-rated DMCs in the region and the oldest active Airbnb Experience in Valle de Guadalupe.

More than simply offering services, we want people to see Uva Experience as a gateway into the modern Valle — a place where wine, gastronomy, hospitality, and the land come together to create something truly special in México.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love most about my city is its pace of life. Here, it’s normal to take a deep breath, see the ocean every day, and end the afternoon watching an incredible sunset. We live so connected to nature that we constantly remember its gifts, and I think that completely changes the way we enjoy life.

I also deeply believe that the privilege of being born and raised here makes us much more sensitive to everything our region has to offer: the ocean, the land, the gastronomy, the wine, the landscapes, and the time shared with people. And that same privilege is what now allows us to share this region with the rest of the world through Uva Experience.

Ensenada and Valle de Guadalupe still preserve something that is becoming harder and harder to find: a sense of calm and authenticity. Here, we understand that enjoying life is not something that should wait for the weekend; it is part of our everyday life.

At the same time, we are also aware of the challenges that come with the fast growth of the region. I believe the biggest challenge for the future will be finding the balance between growth and preservation, so Ensenada and Valle de Guadalupe can continue evolving without losing the natural and human essence that makes this place so special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.uvaexperience.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uvaexperience/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UVAEXPERIENCE
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LizdeWineTour
• Yelp: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g499403-d21150979-Reviews-UVA_EXPERIENCE-Valle_de_Guadalupe_Ensenada_Municipality_Baja_California.html
• Other: https://www.airbnb.mx/x/uvaexperienceuniqueprivatetourinvalledeguadalupe