By Greg Gunter
The farm-to-table idea is not new to San Miguel de Allende. Many of the region’s chefs have incorporated the concept locally for years. In fact, farm-to-table—as both a dining concept and also a lifestyle—has become so popular here that the outdoor recurring dining event called Outstanding in the Field just hosted yet another successful event here this spring for 140 locals, as shown here. Chef Donnie Masterton ran the show with Escoffier precision.
Many farm-to-table aficionados also love the concept of living among the vines, enjoying a vineyard lifestyle so well romanticized in the 1995 film ″A Walk in the Clouds.» Although the movie was set in Napa Valley, the Mexican-American Aargon family lived an earthy existence among their vineyards that we all could envision for ourselves.
For vineyard homes around San Miguel de Allende, the design aesthetic can vary substantially: some communities enforce a very Tuscan design theme and some enforce a contemporary theme. But the unifying design element is to bring as much of the outdoors into the home, either literally—with wide sliding doors allowing living rooms to feel like covered terraces—or visually with expansive windows boasting forever views, typically of vineyards, often of olive trees and lavender.
Viñedo Los Remedios—San Miguel’s newest vineyard community, on the road to Celaya—hosts Casa Lago, shown here, now on the market for the first time. As the first home in this new community, Casa Lago exemplifies those exact design elements: an entire wall of windows floods the home with light and draws the adjacent vineyards so close you can smell the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes as you drink last year’s harvest! Soaring ceiling volumes also host clerestory windows for even more light and starlit sky views.Note that the photo that appears to be an outdoor veranda is, in fact, an enclosed living room with telescoping doors that recede and disappear into the wall pocket. No need for free hands to open the door when carrying your French hotte (cooking hood) back and forth with the fall vendimia (vintage)! And as the final photo shows, the grape vines are just steps away—the epitome of a vineyard lifestyle!
