Jim, President of Baja United Group, has had an epic journey on his way to importing wine and beer from Baja, Mexico. A decorated professional off-road racer with a high school education, Jim has turned his innate business acumen and can-do attitude into a series of business successes.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you have never been to Baja. This is a magical place that hits your soul and never leaves. I am fortunate enough to have been traveling South since 1983.

My trips to Baja traditionally start early in the day so I can beat San Diego traffic as I blast towards the border as I crave some street tacos and a Mexican Coca Cola in a bottle. I have Motown music on the radio, thanks to Candela Bar in LA. I know that after crossing the border, a few quick rights, and one big left towards the toll road, a little more than five dollars in toll payments, and a terrific view, I will be just north of Ensenada.

I have heard Drew’s name around the campfire when traveling with my Off Road buddies. It didn’t mean anything at the time, but clearly I wasn’t thinking clearly. My partner, Eric Morley, had been telling me for months that, just like the wine, Deckman’s was a “Must” experience in the Valle.

I love pairing my Strawberry Salad with a nice crisp chilled bottle of the Monte Xanic Sauvignon Blanc. This wine from the Valle De Guadalupe region of Mexico is a clean and bright wine a high intensity on the nose with marked notes of tropical fruit, guava, passion fruit, pineapple and mango.