Private Insider Wine & Gastronomy Experiences
Hosted by Chef Marcus & Jamie Guiliano
February 2–9, 2027
Private custom travel also available for groups, families, and culinary clubs.
Travel through Jalisco with the people who have spent years building friendships across Guadalajara, the highland agave fields, and the historic tequila towns of the valley. This is Jalisco through the eyes of the families who make the spirit, not a guidebook.
Date
Destination
Experience
Jalisco does not reveal itself in a tasting room. It pulls you in slowly, through the smell of roasting agave drifting across the highlands, cobblestones in historic tequila towns, blue agave rows stretching toward the volcano, and the families working beside fermentation tanks and copper stills. For Marcus and Jamie, Jalisco represents everything travel should be: real people, real food, real culture, with no manufactured experiences, no staged tourism, and no giant buses, only relationships. Guests do not come here to take shots. They come to slow down, taste properly, walk the land, meet producers, eat deeply, and experience the culture that gave the world one of its greatest spirits.
Hosted Departure
February 2–9, 2027, with Marcus and Jamie traveling alongside the group from arrival to farewell.
Small group experience
Only a small group of guests is invited into this hosted Jalisco experience. The size is intentional. It protects the intimacy, the access, and the seat at the family table that define VIP Winery Vacations.
Prefer private travel?
Many guests choose to travel privately with couples, friends, families, restaurant teams, collectors, beverage professionals, and travel-advisor clients. Ask about custom FIT (Free Independent Travel) programs designed around your dates, your pace, and the producers and experiences that matter most to you. Private trips may include tequila distilleries, raicilla distilleries, custom dining, boutique hotels, and private transportation.
Schedule a discovery call with Marcus and Jamie to discuss availability.
Just relationships built over years in food and travel, and the friendships that make every door in Jalisco open a little wider. You sit with producers and their families, not behind a rope. You eat at family tables before you eat at restaurants. You stay in properties chosen for character and location, not chain reliability. You travel with a chef and a host who have walked these agave roads for years.
Jalisco does not give itself up in a single afternoon. It reveals itself in the second pour of a highland blanco, in the long lunch in Arandas that turns into an unhurried walk, in the producer who insists you stay for one more taste straight from the still, in the drive back through the agave fields with the windows open and woodsmoke in the air. The pace of this trip is the point. Eight days is what it takes to do Jalisco the way the families here do it: slowly, generously, and without a clock.
8-day immersive itinerary
Each day is built around the rhythm of place: the restaurants and rooftop bars of Guadalajara, the highland distilleries of Arandas and Atotonilco, the historic tequila towns of the valley, the agave fields of the UNESCO landscape, and the long shared meals that define Jalisco hospitality.
Guests arrive in Guadalajara and are welcomed into the rhythm of Jalisco. Airport transport brings the group to Quinta Real Guadalajara, a refined colonial-style hotel with gardens, stone, and old-world Mexican elegance. The afternoon allows time to settle in, walk, refresh, and begin absorbing the atmosphere of Mexico’s great tequila city. The evening begins with a first taste of Guadalajara, perhaps Le Tequila, a wine bar in Zapopan, or dinner in one of the city’s vibrant neighborhoods. This first night is never rushed. The city lights come on, glasses are raised, and guests begin to understand that this is not a standard tequila tour.
After breakfast, the group heads toward the Highlands for one of the most important visits of the trip: Destilería El Pandillo, home of G4 and Volans. This is where guests begin to understand the technical and agricultural side of great tequila, where water, fermentation, agave selection, distillation, and philosophy all matter. Lunch in Arandas brings the group into the heart of highland tequila country, followed by time to explore the town and, when possible, a visit to Mezonte, one of the most respected names in agave education and preservation. The evening returns to Guadalajara for dinner at Bruna.
The day begins with breakfast before heading into another essential chapter of tequila history. Guests visit Tequila Siete Leguas, a producer respected for tradition, heritage, and classic highland tequila character. After lunch, the journey continues with a visit connected to Vivanco, another important tequila family name. Here, guests continue building the bigger picture: tequila is not one thing. It is land, region, method, family, and decision-making. Dinner at Pomodoro brings the day back to the table.
After breakfast, guests check out of Quinta Real and head deeper into tequila country. The day centers around Tequila Cascahuín in El Arenal, one of the most respected names among agave purists. Lunch at El Carnalito brings a local, casual, flavorful contrast to the distillery experience. The afternoon may include Tequilera TAP and Cazcanes, followed by drinks at Ixtete and dinner in Tequila. The group checks into Hotel Solar de las Ánimas, in the heart of Tequila, and the evening may end with rooftop views and a walk through town.
Breakfast begins in Tequila before the group heads out for one of the most thought-provoking agave experiences of the trip: Caballito Cerrero. This stop expands the conversation beyond conventional tequila. Lunch at El Carnalito keeps the day grounded in local flavor. The afternoon explores Amatitán, one of the historic communities inside the tequila landscape. This is not a polished tourist version of agave country. It is working Jalisco. Drinks at Los Pomos and dinner in the region create a relaxed evening.
The day begins in Tequila with breakfast before visiting one of the most legendary names in modern tequila: Fortaleza, produced at Los Abuelos. For many tequila lovers, this is a bucket-list visit. After lunch, the group continues to La Tequileña, associated with brands such as Don Fulano and Cimarrón. The day may also include El Tequileño, depending on timing. Dinner at Mango closes the evening in Tequila.
After breakfast, guests check out of Hotel Solar de las Ánimas and begin the final full day of agave exploration. The itinerary may include Familia Landeros and Anastasio, offering a more personal, family-driven look at tequila culture. The group then visits Destilería Rivesca, connected to Rejón tequila, before returning toward Guadalajara. Dinner may include Casa Luna in Tlaquepaque, where color, craft, food, and atmosphere create a beautiful closing night. The group checks into Villa Ganz, with the option to enjoy Pancho’s Bar for a final celebratory drink.
The final morning begins with breakfast at the hotel. Guests transfer to the airport for afternoon flights, carrying home more than bottles. They leave with a deeper understanding of tequila, agave, Jalisco, and the families behind the spirits. They have tasted the difference between industrial and intentional, walked the towns, met the people, eaten the food, and experienced the culture behind the glass. This is what VIP Winery Vacations does best. It turns a destination into a relationship.
Tequila, Agave Spirits & Styles to Expect
One of the world’s great regions for agave, and on this journey you will taste widely across blanco, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo, alongside still-strength and additive-free expressions, while seeing the full process firsthand, from tahona crushing and brick-oven roasting to open and wood fermentation in small-batch family distilleries. The trip explores both Highland and Valley expressions: Jalisco’s Highlands are often associated with red soils and fruitier, more floral profiles, while the Valley region tends toward earthier, mineral-driven character. Guests may also encounter agave spirits outside conventional tequila labeling, plus optional mountain raicilla in San Sebastián del Oeste.
The best tequila experiences are not found by clicking “book now” on a generic tour site. They happen through relationships, when the right door opens, the right bottle comes out, and the right person is there to tell the story. Space is intentionally limited, because the family table, the backyard distillery, and the unhurried highland lunch simply cannot be recreated at a larger scale. If Jalisco is the trip you’ve been waiting for, the next step is a conversation, not a checkout page. Schedule a consultation with Marcus and Jamie Guiliano at VIP Winery Vacations · (845) 800-0449, because the best parts of Jalisco aren’t found online. They’re found around someone’s family table.
Your details are used only to follow up about the Jalisco hosted journey or private travel request.
