He mexican wine that today competes on international tables does not begin in the barrel or on the label. It begins much earlier, in the journey of Tony Viramontes, a young man who left Tlaltenango, Zacatecas, with the urgency of helping his family and ended up learning, during more than three decades in the United States, that agriculture is, above all, a human science.
His story does not respond to the epic story of individual success, but to a more silent logic: that of constant work, observation and the understanding that agricultural quality depends less on the land than on those who work it. After 35 years in American agribusiness sectorwhere he held the highest position achieved by a Hispanic in a large agricultural company, Viramontes set a goal: to replicate the model he had seen work, but adapted to his origin.
Today he heads Western Winesa wine company with operations in Querétaro and the Guadalupe Valley. Their labels have gained recognition, but their central focus is not on technology or inputs, but on migrant labor. For Viramontes, wine is not improvised. It is built with trained people, well treated and present at the exact moment of the agricultural cycle.
The experience accumulated in the United States taught him that labor mobility is not a problem to be contained, but rather an economic phenomenon that must be managed. For this reason, a central part of the Vinos del Oeste operation rests on the use of the H-2A visa programwhich allows hiring agricultural workers on a temporary and regulated basis. Through this mechanism, the company has facilitated people from highly marginalized communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca to access formal jobs, with guaranteed wages, housing, food and transportation.
In the field, this human presence translates into technical decisions. Where other vineyards depend on recurring chemical applications, the model promoted by Viramontes privileges manual work. Timely leaf removal, precise pruning and constant supervision have significantly reduced the use of agrochemicals. This is not an ideological position, but a direct consequence of having sufficient and trained workers.
The political context introduces uncertainty. The hardening of the immigration discourse in the United States, after the beginning of the second term of donald trumphas generated doubts among workers and employers. Still, Viramontes maintains that, although costly, orderly migration remains viable when there are clear rules and compliance on both sides.
Vinos del Oeste not only produces wine. It produces income that returns to communities of origin, stability for families living in the countryside, and a practical demonstration that labor migration sustains entire sectors of the economy. In its vineyards, the grapes ripen in the sun, but the project is based on something less visible: people who cross borders to work and return with more than just a salary.
In a public debate dominated by slogans, Tony Viramontes’ story reminds us that the countryside, like wine, requires time, care and hands willing to make it possible.
