Its administrative units are Ejido El Porvenir, Francisco Zarco, San Antonio de las Minas, and Colonia Articulo 115.

The Guadalupe Arroyo (River) runs beneath a smooth valley floor, resulting in sandy but fertile soil.

The mild climate means that vintners grow a wide range of grapes, from Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc to Tempranillo.

Colonists who accompanied Father Caballero lived in a ranch house located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of the mission, a structure that still exists, albeit in poor condition.

Nearly 5,000 head of cattle grazed in pasturelands along the river, and the soil supported the cultivation of wheat, vegetables, grape vines, and fruit trees.

[13] [14][15] In the 1840s, the Mexican government opened ex-mission lands to colonization by private individuals, a decision opposed by the Spanish-born Dominican priest Father Gabriel González, among others.

Rancho ex-Misión de Guadalupe was granted to Juan Bandini, a Peruvian-born Californio, in a move of dubious legality.

[18] In 1858, in the wake of a Gold Rush in Baja California[19][20] the Mexican government sold what it described as terrines baldíos or "unoccupied" lands in the Valle de Guadalupe.

[21] In 1861, José Matías Moreno II returned to the valley as subjefe político de La Frontera (deputy military chief) commissioned to protect the interests of the Mexican government.

He and a garrison of troops made their headquarters at Rancho ex-Misíon de Guadalupe where they worked to undermine filibusters, or unauthorized military expeditions that aimed to capture and annex Lower California.

[18] He enforced a 1853 law prohibiting foreigners from owning land within 60 miles of the border, among them Juan Bandini who had supported the North Americans during the U.S.-Mexico War and was considered a traitor by the Mexican government.

In 1863, Moreno secured a clear title to Rancho ex-Misíon de Guadalupe which included a ruined adobe house, 2,000 grape vines in poor condition, an orchard, and farmland.

After a lengthy lawsuit initiated by José Matías Moreno III, Theron Flower purchased the Rancho ex-Misión de Guadalupe for $15,000 in 1887.

[17] Rancho ex-Misión de Guadalupe changed hands several times before being sold in 1905 to a colony of Russian Molokans, religious dissenters who fled persecution in their own country.

A mixture of Spiritual Christian faiths, mostly Pryguny, the colonists formed the Russian Colonizing Enterprise of Lower California Cooperative Society, and settled in four farming colonies near Ensenada.

The second major exodus took place after the Mexican government began to redistribute large tracts of private property as communal land.

They formed the poblado Francisco Zarco around the site of the old mission and engaged in acts of civil disobedience designed to drive both Russian and Mexican owners from their lands.

[29] As the border cities grew, however, vineyards became crowded out and the center of Mexican viticulture moved south to the Valle de Guadalupe.

An educational program for local growers developed with the arrival of Hugo D’Acosta, one of Mexico’s most renowned winemakers, and Hans Joseph Backhoff of Monte Xanic Winery.

Around that time, boutique wineries offering food and lodging started to appear, relying on the natural beauty of the region to sell their products.

In 2022, winemakers and others launched a preservation campaign called Rescatemos el Valle in order to emphasize the importance of agricultural land use.

Since the 1990s the Association of Winemakers of Baja California holds the Fiestas de la Vendimia (Wine Harvest Festival) in the Valle of Guadalupe and the town of Ensenada every year in August.

Diego Hernández headed up Corazón de Tierra, rated by William Reed Business Media as one of Latin America's 50 best restaurants, before the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to close.

[38] The area is a center of Baja Med cuisine, but traditional eateries such as the famous La Cocina de Doña Esthela remain very popular.