While Napa Valley has become too expensive and crowded for budget travelers, an affordable wine and food experience awaits in the opposite direction at Adobe Guadalupe, in a six-room hacienda located on a working winery just outside Ensenada in Baja, Mexico.

The gay-friendly gated retreat, set within Baja’s burgeoning wine country, features a gourmet kitchen for guest meals, plus horseback riding over 60 acres, poolside massage services and firsthand access to five lauded private-label wines produced on the property, each named after Archangels.

Two of the wines, Gabriel and Miguel, which blend varietals such as cabernet franc, merlot, malbec, cinsault and others, have already become available on San Diego’s retail market – at The Wine Bank, Downtown, and the Wine Connection in Del Mar.

Tastings at Adobe Guadalupe are conducted in The Cave, where nearly 5,000 cases produced annually are aged beneath a cupola of blue Talavera tiles, amid abstract murals. The cuisine goes the way of Napa, too, pulling in fresh local produce, artisan cheeses and imported meats for meals prepared by accomplished off-site chefs.

Adobe Guadalupe is owned by Don and Tru Miller, a retired couple from Orange County who launched the venture about 12 years ago when they planted their first grapes on the expansive property. The hacienda was designed by Persian architect Nassir Haghighat, who included architectural features common to dwellings in the Iranian dessert.

Room rates are $168 per night, which includes breakfast for two people. Dinners with wine are $70 per person; lunches are $15; wine tastings of five varietals with olives are $5; and daily high tea is $10.

Skyy Limo in San Diego provides transportation to the property for day trips or overnight stays. Prices vary, and reservations should be made at least a week in advance by calling 619-239-7599.

For reservations and more information about Adobe Guadalupe, visit www.adobeguadalupe.com, or call 011-52-646-155-2094.

A plethora of creative, interactive culinary classes that double as veritable dining experiences among friends and families are available at Kitchen Art Studio in Mira Mesa, owned by chef and food-industry veteran Kay Gadi-Carreon. The classes cater to both adults and children, while advocating responsible food choices and healthy living.

From pan sauces and wok specialties to French fare, sandwiches and cobblers, guests learn the ropes in the facility’s spacious kitchen over the course of one to three hours, depending on meal themes.

Kitchen Art Studio also offers Friday-night dinner party classes, where meals are paired with specialty wines and beers – a viable alternative to a night on the town. Corporate team building programs and party catering are available as well.

The facility is located at 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd., Suite 134. Reservations and detailed information can be obtained by calling 858-657-9001, or by visiting www.KitchenArtStudio.net.

Upcoming classes priced at $45 apiece include:

What’s for breakfast? (9 a.m. to noon; and 6 to 8 p.m., Monday, June 22).

Menu: Ham and cheese turnovers, chocolate-banana waffles, bacon and cheese, fruit toppings, breakfast parfaits.

The incredible edible egg (1 to 4 p.m., Monday, June 22)

Menu: Deviled eggs, scrambled eggs over toast, vegetable and cheese omelet and eggnog.

What’s for lunch? (9 a.m. to noon; and 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, June 23)

Menu: Tomato basil feta salad, easy chicken tender sandwich, yogurt ring, fruit coolers.

Back to basics in baking (1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, June 24)

Menu: Mini turkey meatloaf, dinner rolls and oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies.

Fun with a wok (1 to 4 p.m., Thursday, June 25)

Menu: Chicken and vegetable stir fry, traditional egg rolls and vegetable fried rice.

What’s for dinner? (6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, June 25)

Menu: Chicken cheese jalousie, vegetable lasagna, cheesy pasta shells casserole and non-alcoholic sangria.

Cobbler 3 ways (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 27)

Menu: Mixed berry, apple and peach cobblers with vanilla ice cream.