Regulators Raid Home of ‘Tequila Matchmaker’ Founders, Escalating Fight Over the Heart of Agave Advocacy

(Photo: Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Jalisco)

On Wednesday evening, federal authorities in Guadalajara, Mexico raided a home belonging to the founders of Tequila Matchmaker, a prominent agave advocacy website.

Authorities claim that the house — known within the community as Casa Lotecito —  was being used as “an adulterated tequila factory.” Though no arrests were made, hundreds of glass bottles, jars and assorted packaging were reportedly seized.

In a video shared with Alerta Jalisco, armed police officers can be seen using a door-breaching ram to enter the premises. Various outlets have reported that National Anti-Kidnapping Coordination agents, Attorney General’s Office agents and Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) officials were all present at the scene.

Tequila Matchmaker, an offshoot of the Taste Tequila domain created in 2009, was founded by husband and wife Grover and Scarlet Sanschagrin. The website has gradually evolved into the largest online resource for tequila reviews, with a special focus paid to additive-free brands.

In 2023, the organization rebranded as the Additive-Free Alliance, expanding its mission to visit and certify additive-free agave distilleries throughout Mexico. The program briefly rolled out a physical stamp of approval, found on the bottles of select additive-free brands like Fortaleza and Cazcanes.

(Photo: Cazcanes Tequila)

Within months, the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) denounced the initiative, demanding that the stickers be removed and independent additive-free testing be curtailed.

“We consider that any scheme offered in the market to ‘certify’, ‘verify’ or ‘confirm’ in any language that a certain trademark is ‘ADDITIVES FREE’ represents an act contrary to good customs and practices and induces error or confusion to the Tequila consumer,” asserted the CRT in its statement.

The CRT also indicated that it would create its own additive-free verification program, specifics of which have yet to be defined.

“The Consejo Regulador del Tequila, A. C. (“CRT”), is the only organization that has the necessary infrastructure to evaluate the conformity of the quality of Tequila […] In this context, the Technical Committee of Certification of the CRT has initiated the corresponding work to define in an interdisciplinary and inclusive manner the appropriate normative parameters for the use of the ‘Additive-Free’ legend,” said the CRT.

If you’d like to support Tequila Matchmaker’s work, donate to the organization here.

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