Vines of Mendoza

Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. Two of the main industries of Mendoza area are olive oil production and wine making. The region around Greater Mendoza is the largest wine producing area in Latin America; therefore, Mendoza has become an emerging wine tourism destination and base for exploring the hundreds of wineries in the region.

I have been to Mendoza twice. Here are my main recommendations for the entire region, and then continue reading below for a more detailed breakdown of each trip/winery:
Check out the Vines of Mendoza wine bar. There is one in the Park Hyatt and one around the corner. If you go on Tuesday or Sunday they have a great happy hour. You can get large glasses of top wine for about $2-5USD!

Vines of Mendoza wine bar

I highly recommend having a person drive you around the Luján de Cuyo region, as the vineyards are farther apart. I used the same driver, Carlos, on on both of my trips. He is AMAZING and speaks perfect English. His info is below. You can then rent bikes and tour the Maipu region on your own. The wineries in this region are all in a line and a fairly easy bike ride. I rented bikes both times from Mr. Hugo’s but there is also a company called Bikes and Wine.  I am bet they  are essentially the same thing - though Mr. Hugo does offer free wine before and after your trip.  Something you clearly need after a full day of wine tasting!

Carlos - the best driver in Mendoza!

Driver for wine tour- $760 pesos (we gave $800 total after tip) for 4 people
Aldo Carlos Moyano
phone: + 54 261 15 574 0970
aldocarlos5@hotmail.com (He doesn't really check email too often so it is best to call him)

If you do prefer to use email, it is best to arrange through Mauricio and request Carlos (this is what we ended up doing both times I went)
Mauricio
mauriciomolina1@yahoo.com
phone: +54 261 527 9936


Trip 1: Farewell Girls Trip
Despite knowing that I would go to Mendoza less than two months later, I decided to head out there in January for one last girl’s weekend before Kelsey and our friend Victoria headed back to The States. We stayed for three days, which was nice because we had time to relax, take a day off drinking and partake in some other the other tourism that Mendoza has to offer. In January, Mendoza is HOT, so it can be exhausting drinking all day.

Day 1: Car tour with Carlos

lunch at Bodega Cecchin

• Carinae - such a cute, French owned and influenced, boutique winery
• Tempus Alba - gorgeous property, I was a little turned off by their service and self-guided “tour” but their wine made up for it!
• Bodega Cecchin - an organic winery, we had a great lunch outside under a walnut tree
• LaGarde - one of my favorites of the day, great wines and atmosphere (could be attributed to the fact that it was our 4th winery?)

Day 2:
After one day of wine tasting in the blazing heat we decided to take a break on day two. Mendoza offers a vast array of non-alcohol activities. Located in the mountains, options include hikes, horseback rides, rafting, erc…. We decided t go paragliding. It was so much fun the views were great! However, after about 10 minutes in the air I started to feel little nauseous and I was ready to come down. I have gone skydiving twice and the same thing happened to me the first time on the parachute time. The problem with paragliding is the entire fall is smooth sailing- which I guess doesn’t make for a smooth stomach. Upon landing all the girls mentioned feeling the same way. Oh well… we still had a great time!

Day 3: Rented bikes from Mr. Hugo's for a self-guided tour around Maipu region

• Bodega La Rural Wine Museum  - in my opinion this is a place you can skip on the tour. While it was neat to see the history of wine the tasting is one glass of their lower class wines, afterwards you can purchase their higher labels by the glass. We wanted to buy a bottle and split it, however they told us we wouldn’t be able to drink the bottle there, just the classes. Definitely a money trap!
• Trapiche - one of my favorite wineries I have visited in all of Mendoza. The tour is great and the tasting is quite extensive! During busy periods you need to make a reservation so try to call the night before and make the first one of the day (as it is right by Mr. Hugo’s and once you keep going it’s unlikely you will return).
• Familia Di Tomaso - the oldest vineyard in the area, we had a great lunch outside in their restaurant (discount to bikers) and then took a great tour!

Trip 2: SA2K11 Part 3

high rollers at the Park Hyatt

We all love wine, so clearly Mendoza was an obvious addition to SA2K11. When I was here in January, the girls and I were walking down the street to the main plaza and saw a really cool looking building. We decided to go check it out assuming it must be an embassy, town hall, or something important... turns out it was the Park Hyatt Hotel. I was SUPER excited because this is where Emily, Melissa, Tyler and I would stay when we went in March! Thanks to Tyler's dad's Hyatt points we were able to stay in this 5-star hotel for just a few dollars more a night than a hostel! It was such a nice break from what we had been sleeping in. It was so interesting how much the weather had changed since mid-January. Our first day in town was FREEZING, we were so happy to be in a car! We lucked out the day we were on bikes as it was a littler warmer, but not as dreadfully hot as it was in January.


The first day we did a car tour of Luján de Cuyo with our amazing driver Carlos. Knowing where I had been the last time, Carlos decided to take us to a completely different region.

beautiful landscape at Achaval Ferrer

• Achaval Ferrer - really beautiful botique winery with amazing wine! A little pricey
• Alta Vista  -We had a great time chatting with the American sommeliere
• Belasco de Baquedano - such a gorgeous winery, perfectly alined with the Andes Mountains in the foreground. This winery has a "Hall of Aromas" with 46 fragrances (associated with wines) contained in clear Plexiglas posts. We had a lovely lunch in their picturesque dining room. The meal included 4 courses: cheese and leek croquette with chorizo, pumpkin empanadas, lomo (steak) with potatoes and ratatouille and chocolate tart with berries and fresh ice cream and a shot orange sorbet). Five different Malbec wines accompanied lunch: the first being a Malbec rosé, three different traditional Malbecs and then a Malbec desert port.

Hall of Aromas at Belasco de Baquedano

the remnants of our lunch at Belasco de Baquedano

• Bodega Bonfanti - small boutique winery, we were lead around by the owner’s son. Currently they only make red wine, but they are in the process of making a wine and he let Melissa taste it. Even though the white wine was not ready for bottles Mel really liked it. Guess she’ll have to come back!

The second day we rented bikes from Mr. Hugo's http://mrhugobikes.com/ and explored the Maipú region. The first time I went there was absolutely no traffic, and the bikes essentially controlled the streets. March, on the other hand, is harvest season. The roads were filled with semi trucks carrying grapes, which made it a little scary at times.

• Tempus Alba - I was highly impressed by this winery the second time around. The woman who served us was much more helpful than my last “guide” and as mentioned before- the wine is very delicious!
• Viña el Cerno - small winery, we got to pick our own flights. Mel went for the whites and champagnes, while Em and I split the white and red flights.
• Familia di Tommaso - We again had a great lunch and tour at this adorable winery!