MENDOZA

The variety of landscapes and the touristic offer that Argentina has is impressive.

In this case, we are going to talk about MENDOZA province. Located to the west of Argentina on the eastern plain of the Andes Mountains.

The tourist activity focuses mainly on the wine industry, which is why together with other cities in the world it is considered: The "International Wine Capital". But beyond the wine, the gastronomy that Mendoza offers is really of another level. That is why in this guide we are going to talk about both: wine and food.

Lets start by the beginning…

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL?

Autumn or spring. Autumn because the snow-capped mountain peaks can already be seen, which gives the landscape a touch of color, and at the same time it is not cold yet, the weather is ideal. A perfect time for this season is the end of March/April. You can go for the Easter holidays, to be able to get away for several days to make the most of it.

In the spring it is also a good time because its more blossomed, the routes have green trees that surround the streets forming a perfect natural tunnel. And something important: the weather is not hot yet. A perfect moment in this season can be late October/early November.

TRANSPORTATION

Depending on where you are from, you can go by car or by plane. El Plumerillo airport is approximately 7 km by car from the center of Mendoza.

You need to rent a car to tour the city. The distances are quite long between each point of interest. If you go by plane you can pick up and return the car at the same airport.

DRIVERS / TRANSFERS / TAXIS

If you are going to drink and prefer not to drive, find below some transport recommendations:

JORGE Y MÓNICA ÁVILA

daniabtours@yahoo.com

+549 2622 664761

+549 2622 543222

TRANSPORTE VICTORIA - MARCOS MIRANDA

Tienen autos y camionetas

transportevictoria11@gmail.com

+549 2622 524690

ALEJANDRO MUGNECO

Tienen autos y camionetas

mugnecoj@yahoo.com.ar

+549 2622 670636

JAVIER ANDRADE

jeandrade.seg@gmail.com

+549 2622 442166

+549 2622 610014

HOW MUCH TIME ITS NEEDED?

It depends on what you want to do and how many wineries you want to visit. If you want to do what is fair and necessary, in 3 days you can do it but knowing that there will be pendings that will be worth a second visit.

If you are foodie , wine, or olive oil lover, you will see that each winery is very different. Each one has its architecture, its history, its experience.

Also, there are other activities to enjoy. Therefore, if it is your first time, the best is to dedicate 4/5 days to make it without rushing and as complete as possible.

The landscapes are truly impressive, the peace that exists in each spot is unique and you need time to live and enjoy each place.

WHERE TO STAY?

Luján de Cuyo, Maipú, Vistalba and Chacras de Coria are the best places to stay. They are the midpoint between: the center, the wineries, the mountains.

The wineries and restaurants are spread all over the place, some in those areas, others more on the Valle de Uco side, etc. The city center is completely on the other side. And the road to Potrerillos and the foothills is the other way as well. The distances between each place are at least 30min and up (up to 1h, sometimes 1.30/40h). Being in these mid points is key.

Another strategy is to split the stay half in Valle de Uco and half in Luján de Cuyo.

Don't be scared when you see the distances. The landscapes are impressive, you'll enjoy the roadtrip and the key is to organize each day by grouping the nearby places together.

To stay in a good, cheap and well-located hotel, we recommend the: ESPLENDOR BY WYNDHAM. The only thing to mention is that it is a big hotel and you are not sleeping with the nature and vineyard vibe. But the truth is that you spend very little time in the hotel. Hotels in vineyards have very high prices.

If you have a budget and plan ahead, you can be aware of promotions in vineyards. A very nice one at Vistalba is ENTRECIELOS.

An option at Valle de Uco: AUBERG DU VIN.

Other in Tunuyán, that's a house in a winery with incredible views: Mosquita Muerta Wines.

ORGANIZATION

It is very important to first define what type of trip you want to do. Are you more interested in the wine route, gastronomy, are you interested in visiting olive groves, do you like adventure tourism more?

There are very impressive wineries but perhaps they have very high prices to eat and the food is not that special; there are other wineries where you can eat excellent; other places that are more to tour the place and eat something, but the winery is not worth it…

In addition, in many places you have to book in advance, especially if you go in the middle of a high season (November tends to be full, if you go this month book each place in advance!).

The ideal is to schedule an agenda, book in advance and in each place check prices for visits to wineries and food menus. In general, all places have set up a menu system so they will be able to give you a fixed price per person in advance so you can check your budget.

Prior to this, look at the map where each place is located and organize the days according to the proximity so you don't waste time from one place to another.

With this you will be able to make the most of the days. Be practical, so you don't do so many hours of senseless driving, and you'll enjoy a calm trip knowing that you are respecting your budget.

FAVORITE WINERIES

CASA VIGIL / EL ENEMIGO

Our favorite without a doubt! Winery + Restaurant. The attention, the place, the experience... Our host was "El Nico" and he was the one who also made this night something special.

The owner is Alejandro Vigil, who lives right there. He was a winemaker for Catena Zapata. He started out as an agronomist and today he is still the Chief Winemaker there. With Adriana, Catena's youngest daughter, he founded: El Enemigo. They have a winery called Aleanna (Ale+Adriana).

The design of "El Enemigo" is inspired by "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, in honor to his grandfather who used to read it to him in Italy. For this reason, the visit to the winery is divided into "hell", "purgatory" and "heaven".

Everything they do has a family story behind it. For example, the sparkling Losance beverage is because of his wife's last name (Sance). They say that every time they were quiet in their house, his wife's family would come and so they'd say: "The Sance has arrived". (In Spanish: Llegaron Lo' Sance". And that's where the name comes from.

The best thing if you go at night is goin early, just when the sun is going down so you catch a bit of daylight, see the sunset and then you can enjoy the night with the moon and the illuminated vineyards. The entire history of the winery and the passage through those 3 stages we prefer that you experience yourself since it is very interesting, no spoilers here.

What we are going to tell you is the brief story behind the name “EL ENEMIGO” (The Enemy).

Alejandro made the first Blend of him playing, leaving all fears aside. He says that our greatest enemy is within us, it is the internal fears that paralyze us. That is why the drawing in the bottle is a man fighting with a beast, that beast is "The Enemy" internal to oneself.

That first Blend is the one that was chosen when he worked as a winemaker at Catena and led him to be selected to make wines at the winery and from there he launched his career. The wine that consecrated him is the Nicolás 2001 from Catena Zapata.

Something special about this place is that you really feel at home. The attention is spectacular and what you live here is not a visit or a meal, but an experience.

#GuestTravelTips: To visit the winery and eat there, in general, they give you a 10% discount for being Argentine.

At noon the menu + tasting is cheaper than at night.

The concept of Alejandro Vigil is that you live the complete experience, they do not skimp on anything (neither drink nor food). He also wants you to play and choose your own pairing, that's why you sit at the table and each one has several glasses around the plate. Because each dish does not come with an assigned pairing, he wants you to have all the wines on the menu at all times and play trying the ideal pairing for you with each dish.

Our picks: Semillón (white wine), Blend and El Cepillo.

The Gualtallary earned 100 Parker points in 2018; In 2019, Piedra Infinita from Zuccardi took the win, but they got 99+.

Let's leave the wine for a while and let's get to the food. The steps we tried:

A zucchini and goat cheese roll with toasted almonds.

A gazpacho (the best we ever tried).

A trout with corn.

A bacon with pea puree (impressive).

Meat with potatoes and baked polenta.

Before dessert, a lemon ice cream infused with "yerba mate" to digest the meal.

And for dessert a homemade ice cream.

ZUCCARDI

There are 2, one in Valle de Uco and one in Maipú, which is the Santa Julia winery.

In Bodega Santa Julia is where you have the visit to the olive farm, which has one of the best oils: ZUELO. They also have a segment where you can go to learn to cook with the chefs there and then eat that menu that you cooked together.

The one in Valle de Uco is known for its particular architecture that won several design awards.

This area is very dry and there is no longer a pre-cordillera, you just have the frontal and cordillera, which makes it have the perfect conditions for the grapes.

Uco is large and diverse, with many altitudes and many microclimates. That is why they speak of “micro regions”. The place is very rocky due to the erosion that they had over the years when the glaciers began to melt and in hot seasons is when the water went down. That is why there are so many layers with different materials, different types of minerals and earth that the water moved. For example, where there are more rocks, a different texture is perceived since those vineyards are more "stressed" and work faster. The others are more relaxed because they are humid and the grapes are bigger. This process is slower, they are born 13 days after the others.

They have more than 60 types of soil in the 300 hectares, so they divide the soil into irregular polygons and gather the grapes manually. Each part of the earth gives you something unique. Zuccardi says he respects that diversity so that each grape has its identity.

The architect, Fernando Raganato, designed the winery so that it is integrated into the landscape and respects the land where he lives. It is very nice to see the sunset there. He won the award: "The most beautiful design in the world" and also 100 Parker points for his Piedra Infinita wine in 2019. 100% Malbec wine. Sebastián Zuccardi was also awarded as "best oenologist".

This wine is named after the mountain, that would come to be the "Infinite Stone", it was inspired from the poem by Jorge Enrique Ramponi "Stone is Stone".

You will notice that the entire warehouse is made of concrete, which means that 100% of the process is done there; maceration, fermentation and aging. It has pores for micro-oxygenation and a round shape to avoid corners and make the flow easier. Each one has different sizes according to which part of the irregular polygon it comes from. They are based on the concept of "less intervention" so that the wines are more stable and less oxidized and stressed. The small winery produces 62,000 liters a year and exports 55% to 40 countries.

The great mass (approximately 70%) is taken by the wines from the lowest part of the pyramid. The high-end wines do not come out as much due to a pricing and tax issue.

They have some few oak barrel. The largest is 500 liters. They put less wine in the larger barrels so they have less contact with the oak so as not to mask the flavor that this earth gives them with its contact. More delicate and elegant wines come out. These barrels are from France, Austria and Germany.

In the cellar there is a stone that fell years ago and symbolize time and the infinite stone.

The menu is 4 steps with classic wine. And from there the price increases depending on the wine.

We were served to join the starters an aubergine baked in a clay oven with "Alma 4 Pinot Noir Rose". A creamy sparkling wine.

Then, a chicken with homemade mayonnaise and potatoes simmered with herbs, garlic and mustard oil. The pairing was with "Zuccardi Q Chardonnay" from Tupungato, a rocky area. That gives it acidity and makes it light.

Then we closed the meal with Ribs with smashed potatoes. The pairing was with "Zuccardi Concreto".

Very good attention, very nice place. Special mention to Federico Asin's service.

SALENTEIN

The place is very cute. It's worth it, even if it's just to visit around.

If you like art they have a gallery called Espacio Kilka inside the facilities.

It is very interesting from an architectural point of view. It is one of the most impressive in relation to architecture and establishment. 50% of the production is exported to more than 40 countries. They have aged wines, sparkling wines, fruity ones, blends... The winery was built by a Dutchman, Pond, who landed in Argentina in 1990. Eight years later he began the winery construction and it opened its doors in 2000. If you look at many places the name is written: Salentein MM (2000 in Roman numerals). The name is due to a castle that Pond had in the Netherlands with the same name and thanks to which he was able to make his dream come true.

The winery does not have prices as high as others. The tour is 1 hour with a tasting at the end. There is a cheaper Salentein menu and a Premium one. The food is the same, the difference is the wine. It's a 4-steps menu.

We ate "empanada" for starters (the pairing was a "Pinot Noir Reserva" wine), then trout (with "Numina Cabernet Franc" wine) and a very tasty volcano made of almonds. If you ordered beef instead of trout, the pairing was with "Numina Gran Corte" of 5 grapes.

RUCA MALÉN

Ruca Malén was founded by Jean Pierre B, former president of the Chandón winery. The name means: "house of the Mapuche". It won the award: "Best Cellar Restaurant in the World" in 2014.

The visit to the winery ends with a tasting with a great view.

ESPACIO TRAPICHE

The architecture of this winery is impressive and different from what is seen in others. And it has a lot of history.

You can choose the visit with or without tasting.

The restaurant is divine with an outdoor part where they make the fires.

The winery is based on the concept of biodynamics, the vineyards are not subjected to any chemical concept. They fertilize the land with natural compost from the farm and animal manure. All harvests are manual. They export to more than 90 countries between 70/80% of the production, with an annual production of 10 million.

The name Trapiche comes from the vessel where the solid part of the production was pressed to extract the juice. Today the owners are the Venver family.

Before, until the 1990s, they transported the wines by train from the same winery to Buenos Aires, which is why you will see the tracks that leave right from the door of the winery. There was a train wagon left that they were going to inaugurate as a bar!

CASA DE UCO

If you like architecture or interior design, it is a must. You can sleep there with impressive views, or just go to eat and see the winery.

The peace that exists in this place is unmatched. Really worth it. And the attention is spectacular.

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IN WINE CELLARS

CASA VIGIL / EL ENEMIGO

We already described this wonderful experience.

7 FUEGOS

It is Francis Malmann's restaurant (7 Fuegos) and the winery is The Vines (but you can't visit it if you don't stay there).

It is one of the best restaurants out there.

You have to book well in advance. You can go for lunch or dinner. At night the experience of the fires is really good, but if it is your first time we recommend that you go during the dat because the place and the view are really impressive.

If you can, book a table outside on the deck with a water and mountains' view. They have a standard price that goes up depending on of the wine category that you choose.

Favorite starters: Corn tortilla with squid and prawns, avocado, tomato and onion. And also a Potato Tower with prawns, avocado, parsley, dill and tomato.

Main courses: Gnocchi with prawns and pipote cheese. The best gnocchi made in a clay oven. Another chosen main dish: a "paleta" with 4 hours of cooking with a side of potatoes tower.

Then you can grab your glass of wine and go around the vineyards or lay down to rest in the gardens.

CLUB TAPIZ

It is a super warm place, a smaller winery. It has bedrooms to stay in. You can visit the winery or go just to eat.

The restaurant offers a 3-course menu, and includes drinks, coffee and classic wines. The price rices if you prefer another type of wine.

The entry had a pairing of classic "Sauvignon Blanc Tapiz" and the main course a "Tapiz Merlot". The gizzards are delicious!

Price-quality relation is incredible. The price is lower than in other well-known wineries and it exceeds the quality of several of them.

ROSSEL BOHER

It won the award for "Best Cellar Restaurant in the World" and "Best Olive Oil in the World" in 2019. The place is paradisiacal. If you go at night we recommend going a little earlier to see the sunset.

Excellent attention and you eat very well. You can stay there too.

CRUX COCINA

It is the restaurant of the Alfa Crux winery, in Valle de Uco. The kitchen is run by Edward Holloway, an Irish chef who now lives in Mendoza and learned to cook in a 2 Michelin star restaurant (Jöhris Talvo). Besides Casa Crux, he's also in charge of the kitchen at Casa Agostino and La Morada.

Good food and an unbeatable view. Said by them, "the experience of having lunch at Crux Cocina is not only enjoying incredible pairings, but also contemplating the best landscapes of the Uco Valley".

Photos by Mendoza Chic

RICCITELLI WINES

Relaxed atmosphere, food from the garden collected on the day. Good option for veggies.

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS OUTSIDE WINE CELLARS

MARÍA ANTONIETA

It's located in the city center. It belongs to Vanina Chimeno, Francis Mallmann's wife. It is one of our Top 3 best places to eat.

The mushroom, asparagus and lamb risotto with truffle sauce is SPECTACULAR (you can order it without the lamb). Another very good dish is the noodles with prawns, candied tomatoes and pesto. The bread is homemade and is made fresh every day. For starters, try the aubergines with vegetables and the burrata.

The dishes are so abundant and as you previously eat so much homemade bread with olive oil that you can do without the starter and go straight to the main course.

In pandemic it had to close its doors, we don't know if it has re-opened, hope it does, just check out!

1884

It belongs to Francis Mallmann and is located in the city center, in the Escorihuela Gascón winery. It is a divine mansion with a beautiful patio and you can see outside how the chefs cooks with the fires. Everything is amazing. The "milanesa de lomo" is spectacular and comes with an egg and some pie potatoes on the side.

The entrance to the place can be confusing, it is recommended to access through Belgrano 898, which is where you enter Escorihuela, turn around and enter from the back.

Mallmann has another place called Oregano, also in the center of Mendoza.

AZAFRÁN

It is in the center of Mendoza. You have to call well in advance to have a place.

You can choose menu of different steps. The 4-steps one includes: Pre-starter, starter, main course and dessert.

All menus include water and coffee.

The risotto is the star of the menu.

This restaurante also landed on a new landscape within Bodega Vistalba with its usual concept and an exclusive dynamic experience: The six-course itinerant menu. The chef defines it every week according to what he agrees with his producers in order to work with fresh products.

OTHER WINE CELLARS

BODEGA LAGARDE

LA AZUL: This is smaller, less well-known and more affordable, very very good. Ideally ask for a table under the willows. You can stay in one of their 6 rooms feeling like home. Its food is homemade and the dishes are abundant. The menu varies each night between: Spanish, Italian, Arabic and "Criollo". They also offer veggie options.

BODEGA SÉPTIMA, call in advance to find out the day you have the “sunsets in Séptima” experience. They serve you some wines with a tasting, and you can enjoy a live band playing. You listen to good music, drink and eat something watching the sunset.

DIAMANDES, recommended not only for the wine but for the place and its history.

HUENTALA WINES, a small winery with an incredible view.

ANDELUNA, in Gualtallary. Their slogan is: “We are Andeluna, we are mountain wine”. This concept becomes a mantra when designing the menu. The chef Juan Pablo Miguez and the director of Oenology and Viticulture Manuel González work together so that the terroir is expressed in the dishes and wines and that way they value the particularities of the place. The restaurant has a gallery with views of the vineyards and the "Cordón del Plata", you will also find some picnics' areas. They offer several menu options, snacks, cooking classes and fun activities such as blend games and sensory experiences.

OTHER RESTAURANTS

-PAN Y OLIVA (BODEGA SANTA JULIA): Zuelo's house, our favorite olive oil. With this project, the Zuccardi family broke the structures and set up the first garden restaurant. Here there are no formalities around the wine and the key is in the freshness of the raw material. Everything is produced in the most natural way from its organic garden. The menu is simple, creative and has a Mediterranean influence. In addition, it has a store to buy preserves, books, jams, house oils and the entire repertoire of wines from the Santa Julia and Zuccardi Valle de Uco wineries. A little over a kilometer away, "Casa del Visitante" –the first restaurant in the winery– has a more regional menu with "empanadas" baked in a clay oven, picnics and afternoon tea.

-BRINDILLAS. GREAT option!

-RUDA, in Tupungato Winelands. They offer a different proposal from what you usually see in Mendoza. Menu without steps and wines from different wineries.

-REPÚBLICA MALBEQUIANA, in Vistalba.

-CASA VIGIL PALMARES.

-LA CAYETANA, a restaurant located in a house inside a farm with a lot of history and run by its owners. The recipes for their dishes are taken from old recipe books that were found in the house.

-ZONDA, a Bodega Lagarde's proposal created by Sofía Pescarmona. The visit includes a walk through the orchard.

-GAIA (DOMAINE BOUSQUET): Chef Adrián Baggio has been in charge of the fires since 2013. He plays, surrenders to intuition and lets himself be guided by nature. The salads come from their garden and for this reason they change every day. The smoked braised osso buco "empanadas" are her grandmother's recipe, and her mother's homemade cheese and sweets pre-dessert.

-CENTAURO: They were mentioned in the 2024 Michelin Guide and won the "gold" to Best Wine Tourism 2024.

-AUTÉNTICO: They value our land, regional products and local producers. They offer a mixture of current and nostalgic flavors. The proposal is to invite you to put together your own menu in the center of the table, like a Sunday with the family. You can choose an a la carte menu or a 4- or 6-course menu for a transversal path to seasonal dishes.

-COCINA GARDENIA: Dishes to share.

VERMÚ FANS: LA CENTRAL, located in the city center. Join it with fainá and ham croquettes, among other dishes. It's also a great place to have breakfast.

Specialty coffee on the go: EL TRICICLO. From Monday to Friday in Plaza San Martín.

Other option on the go: MONONO. Sidewalk and take away.

OLIVE OIL

-ZUCCARDI (this one in Bodega Santa Julia).

-LAUR, was founded in 1906. It is well recognized in Argentina and the world. When making the visit they take you around the place, they tell you how they extract the oil (the traditional and current artisanal way), then it ends with a tasting.

-MAGUAY, smaller; they also make you a tour that follows with a tasting.

OTHER PLACES FOR LUNCH

On Bartolomé Mitre at 800, in a corner painted in red, purple and yellow tones, there is a gastronomic project with two restaurants in the same house: ZAMPA and SIETE COCINAS.

The first is Argentine food, small tapas-type dishes, sandwiches, finger food... For example, "milanesas", "empanadas", Mendoza lamb in a clay oven, tortilla... The chef is Pablo del Río and the project is with his partner Cristian Cayre. According to what they say, the idea is that you eat well and don't spend so much.

FUENTE Y FONDA, a house of meals served in large dishes to share. The idea is to “go back to the simple, share a table with friends and leave with a full belly”. Potato cake, cannelloni and more. Dessert is for free.

BRÖD. The name means "Swedish bread." Its chef is Sebastián Flores. It is a house with colonial style and a nice outdoor patio. They have breakfast, snacks, brunch, sandwiches. It does not open at night. The "avocado toast" is amazing.

In a similar space you have UNION CAFETERIA DINING ROOM. The breads are sourdough and are made every morning, they have Croque Madame, complete breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, catch of the day. In addition, there is a drinks bar and outdoor tables. Graciana Solari is the chef and pastry chef of the place and affirms that the concept is freshness and the idea of "just made food".

A classic for ice cream is FERRUCCIO SOPPELSA. It is not a restaurant, but it is a classic in Mendoza. It is just diagonally from Marie Antoinette. In Emilio Civit st corner.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

To party: LAS PALAPAS. Find out before for dates and artists.

TERMAS DE CACHEUTA, if you like hot springs and want to do some activity in contact with nature.

You can rent BICYCLES or go for a WALK around some beautiful areas like Chacras de Coria, Vistalba…

You can also do RAFTING, in the Termas de Cacheuta (Hot Springs) they offer you a package for this.

VILLAVICENCIO RESERVE, you can see the reserve and take a tour of the place, take a walk in the mountains.

HORSE RIDING through POTRERILLOS. And even if you don't go horseback riding, you can go there by car. It is a must to know the POTRERILLOS DAM.

You can eat at the Hotel Potrerillos.