Worth driving one hour away to get close to the Andes and visit the wineries in Valle de Uco. Don't forget to visit the smaller bodegas as well.
We toured the best wineries Argentina has to offer and they were all very welcoming and ready to take the time out and guide us through the wineries, organize tastings... It's easy to get from one side to the other by car withing 45min-1hour, but the only drawback is the lack of signs - the absolute lack of them.
The tourism efforts to attract people to the area made me decide to rent a car. But that was not wise because you can't enter to most of the wineries, though in the tourist map they show the open wineries. A nice place and interesting was Mansania Historico.
My wife and I spent five days in and around Mendoza, but our day trip to the Valle de Uco was by far the most picturesque and relaxing. Katrina and I are generally do-it-yourself travelers, but knowing the day would involve plenty of driving and plenty of wine, we decided to hire a guide we had met a few days earlier, Cristobal Ortiz Maldonado. To anyone looking to make a similar trip, I cannot recommend Cristobal strongly enough (www.winetourmendoza.com). On very short notice he lined up tastings and tours at three vineyards -- two boutique vineyards and one larger producer -- and a fantastic outdoor lunch set against a sweeping landscape of vines and mountains. He kept his car impeccably clean and his conversation interesting, and at each stop he would immediately fade into the background to give Katrina and I privacy to enjoy the wine and the scenery. When I mentioned in passing that I wanted to find a good Argentine-made knife to bring home, he said he knew a place in Tupungato where we could stop on the way home. The place, KDS Cuchillos, turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Cristobal's prices were reasonable and his service was tremendous. It happened to be our last day in Mendoza and we had an evening bus to catch to Buenos Aires. Without even being asked, Cristobal offered to wait outside our posada while we settled up the bill and fetched our bags and then he drove us to the bus station 20 minutes away without charging us a dime. Obviously, besides giving him a tip, I promised to write him a stellar online review to help him build his business. Here it is! Thanks again Cristobal!
This was a beautiful part of Argentina with so much to see and do, you need more than a few days to explore.
We visited Bodegas Salentin at 11am. It was an amazing place with a Grand Piano in the Cellar that luckily someone else in our party was permitted to play. The whole place was fantastic and the wine tasting was excellent. We tasted 4 wines here and they were all delicious. We then went onto Andeluna Cellars and had a 'Private Tour' which gave us another view of a smaller Vineyard against the vastness of the more modern Salentein. We had a Wine Tasting, 7 in all, outside so we could gasp at the backdrop of the Andes. The wines there were superb also. We then went on to have a Wine Tasting lunch just across the road at a tiny vineyard 'La Azul' ! The food, wine, scenery and service were all fabulous. Lots of wild Guinea Pigs running around, a Fuchsia Tree buzzing with Hummingbirds right by our table! Excellent value for money and the quality of the food outstanding. Would love to re-visit the area and to more Vineyards if this small snippet is anything to go by.
If you visit Mendoza, don't miss one day activity in this beautiful valley. Amazing wineries, great views, excellent wines and restaurants. Go there!
The Uco Valley (about an hour and a half from Mendoza town) is so beautiful, with the vineyards in the foothills of the Andes.I spent the day on a small group tour (with 6 other people). We went to Boscero, Salentien and finally Antes Lunes, where we had a six course lunch paired with their wines - lovely!I wasn't overseen on the Torrentes (it was too sweet for me) but it paired beautifully with the smoked fish, so i enjoyed it. The red wines were lovely thoughout the day. Definitely a place to visit (and go back to)
This is what the pictures in the guide books show. Endless vineyards with snow-capped Andes in the background. Make the trip south of Mendoza and stay.
South of Mendoza, Valle de Uco is well worth the drive to discover immense wineries, which are really grape plantations as far as the eye can see. And the culinary experience rivals any other in the world.