2 day Argentina Wine tours - The Grapevine

Morning arrival Mendoza. Your host meets you from Mendoza Airport and transfers you to Hotel Argentino on the main Plaza de la Independencia in Mendoza City Centre. After check-in and some time to freshen up we visit Mendoza´s main plazas and City attractions including the Civic Centre and Parque General San Martín and Cerro de la Glora (Glory Hill) crowned by a magnificent statue of San Martin and his Liberation Army, together with “Liberty” breaking the chains of bondage - one of the worlds most powerful and complex bronze sculptures. Next we stop at the Iglesia de la Carodilla, where an image of the Carodilla Virgin is venerated before lunching at Cava de Cano for a gourmet buffet in their underground cava. Cava de Cano was previously home to the Governor of Mendoza - the man renowned for inventing the Wine Harvest Festival ( La Vendimia). After lunch we take a short ride to winery Alta Vista a one hundred year old winery started by Spaniards, but now owned by a very progressive French family. They specialize in “Terroir Expressión” whereby they produce several single vineyard Malbecs. Here we will taste three wines, starting with their Torrontés and finishing with their Gra nd Reserve, both Gold Medal winning wines.

Hotel: Hotel Argentino

Day 2: Wine Tour - Lújan de Cuyo

Your host picks you up at 8.15am to visit four wineries in the wine growing area of Lújan de Cuyo (La primera Zona). This is the home of Malbec and where the most prestigious Argentine wineries are located. We go to the high quality sub-regions of Agrelo and Perdriel, the most expensive vineyard terrain in the country, with the snowcapped Andes in the background. Our first visit will be to winery Pulenta Estate located on the fringe of the Uco valley, the “El Chiche” vineyard and winery was established by two of the Pulenta brothers, Eduardo (junior) and Hugo. Two of their 2002 bottlings were rated in the top seventy wines coming from the South American continent...a sure sign of greatness in the making. Here you will taste their La Flor and Estate wines. Next we visit winery Tapiz, where the visit starts amongst the vineyards and concludes with a tasting of the same vintage from the tank, barrel and finally the bottle. A visit and tasting session is then complemented by a gourmet lunch in Bodega Ruca Malen. This modern winery is a rising star of Argentine wine and makes a great Cabernet Sauvignon. Here we will taste all their range, including their top wine Kinien. We conclude the day with a visit to winery Lagarde , a one hundred year old winery started by a Portuguese artillery officer, but now locally owned. Here you will see a one-man artisanal Champagne operation, also a historical and unique white wine barrel. The tasting includes three wines including their Viognier. Return to hotel 5pm.

Hotel: Hotel Argentino

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 3: Aconcagua Park

Your host will pick you up at 8.30am to start the very scenic drive up to Aconcagua National Park, most of the route running parallel with both the Rio Mendoza (the rafting river) and the famous narrow gauge Trans-Andean railway that used to connect Chile and Argentina. The route is known as The Seven Tunnels. On the way we will stop at the one and only village (Uspallata - after which the very picturesque Valley is named) for a coffee break, before the final drive up to the park, which is at an altitude of 9,300 feetand just ten miles from the frontier with Chile. Here we will leave the vehicle and walk for an hour in what is best described as “bracing air”, with a good view (cloud cover permitting) of the highest mountain peak outside the Himalayas, Aconcagua towering 13,000 feetabove us. If we are lucky we might see some of the famous (and evil looking) Condors flying overhead...keep your cameras loaded and ready. The birds won´t wait for us!! Next we take a very short ride down to the Puente de Inca, one of the worlds` unique natural phenomenona. Also here we can shop at the very artisan open-air bazaar. Into the vehicle again for an eighty minute drive back down the mountain to Uspallata once again, where we will stop for a very rustic, tasty “Parrillada” (Bar-B-Que), with the odd glass, or two of wine. Both the journey up and down visually highlight what the ice-age left behind and what regularly occurring earthquakes have done since. If you are a geology fan you will be in your element here. After lunch we will have a twenty minute ride to Seven Colours Rock, another “one-off” that deifies explanation. From there a ninety minute ride, downhill all the way, until we reach your hotel at 7pm.

4 DAYS/3 NIGHTS MALBEC WINE TOUR