Exploring Mendoza: A Guide to Argentina’s Wine Region

Set against the backdrop of the Andes Mountains, Mendoza is Argentina’s famous wine region best known for producing Malbecs and Cabernet Sauvignon. After cancelling a trip in 2021 due to COVID, we finally made the long journey down to Argentina four years later with a determination to imbibe as much as possible in this new world wine region.

Mendoza is a large province in central-western Argentina with a desert climate that enjoys a lot of sun and dry temperatures. The province produces the greatest amount of wine throughout the country and is comprised of several regions and sub-regions, among them Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo, and Valle de Uco.

I’d read that the wine quality increases the further away from the city (or likely the higher the elevation) so I chose to skip Maipu and plan days exploring Lujan de Cuyo and Valle de Uco instead. If you are staying in Mendoza city, it is much easier to reach the bodegas (wineries) in Maipu and Lujan and there are several tours for these areas too, including bike tours and even public bus options. If you’re wanting to head to Valle de Uco however, you’ll absolutely need a car whether hiring a driver, driving yourself, or with a tour as it’s a much further drive.

We stayed at Villa Mansa Wine Hotel in Lujan de Cuyo, which is more centrally located in Mendoza and allowed us to use Uber to visit various bodegas around town. Regardless of where, if you’re staying outside of the city center, you’ll notice that the roads are a bit rugged and rural and transportation plans are necessary. There are highways, yes, but the roads quickly become dirt and gravel almost as soon as you exit the highway. This felt somewhat jarring when turning onto a wine property with their grand, luxurious spaces lush with greenery, like a hidden oasis that’s completely separated from the outside world.

Another aspect that was surprising to me was the need to make reservations at ever bodega. Perhaps this was different pre-COVID but you are not able to show up at a property without advance notice. Each bodega was staffed with a guard gate and names were checked. Most bodegas also require you to book a tasting or tour and we were hard pressed to find any that would allow you to enjoy the property and order a glass or bottle on your own. Thankfully most, if not all, of the bodegas use WhatsApp so it was relatively easy to communicate with their teams, ask about tasting options, and let them know when we were on the way.

Lujan de Cuyo

Our first stop was Bodega Budeguer, a boutique winery that focuses on quality wines for local and regional production. The winery is family owned, eco conscious, and pioneers in vineyard technology like using carbon fiber netting to protect the plants from hail and a self-sustaining water supply with a fresh water lake on the property. The bodega offers tours with tastings that circle around the property and showcase their more unique winemaking processes that use French oak and American whiskey barrels during fermentation. While there isn’t a restaurant onsite, there are friendly pups ready to greet you upon arrival. This was a great way to start the day.

Lunch is a popular activity at the bodegas with most offering 3- or 5-course meals with wine pairings. When planning a full day of wine tasting, you’ll want lunch and scheduling it around 1pm is a perfect way to break up the day. Some bodegas also offer an a la carte menu, too. I’d recommend shopping around to determine what makes the most sense for your budget and waistline.

For our lunch in Lujan de Cuyo, we selected Ojo de Agua because of its stunning property and a la carte menu option. The space was prepped for multiple group tours who arrived at various points while we were dining. Plan to spend a few hours for lunch, especially if you’re selecting a multi-course meal, to allow time to enjoy and order more wine, of course! We selected a first bottle to “sample”…and then a second. It’s shocking how quickly the bottles can add up around here. Oh, and lunch was a delicious spread of a prosciutto and tomato bread starter, ribeye steak and a mushroom risotto. We left happy and full. On to the next!

Our third and final stop for the day was Bodega Lamadrid. This bodega was located close to our hotel, recommended by our hotel staff, and informed us that they had a wine bar we could visit rather than booking a full tour. However, this wasn’t exactly our experience…

Upon arrival, we were greeted by one staff member who invited us to find a spot anywhere in the garden area and said she’d be with us shortly. A few minutes later, a second staff member walked over to us with a half consumed bottle of wine, two glasses, and a chilling bucket. Considering we had not ordered anything yet and we certainly didn’t expect to be handed a half consumed bottle, it was odd to say the least but we poured ourselves a glass and enjoyed our time in their beautiful garden area. After finishing the remaining wine, we looked around for staff to order more, even stopping in their wine shop, but never saw another staff member again. So that was that – a strange yet memorable experience and of course the wine was great, too.

Valle de Uco

Our second full day of wine tasting in Mendoza took us further south to the Valle de Uco. We hired a driver for the day, which allowed us to keep our schedule more flexible than if we’d booked a tour. We visited two bodegas in this area: Solo Contigo in the morning and Bodega La Azul for lunch.

Solo Contigo was set among several other bodegas in a gated compound and offered a beautiful spread of wines and impressive mountain views. The staff allowed us to taste a few before selecting a bottle and honestly, it was difficult to choose. These wines were all excellent and interesting. We selected a bottle of rosé and a set of lounge chairs on their patio space. With the exception of another couple on a private tour, we were the only people there.

Our second and final stop for the day was Bodega La Azul. I’d read stellar reviews about lunch at this winery and made a reservation far in advance to make sure we didn’t miss out. There were 3- and 5-course options with wine pairings and we selected the 3-course. This winery is a popular lunch location as the entire property was packed with guests and they had live music throughout the afternoon.

First, the food was absolutely excellent. We were offered a few choices for the main – I selected chicken and Andrew selected steak (of course). The chicken was the juiciest I’ve ever had and the portion sizes were tremendous as well. As for the wine, to be honest, this wine was my least favorite of all throughout our entire trip, but the environment and food more than made up for it. And let me also add that this bodega is especially generous with the wine. The pairings were meant to be a glass per course but, after pouring each of us a full glass of wine, our server left each bottle at our table to consume and then asked at the end if there was anything else we wanted to try. We asked to try a sparkling in addition to the THREE bottles she’d left for us. We loved the whole experience, including the sweet yet wild momma dog that stopped by for scraps, and kicking off a little dance break between courses. Highly recommend this meal!

As you can imagine, after that much wine I was done and ready to head back to our hotel. This wasn’t the end of our wine journey but it was the last stop in Mendoza.

Final Thoughts

Given Mendoza’s reputation, I expected to drink a lot of Malbec, however the summer months are especially hot and I was grateful for some rosé options, slightly chilled reds, a few sparkling, and several delicious white wines, too (like Torrontés, which is only grown in Argentina). We really enjoyed our time in Mendoza and with so many bodegas throughout the province, you really can’t go wrong. Cheers!