COOKING CLASS AT A RESTAURANT IN MENDOZA

While visiting the land of vineyards, you can’t miss the chance to take a cooking lesson in the hands of a professional at a local restaurant.

Learn how to prepare traditional dishes while tasting some wine, enjoy a nice talk and have a delicious three course dinner made by yourself.

Contact us for rates and more information.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Three course meal and wine included.
  • Available every day of the week.
  • Duration: 3 hs (from 7 to 9 pm).
  • From 2 to 6 guests.
  • Restaurant and menu may vary.

 

CULTURAL EXCHANGE IN MENDOZA

We bring you the latest tourism and cultural project in the province of Mendoza that has already captivated locals and foreigners for almost a year.

To the wide spectrum of experiences that take place in Mendoza in the mountain and wine tourism areas, an original alternative has been added: to visit the desert and to meet native people. This full day excursion allows you to meet and interact with descendants of the Huarpes, visit the Altos Limpios and the Bosques Teltecas reserve, as well as enjoy a lunch served in a typical rustic home of the community.

From our hotel, we will start our journey going east towards La Asunción, in the town of Lavalle. On the way, we will stop for a short hike through the Altos Limpios -with Sahara desert like dunes- and the Teltecas Reserve, crossing its native forests of carob trees and observing characteristic fauna while we appreciate the great desert that is Mendoza.

We will continue our trip to La Asunción; a town inhabited by descendants of native people who practice ancestral rites and traditional celebrations according to their culture, fused with the influence of Spanish religious missions.

The Huarpes were located in the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza in the mid-sixteenth century. They were a polytheistic community; they worshiped the sun and the stars, the moon and the lightning, the hills and the river. Currently, in Mendoza there are eleven Huarpe communities that preserve and exhibit their culture, beliefs, traditions and productive and handicraft activities. Here in La Asunción, we will learn more about them.

We will visit a family from the community, who will be waiting for us with the lunch ready: homemade empanadas, bread and chivito (goat), all cooked in the external clay oven.

After lunch, those who want to be part of an interesting cultural exchange, will be able to participate in a small workshop of loom and leather crafts to learn the different techniques and go home with a souvenir made by themselves. 

The crafts of the Huarpes are characterized by not using chemicals. Artisanal spinning, leather goods, pottery and the manufacture of bovine or goat leather footwear, in addition to hand work such as knitting with sheep or rabbit wool.

This is a unique and authentic opportunity to get closer to the history and present of these original inhabitants and their traditions; to experience a different side of Mendoza.

For more information, please contact your Kallpa Tour coordinator.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • 9 hs private excursion.
  • Departure time at 8 am. Estimated arrival time at 5 pm.
  • Includes: Vehicle, bilingual guide, technical equipment, snack, regional lunch/gourmet tasting lunch.

 

The art of winemaking in Mendoza

Up to this point it is well known that Mendoza is the wine capital of Argentina. Many bodegas are settled here, among the Andes and below the gentle flight of condors. But not all of them have such a distinguished and special collection of wines as Bodega Tapiz.

What is so unique about Bodega Tapiz? Its many and different vineyards are located at different altitudes ranging from 30 to 920 to 1400 meters above sea level, either embraced by the Andes mountain range or receiving the breeze of the Atlantic Ocean, creating a bio-climate that makes these places different to the rest of the wine world.

Even though it is possible to stay and have a meal at Club Tapiz Hotel & Resto, today we will just show you a glimpse of this amazing complex visiting the famous winery and tasting its products.

Only twenty minutes away from downtown Mendoza, you will find the estate surrounded by 15 hectares of vineyards and olive trees. Against the Andes and in the middle of one of Tapiz’s premium vineyards, there´s the main building for Club Tapiz Hotel & Resto. Right next to it, a traditional winery from the early 20s, with large casks of French oak and vintage aromas.

If the weather allows it, you will be able to jump on a carriage for a ride around the vineyards, watching the llamas that are bred here. During harvest time, these nice camelids are kept further away, so depending on the time of the visit, they might no be visible. The ride will allow you to enjoy this singular grapevine and terroir in the region of Cuyo, appreciating the always present Andes in the background.   

Then, you will have an exquisite wine tasting guided by the winery experts. Visiting the cellar, you will try bottled wines and also the ones that are still in tanks. This experience not only focuses on the history of Tapiz but also on the historic and geographic context. The objective is for the visitors to learn a bit of enology and to understand why some regions are so distinguished as wine producers.

Particularly in Tapiz, due to the bio-climate, the grapes in the different locations find a perfect combination of soil, climate, optimal solar radiation and good thermal amplitude in the summer. Along with an adequate irrigation management, Tapiz produces grapes with great potential, structure and excellent quality in each varietal.

At last, if time is enough, after the wine tasting you may also visit the organic olive oil factory and have a taste.

In the winery’s own words, a complete experience in the art of winemaking!

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Includes carriage ride, visit to the cellar and wine tasting, olive oil tasting if there’s enough time.
  • Transfers, meals or accommodation are not included.
  • Experience only for 18+ pax
  • Operates: Monday to Friday at 10 & 11:30 am, 2 & 3:30 pm – Saturday and holidays at 10 & 11:30 am.
  • Advanced reservation is required.

 

Lunch with The Enemy in Mendoza

We’ve been recommending this experience in Mendoza for some time now, but it’s so good that we want to give it a refreshed view. Enjoy a culinary proposal now included in the Michelin Voyage guide.

Alejandro Vigil is a wine expert at Aleanna Winery, one of the most prestigious wineries in Argentina. Together with Laura, the youngest daughter of the renowned Ernesto Catena, he indulged himself by introducing his own wine: “El Enemigo”. From its very first impression, the name speaks for itself and plays opposite to the other wineries that want to bind together wine and friendship. However, the name given to this wine, has conquered the market due to its antagonism: “The Enemy”.

Maybe that’s not the picture we have in mind about what happens behind closed doors at Aleanna Winery, but that’s how Alejandro Vigil is. He understands his work that way because he is as passionate for the grapevines, the bottles and the beautifully designed labels as for his own restaurant: Casa Vigil (formerly called El Enemigo), where his guests can savour exquisite local cuisine and its emblem wine.

Located in Chachingo, Maipú, only half an hour away from the city of Mendoza, Casa Vigil was recently included in the prestigious French guide Michelin Voyage, which stands out the best touristic and gastronomic places to visit outside France. The guide has remarked not only the well thought dishes that you will find on its menu to pair its wines, but also praised the place itself for its originality and exhibited local art. “An attractive and atypical place”, the Michelin Voyage calls.

This is not the only international mention to Casa Vigil. In 2017, the Great Wine Capitals network awarded it as the best cellar restaurant in Argentina, and Decanter magazine called it one of the best restaurants in Mendoza.

With so many good reviews, surely you´re curious and eager to see and taste for yourself what all this is about. This is definitely an experience that you can’t miss on your visit to Mendoza.

When in town, you will be picked up from your hotel and taken to Casa Vigil, where you´ll meet Alejandro and his wife Maria. You´ll visit the cellar where El Enemigo and El Gran Enemigo are made, and also be welcomed into the Vigil´s family home, where they´ll share anecdotes, stories and tell you about their passion for wine.

The visit includes and exquisite asado (barbecue) with gourmet salads and grilled vegetables. Of course, you won´t leave without tasting some of the house´s internationally prized wines, joined by one of the best wine experts in the world: Alejandro himself will guide you through a “Great Enemy” wine tasting experience.  

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Lunch with “El Enemigo” menu: Barbecue with gourmet salads and grilled vegetables along with the seven labels of “El Enemigo”.
  • Min. 2 pax required
  • Tour to the cellar is subject to availability.
  • Included: Round-trip transportation to and from the winery – “Gran Enemigo” wine tasting experience – 4 step lunch with wines included.
  • Not included: Tips – Accommodation – Extra wine tastings – Guide.
  • 7 step dinner service is also available. Contact your Kallpa Executive for pricing.