Valle de Uco

The Valle de Uco runs along the foot of the Andes south of Mendoza, through the departments of Tupungato, Tunuyán and San Carlos, at a height of a thousand to fifteen hundred metres. The days are hot and the nights cold, and that swing in temperature gives some of the finest wines in the country. A century ago this was stony, empty land; today it holds the most ambitious wineries of Mendoza, many of them striking pieces of architecture set against the mountains.

It works as a full day from Mendoza, with two or three bodegas and a long lunch, but it is better as a stay. Two nights at a wine resort among the vineyards, with the Andes at the end of every row, allow tastings at a slower pace, rides and walks through the vines, cooking with the chef and dinners that go on late. The valley also has family wineries where the story of the land is told by the people who planted it.

The harvest, from March to April, is the most lively time. Autumn turns the vines yellow and red; in winter the mountains are white.