Mendoza is an oasis built by hand: a desert made green by irrigation channels dug centuries ago, which still run along every tree-lined street and feed the vineyards up to the foot of the Andes. This is a short journey with nothing to prove, the city, two wine valleys and a day left open, ending with a night among the vines of the Uco Valley and the mountains close enough to touch.
Day 1 · Mendoza on foot and at the stove
Highlight · A cooking class with a chef, the regional dishes eaten with wines from different valleys.
An afternoon walk through the city: the squares that frame the old grid, Emilio Civit avenue and the lake of the Parque General San Martín, the Sarmiento pedestrian street, and the Central Market for a first taste of local flavours, ending on Arístides Villanueva among its bars. The evening goes to a cooking class with a chef in one of the city's best-known restaurants, learning the regional dishes and eating them with wines from different valleys. The nights are spent on the green outskirts of the city.
Night · Mendoza
Day 2 · The wineries of Luján de Cuyo
Highlight · The grape followed from reception to bottle in the cradle of Malbec, ending at the tasting table.
Luján de Cuyo, the cradle of Malbec, is a patchwork of historic and modern wineries between country houses, poplar-lined lanes and vines watered by the old canal system. Two wineries of very different styles, with a specialised guide, follow the grape from reception to bottle and end, inevitably, at the tasting table.
Night · Mendoza
Day 3 · A free day
Highlight · The viewpoint over Aconcagua, or the dunes of Altos Limpios with a Huarpe family.
Walk · Quebrada del Durazno · 2 h 30
A day to rest, or to choose. The high Andes along Route 7 to Uspallata, Puente del Inca and the viewpoint over Aconcagua, a full twelve-hour day, with the option of a trek in the Quebrada del Durazno facing the mountain. The Telteca reserve and the dunes of Altos Limpios, with lunch at the home of a Huarpe family and a loom workshop with them. Or simply an asado at the family table of a renowned winemaker.
Night · Mendoza
Day 4 · Into the Uco Valley
Highlight · Three tastings where the vineyards climb towards the Cordillera, and a night among the vines.
South to the Uco Valley, where the vineyards climb towards the Cordillera and the wines take on the freshness of altitude. Three wineries, three tastings, and the night among the vines.
Night · Valle de Uco
Day 5 · Uco Valley
Highlight · A slow last morning among the vines before the drive back to Mendoza airport.
A slow morning in the valley before the drive back to Mendoza airport.
