Mendoza Wine Country: A Luxury Guide to Argentina's Malbec Heartland

Mendoza sits in the shadow of the Andes, where high-altitude vineyards and steady sunshine make some of the best Malbec on the planet.

Where should you stay and taste in Mendoza? Pick the Uco Valley over Luján de Cuyo for higher-altitude wines and bigger views. Stay at The Vines Resort & Spa, with Francis Mallmann's Siete Fuegos on site, and book Zuccardi Valle de Uco and Catena Zapata. Fly in from Buenos Aires in just under two hours.

Key facts

• Getting there: just under two hours by air from Buenos Aires.
• Where to stay: The Vines Resort & Spa in the Uco Valley, with its own vineyard and a pool facing the Andes.
• Which area: the Uco Valley, for higher-altitude wines and bigger views.
• Must-book winery: Zuccardi Valle de Uco, named World's Best Vineyard three years running (2019 to 2021).

The wine experience

Photo: celso costa / Unsplash

Mendoza is Argentina's biggest wine province by far, producing most of the country's wine, and the high Uco Valley is where a lot of the most exciting bottles come from.

Wineries worth the drive

Photo: Joao Vitor Marcilio / Unsplash

• Catena Zapata in Luján de Cuyo, with its pyramid winery
• Zuccardi Valle de Uco in the Uco Valley, named World's Best Vineyard three years running (2019 to 2021)
• Kaiken in Luján de Cuyo, for lunch on a terrace facing the Andes
• The Vines of Mendoza in the Uco Valley, where you can blend your own wine

Claire's wine country plan

Photo: Mauro Tchorbadjian / Unsplash

Mendoza is just under two hours by air from Buenos Aires and a completely different world. I book my travelers at The Vines Resort & Spa in the Uco Valley, with its own vineyard, a pool facing the Andes, and Francis Mallmann's Siete Fuegos on site. Zuccardi Valle de Uco is extraordinary, and the building alone is worth the visit. If you can only choose one area, pick the Uco Valley over Luján de Cuyo for the higher-altitude wines and the bigger views.

For a stay closer to the city, Awasi Mendoza in Alto Agrelo, formerly Cavas Wine Lodge, gives you stone villas with private plunge pools and rooftop terraces over the vines.

Photo: Courtesy of Awasi

Photo: Courtesy of Awasi

Most of my travelers start in the capital, so read my Buenos Aires guide too. And if you want glaciers after the Malbec, there's Patagonia.

Book a free consultation and we'll plan your wine country days. You deserve a slow lunch with the Andes in view.