The Best Wineries Tours and Tastings in Mendoza, Argentina- We got to explore the Mendoza in wine region in South America for 4 days. Having a chance to sample all the best wine, the most amazing tastings and tours, paired lunch and dinner menus, and even a brewery! Here are the best wineries to visit in Mendoza, Argentina by wine region. I grouped these by area to make a schedule best for your time there and even included where to stay in those areas. Most of these wineries were ones that we visited, but some are ones that we did not go to but came highly recommended to us.
**Be sure to check out my itinerary on our 3-4 Days in Mendoza, Argentina.
Overview
Restaurants and Breweries Worth Visiting
Where To Stay
There are a few different areas to stay in Mendoza. The major options include downtown, in Lujan de Cuyo or farther out in the Uco Valley. Here are the positives and negatives of each area. The last one is where we stayed!
Downtown
You could stay closer to downtown which will have you close to many places to eat, drink and the Maipu Valley Wineries. This will be close to the famous 1884 restaurant and the well known Trapiche winery. But you will be in the city, so you won’t get that mountainous feel or many boutique hotels.
Here are some booking.com options for the Maipu Valley.
Uco Valley
Another option will be to stay in the Uco Valley, which would be closer to some of our favorite wineries. And also closer to the mountain views as well. The negative of staying here is that you will be over an hour drive from Mendoza. There are not as many options of places to stay and eat here. You can book lunch and dinner at many wineries but you might have a harder time finding plenty of options elsewhere.
Here are some booking.com options for the Uco Valley.
Lujan de Cuyo Valley
We stayed here. It put us right in the middle of Mendoza and the Uco Valley. So it was a great location to be able to drive to all three major wineries regions in Mendoza. We also got to go downtown to eat one night, and another night enjoyed a brewery, Holmes Brewery, not far from our bed and breakfast.
I absolutely loved our stay at Posada Borravino. I would recommend it to anyone. They had great rooms, a pool, bike rentals and offered meals and drinks all day. We loved everything we ate from here and it was so peaceful and relaxing staying at Posada Borravino.
Here are some booking.com options for the Lujan de Cuyo Valley. Or check out this map on AirBnB.
Transportation In Mendoza
There are a few different ways to get around Mendoza. You can tour the wineries by car, tour, bike and more. All depending on where you stay and where you want to go. Here are some options, also listed which is best for each area.
Rental Car
You can easily drive, rental cars are affordable in Mendoza. But keep in mind that you can easily taste a lot of wine in one day in Mendoza. Luckily my husband drove, he sampled some wines but I did most of the tasting. If you plan ahead for someone to scale back on the tastings then you can plan to drive yourselves.
Bike
The Maipu Valley Wineries are close together and easy to complete by bike tour. Uco Valley wineries are close together too but farther from a town. Here is a great self guided plan in the Maipu Valley, Mr. Hugo Bike Rentals has lots of good reviews.
Private Driver
If I did a trip to Mendoza again I would have splurged and hired a driver for at least one day in Mendoza. Especially for the Uco Valley which was a farther drive and many of their wineries are clustered close together. Check with your hotel to help you book a driver.
Tour
You can book the wineries through a tour guide as well. We are do it yourself type of travelers and we booked everything on our own, and you can as well. But it can get confusing, so leave the booking and driving up to a small tour group to save you time and hassle.
Our Favorite Winery
By far our favorite winery was La Azul. I loved the bright causal decor and chill vibe here. The views of the vineyards and mountains were the only negative here, the main dining and tasting area is near the road. But man everything here blew us away. The staff was so kind. We had a small tour where we got to taste wine right from the barrel. And the food, the food was incredible! When they say tasting with your meal they actually mean bottomless, they left the bottle on our table each time.
We even bought wines to take home from here, they were affordable. We did not purchase wines from any other winery we visited, if that shows you how much we loved this place!
Wineries By Region
Lujan de Cuyo Wineries
Archaval Ferrer
This was the first winery that we visited in Mendoza. Since most of the wineries have a set time schedule, plan on only fitting about 3-4 wineries per day, and book ahead of time! We started at Archaval Ferrer at 9:30am, not too early to start drinking wine per Mendoza standards. The wine tasting was available in both English and Spanish. The tasting took about 1 hour, and I loved being able to complete our tasting on the outdoor porch.
Cruzat
We found it hard to find an open time slot of mid-day as many were booked, so we changed it up with touring a sparkling wine facility, Cruzat. Our tour was scheduled at 11:30am here. And it was just us two for the English tour, so we got a private tour and tasting. I am glad we changed it up with sparkling wines, we got to learn a lot about sparkling wines that gave me a new appreciation for them. I am glad we made a visit to this winery as it was not like any of the others we went to.
Trez Wines
We actually canceled this as we thought it would overlap with Cruzat, and we were going to need to find lunch. But we learned this day there are not many local places around to eat, so Cruzat suggested Trez Wines for lunch at 1:00pm, and called over for us to book a small lunch. They have a full 5 course lunch available but the ‘snack’ lunch was plenty for us as we planned for a large dinner.
I am so glad we stopped here, my favorite stop of the day. I loved eating empanadas, cheese, and drinking wine under their weeping willow. Such a peaceful setting, and such kind employees. The grounds are very beautiful.
Bodega Vistalba
Our last stop of the day was at Bodega Vistalba. We wish we booked this earlier than our 4:30pm slot. But I really enjoyed this stop as we got to see all of this winery, the vineyard, cellar, tasting rooms and roaming around the property. This tour was the most “tour” like tasting we had. We got to see many different rooms and walk a little bit more around the property than the others.
Other recommendations in this area:
Uco Valley Wineries
This day was dedicated to the Uco Valley wine region, about 1 hour from where we were staying in Lujan de Cuyo. This area is more scenic than the others and had some of our favorite wineries. If I even went back I would spend more time in this area.
Bodega Andeluna
Our on day we explored the Uco Valley we went to Bodega Andeluna first at 10:00am. I really loved our tour guide here, he answered and asked a lot of questions to get us involved in the tour. And it didn’t help that the grounds were stunning, the grapes growing all around the mountains in the distance. I could stay here for quite a while sipping on wine overlooking their vineyards and the Andes Mountains.
Bodega La Azul
There are thousands of wineries in Mendoza, but if I had to say one is a must it would be La Azul. La Azul was the highlight of Mendoza for us. Not only did we fall in love with their wine, enough to bring a case home, but their setting and food was incredible. I would go back here a second day if we could. We got a small tour, barrel tasting and their 5 Course lunch. The wine flows freely here and I was not complaining. Book a lunch at 12:30, it’s right down the road from Bodega Andeluna.
Salentein
Our last stop was for a Uco Valley tasting at Salentein. We snagged the last tasting at 4:00pm at their wine bar. Although a beautiful setting, view and also being well known I loved the atmosphere of others more. We did not do a tour here, but purchased a tasting. They also brought out a snack of meats and cheeses.
Other recommendations:
Maipu Valley Wineries
On the last day we kept it low key as we needed to pack to head back home. We originally had lunch and wine tasting reservations at Casarena Bodega y Viñedos. But received an email that our reservations were cancelled due to a kitchen fire that morning. They were so kind to set us up with lunch and tasting at Trapiche.
Trapiche
Trapiche is the largest exporting winery in Mendoza. You can find their wines often in US stores. We had lunch here, and again as any food in Chile has been, it was great! I loved their Carpaccio and the Dulce de Leche dessert. After lots of steaks in Mendoza their Rellena Lemon pasta was refreshing. We didn’t do a tour here as we were ready to move on and needed to pack up to fly home. This site was beautiful but very industrial.
Other recommendations:
Restaurants and Breweries Worth Visiting
Holmes Brewery
If wanting a change from wineries Holmes Brewery is worth the visit. We actually went here before Day 1 but this could be added here to make a full 3rd day. Asking if they had lunch available, they said they had a meat and cheese board available. We were expecting something small, but then we had the most incredible board of meats, cheeses, bread, chutneys, and pickled items (which now has started our love for pickling in our own kitchen).
They were so friendly, great beers, and had a fun atmosphere. Check it out!
1884
If you are into watching Netflix’s Chef’s Table you might remember Francis Mallman. He has a restaurant in Mendoza. Make sure you get reservations at 1884. The price is not bad for fine dining, but high compared to how cheap everything else in Argentina was. We loved our steaks and dishes. The sauce with the empanadas was my favorite! Also ask for a seat outside if the weather is good so you can watch the wood fired grills being used.
Other recommendations:
Tips For Visiting Mendoza
-Book your winery tasting and meals ahead of time. I would look for booking them at least a month in advance. Some wineries will not even let you through the gates unless you have a reservation.
-Only plan to book 3-4 wineries a day.
-Check hours at each winery before making your itinerary, many wineries are not open late. And some are not open on the weekends.
-The best time to visit October-April to enjoy the warmer weather.
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Hiking to Mt. Fitz Roy in Argentina
What To Pack For The W Trek in Patagonia
Visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia
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