5 Reasons to Visit Mendoza, Argentina’s Wine Capital

Wine grapes are finicky: They like it sunny, warm, and dry but with cool nights, which is why oenophiles seek out high-elevation vineyards around the world. Argentina’s Mendoza region fits the bill, with a desert climate and vineyards irrigated by snowmelt from the towering Andes — and it’s astoundingly photogenic to boot. Given that three-quarters of Argentina’s vineyards are in Mendoza, the area is already synonymous with Malbec and is producing wines of increasing distinction. The winery Terrazas de los Andes, owned by LVMH and located in the scenic Uco Valley, about 30 minutes outside the city of Mendoza, has some of the region’s highest plots, including the breathtaking Finca El Espinillo, 5,413 feet above sea level. Terrazas recently debuted a small-production boutique red, Extremo ($200), incorporating grapes from that vineyard, and with its silky, intense black pepper and gently herbaceous notes on top of generous black-cherry flavors, it’s sure to age superbly. Visitors can do a tour and tasting at the 19th-century winery, which is surrounded by lovely stands of birch trees. Or visit nearby Bodega Catena Zapata, which last year was bestowed the title of World’s Best Vineyard by a panel of 500 experts on the strength of its quality and variety.

Malbec is the star in Mendoza, but lately Cabernet Franc has been gaining steam as a stand-alone bottling. The lesser-known grape anchors some of the area’s best reds, offering a fresh, herbal, fruity appeal that is particularly revelatory to those who find Malbecs a little heavy. (It shouldn’t be a surprise that they thrive side-by-side: Both Malbec and Cab Franc hail from France’s Bordeaux region and are the traditional supporting players to Cabernet Sauvignon in that region’s beloved red blend.) Mendoza wineries, including El Enemigo, Trivento, and Bodega Norton, are now making excellent Cab Francs and welcoming visitors to taste them. All of them pair substantial snacks or full multicourse meals with their tastings to complement these supremely food-friendly wines.

Argentine celebrity chef Francis Mallmann is known as the king of outdoor cooking, and his team is doing some of its best work at the 21-villa Vines Resort & Spa in the Uco Valley. The hotel’s Siete Fuegos restaurant has an enormous, wood-fired grilling station that turns out some of the best steaks in a country known for its red meat — including a ridiculously tender, nine-hour-grilled rib eye — and whose pyrotechnics nearly compete with the views of the Andes. But Mendoza cuisine is more than just beef, as proved at Michelin-recommended restaurant Centauro, located in a charming old mansion in the city of Mendoza. Here, a relaxed version of foam-forward, chef-driven cuisine focuses on locally grown produce and includes signature dishes like mushroom ceviche and crispy trout.

Two years ago, pioneering winemaker Susana Balbo and her daughter, Ana Lovaglio Balbo, transformed their former home in the suburbs of Mendoza into a wellness-focused hotel. Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites is a lushly landscaped, private-feeling property with seven glass-walled, ultra contemporary villas that have their own gardens, saunas, and spa treatment rooms. The suites surround Balbo’s Tuscan-style mansion, which now contains the reception area, a secluded bar, and La Vida restaurant, where the seven- or 14-course tasting menu comes paired with one of the family’s excellent wines. If they spark your curiosity, the Balbo winery is only 30 minutes away.

A rural, remote part of a winemaking valley may not be where you’d expect to see innovative architecture, but Mendoza is joining the ranks of Napa, Chianti, and Rioja in featuring stunning buildings alongside its vines. Zuccardi Valle de Uco, one of Mendoza’s best wineries, also has one of its most striking facilities, designed by a local architect, the late Fernando Raganato. A concrete Brutalist affair that looks from some angles like a James Bond villain’s lair, the winery was inspired by the “austere and solemn” mountains it faces. But it’s more playful than fearsome, and features impressive, site-specific artworks. The on-site restaurant, Piedra Infinita Cocina, channels not Brutalism but warm South American modernism, with floor-to-ceiling windows, comfortable wooden furniture, and copper light fixtures. Nearby, at Casa de Uco, a high-end resort and winery designed by the firm Alberto Toncology, the watchword is sustainability: The complex, with an exterior style that could be called Utilitarian Chic, was built in concrete, stone, metal, and glass, and maximizes mountain views while limiting sun exposure, making for efficient cooling in summer. The lagoons created by combining seasonal streams are not only eco-friendly, they’re beautiful, too.