Mendoza Wine History & Visit Need to Knows

Mendoza, the wine capital region of Argentina, is beautiful, situated against the Andes Mountains, it has more than 600 commercial wineries spread across the wide region. This is our third continent over the past five years where we’ve visited a major wine region and a half dozen or more wineries. Mendoza is similar in some respects, beautiful scenery and Bodegas (wineries) that in some cases span over a hundred years in use. However the commercial, international business of wine for Argentina is still in its infancy, and that’s not more evident than when visiting the bodegas. As somebody in our party uttered after our fourth or fifth visit, “You have to walk around every winery’s grounds for at least two hours before you get to sip shit!”

Brief History of Argentina Wine:
Argentina wine making began well over a hundred (100) years old, pioneered mostly by Italian immigrants at the conclusion of the 19th and early 20th century. However it wasn’t until the 1980’s that winemakers ever deviated from the practice of producing quantity rather than quality. At around 1990, the vast majority of Argentina wine was drank domestically or exported to neighboring countries for consumption. By the late 1990’s this had dramatically changed, while many wineries were still engaged in the tradition of quantity, table style wines, others had developed premium lines for the International market and startup wineries were sprouting up to take advantage of fertile land, ideal growing conditions to make high end wines (example: Achaval Ferrer). Today the Argentina wine industry is at the beginning stages of understanding how to cater to tourists interested in visiting the wineries and the refined techniques of the world’s greatest in turning out consistently great vintages.

Winery Visits:
There are hundreds of bodegas who welcome visitors, ranging from large exporters with familiar brands (such as Norton or Catena Zapata) to small, boutique types (such as Carmelo Patti). Unfortunately the routine when visiting is rigid, following an elaborate tour of the grounds and/or the wine making process that can often take up to two or more hours before any tasting takes place. As a local said, they like to “Show off their equipment” to every visitor. I didn’t understand this when we were planning our trip, yet every wine industry person explained that you can only visit three, maybe four, wineries in a single day. Additionally, you must have reservations at just about every winery, thus limiting your ability to visit at your own pace or leisure.

Wine Tasting:
The Mendoza wineries seem to have borrowed some of the worst traits of wine tasting from the other wine regions. Nearly every one we visited charged a tasting fee, typically 30 pesos (approx. $10 US), this covered the wine tour, a tasting flight and at some places some cheese & crackers for your tasting. However the tasting fee can be as high as 90 pesos (approx. $30 US) for tasting premium lines that often times are bottles that sell for around 60 pesos (approx. $20 US). Of the eight wineries we visited, only one didn’t have a tasting fee, and several that did charge 30 pesos or more, only poured the cheap stuff (sub $10 US per bottle wines). In contrast, at many of the French or Australian or Californian (non-Napa wineries), there is little to no tasting charge and when there is its $10 for their premium wines (typically $30+ bottle stuff).

Travel to Mendoza:
If you speak Spanish, you can certainly rent a vehicle and make reservations on your own. However a local connection is invaluable as I’m confident we would probably have not gotten into Catena Zapata (in retrospect that would have been fine) or Achaval Ferrer (which would have been tragic) without our driver/guide. This is a country where knowing the people get you in when things are busy, and the locals seem to not value treating tourists, regardless of whether they speak Spanish or not, with the respect US businesses treat their prospective customers. Meaning, if you’re not coming thru a connection, expect to hit roadblocks and be prepared to make changes on the fly even if you have firm reservations.

What To Know Before Planning Your Mendoza Wine Trip:
#1 - Plan ahead, work with a good local guide who can advise you on the wineries that fit the varietal or style you’re looking for and/or research ahead of time for the wineries you want to taste. Our guide/driver, Gustavo Delucchi, was outstanding, he was knowledgeable beyond belief and he has tremendous local relationships. Plus for $150ish a day, he will cart up to 3 people around, make all the reservations and take very good care of you. I would call him indispensable to our trip.

#2 - Expect to pay $10 per winery visit, significantly more at those wineries that you eat lunch at. Gustavo setup reservations for us at two wineries that serve lunch along with the tour/tasting, both were incredible experiences and well worth it. For these expect to pay around $75 per couple for an elaborate, high quality lunch experience and wine.

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Mendoza wine tours - Mendoza Holidays
Mendoza is the center of Argentina’s wine industry and accounts for approximately 70% of the country’s total output. Nearly all the major wineries are concentrated in this province. Its signature grape is the Malbec. The climate and terroir in Mendoza are the ideal setting for the full expression of this grape variety. The beauty of Mendoza's downtown is phenomenal. What is most peculiar is its network of water canals that have transformed what was an arid region into an awesome spectacle of blossoming trees that completely surround the city. More information about the Mendoza wine country can be found visiting http://www.mendozaholidays.com