Mendoza is the home to Argentina’s most famous wine, the mouthwatering Malbec. Set at the base of the Andes Mountains, this laid-back Argentinian city offers much more than just your average wine town. Filled with luxury hotels, active adventures in the Andes, gourmet cuisine, and sensuous spas, Mendoza Argentina is the perfect place for a weekend getaway.

• How to Get There: Major flights on LAN & Aerolineas Argentinas from Santiago, Buenos Aires, and almost all cities in Argentina
• Currency: Argentine Peso
• Best Time to Visit: February – March for harvest
• Rent a Car: Yes – everything is very spread out in the valley
• Buy Wines? Absolutely. Wines are much cheaper in Argentina vs. in The USA
• Fun Fact: You can carry-on 6 bottles per person on domestic Argentine flights!

Villa Mansa is a boutique wine hotel…yes you read that right, a wine hotel! If you’re visiting the home of the Malbec, the best place to start is right where you sleep. Set at the base of the Andes Mountains, 20km from downtown Mendoza, this beautiful boutique hotel has everything you could ever dream of. Dine at their in-house hotel restaurant, play in the pristine outdoor pool, and relax in the tranquil environment.

Come hungry to Ituzaingo as you’ll want to have room for the decadent 6-course meal and accompanying wine pairing. For 690 pesos (~$45 USD), you will enjoy a pre-appetizer, appetizer, pre-main course, main course, pre-dessert, and dessert plus rosé, sparkling, and white wine pairings. If you’re a red wine drinker, that comes at an extra cost.

After a few days of wine tasting, there is nothing better than detoxing at the luxury Entre Cielos hotel. A special trip to their hamam & spa is sure to soothe your soul. This is the first traditional spa & hamam in South America consisting of six stages of treatment.

Famed Argentine chef Francis Mallman’s Mendoza outpost, 1884, is known for its amazing Andean cuisine. We recommend ordering the skirt steak, fig salad, and pumpkin ravioli. With a $15 USD corking fee, it is best to order wine or cocktails at the restaurant.

A trip to Mendoza wouldn’t be complete without a romantic wine tasting. Here are some of our favorite vineyards in Mendoza.

• Lamadrid: Our absolute favorite vineyard in all of Mendoza. Home to two different brands under one delicious roof, we can’t choose our favorite between the Lamadrid line and the Durigutti line. I guess we’ll have to keep drinking both to decide which tops our list! The vineyard visit was FUN! We weren’t bogged down with facts or a long tour. As soon as we arrived at the vineyard, Lamadrid made sure we had a glass of wine in hand and a smile on our faces!
• Catena Zapata: This was by far the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing vineyard. Set on a gigantic piece of land, everything about Catena Zapata impresses. From our barrel tasting to soil testing, the experience at Catena Zapata was a memory that will last a lifetime. Note: This was the priciest tasting at ~$35 USD/person.
• Bodega Nieto Senetiner: Our visit to Bodega Nieto Senetiner was a delicious one! We enjoyed the prix fixe lunch with 6 different wines (yup, SIX!) and gourmet asado. Come hungry to this lunch and try not to fill up on the bread basket, as tempting as it may be. You’ll be thankful when you have room for all 6 courses!
• Kaiken: Kaiken wins the gold for best wine tasting experience and best wine. We sat outside on a gorgeous day in Mendoza, seated at the base of the Andes Mountains, right next to hundreds of rows of vineyards. It was the perfect day in Mendoza – the sun shined down on us and the snow capped mountains smiled in front of us, only furthering our enjoyment of the incredible wines at Kaiken. The best wine is the Mai, aged for 18 months in new French oak and then aged another 24 months in the bottle. You’ll want to take plenty of these home with you.