ArticleMendoza, Argentina7 min read
Mendoza: Malbec in the Shadow of Aconcagua
Where we send trekkers to recover
Average rating 4.3 out of 5
4.33 reviews
After a week on the trail, nothing beats a few days among the vineyards of Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, with the highest mountain in the Americas on the horizon.
Desert vineyards
Mendoza gets about 200 mm of rain a year, less than parts of the Sahel. That it is also the source of three quarters of Argentina's wine is down to the Andes: snowmelt from the cordillera has been channelled into the vineyards through irrigation ditches since before the Spanish arrived, and the altitude, between 700 and 1,500 m, gives cool nights, intense sun and thick-skinned grapes.
The grape is Malbec, brought from Cahors in the 1850s and now far more at home here than in France. Start in Luján de Cuyo, half an hour from the city, where the old family bodegas sit among century-old vines and many can be visited by bicycle. Then drive an hour and a half south to the Uco Valley, where the newer wineries are architecture as much as agriculture, built at 1,100 m against a backdrop of snow-covered peaks.
On a clear day you can see Aconcagua, 6,961 m, from the road to Uspallata. Our Aconcagua Provincial Park day trip walks the first hour of the normal route to the Laguna de Horcones viewpoint, which is as close as most people want to get.
Three wineries we love
- A family bodega in Chacras de Coria, reachable by bike
- A high-altitude Uco Valley winery with a long lunch on the terrace
- A small natural-wine producer in Maipú, by appointment only
Malbec tastes better when your legs still remember the pass.Valentina Rojas
About this story
Valentina RojasAuthor
Andes TrailsPublisher
Reviews
Write a reviewAverage rating 4.3 out of 5
3 reviews- BCBen Cohen5 out of 5 stars6 Oct
Honest about how hard the climbs are and generous with practical detail. The packing list was spot on.
- CCChiara Conti3 out of 5 stars30 Sept
Fine as an overview, but the transport section needs updating: two of the buses no longer run.
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- Samuel Adeyemi
Your packing list saved us. It got cold much faster than we expected after sunset.
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