Travel To Visit The Argentina Wine Country

The key reason Malbec worked out better in Argentina than France was irrigation. While much of France's wine country is relatively arid and often cloudy, Argentina's Uco Valley is sunny most of the year, and its proximity to the mountains' melting snowcaps means it's also simultaneously blessed with a natural and free source of water. As it turns out, these two factors were the perfect key to unlock Malbec's long-hidden flavor profile.

As you'll discover during your time traveling in the Argentina wine country on vacation, the Malbec flavor profile is as rich as the local culture and as intense as the beauty of the landscape, with dominating sour notes like blackberries and plum. Often described as "meaty," it also happens to pair perfectly with the Argentinian beef raised nearby.

Although most wine tourists in Argentina simply visit Mendoza because of its convenience and variety of experiences, it's not the only game in town. Another great place for wine lovers to visit in Argentina is Salta. While Salta is also famous for Malbec, you can drink other wines there, too, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. As Argentina's farthest north wine region, Salta's cityscape is more Spanish colonial than Mendoza's European-inflected one, and its surrounding landscape is more arid and cactus-filled.

Another spot to visit while on vacation in the Argentina wine country is Rio Negro. Located in northern Patagonia not far from the ski paradise of Bariloche, this province is both cooler and more mountainous than Mendoza or Salta, and it boasts more dramatic scenery on the whole. Many wineries there are located on terraced hilltops or alongside rivers, such as the River Carmen. If you've ever been to Portugal's Douro Valley, some of the scenery in Rio Negro (at least the wine-producing parts of it) is not entirely dissimilar.

Bariloche, this province is both cooler and more mountainous than Mendoza or Salta, and it boasts more dramatic scenery on the whole. Many wineries there are located on terraced hilltops or alongside rivers, such as the River Carmen. If you've ever been to Portugal's Douro Valley, some of the scenery in Rio Negro (at least the wine-producing parts of it) is not entirely dissimilar.

Beyond these, Argentina has four other denominated wine regions: Neuquén, Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan. Like Mendoza and Salta, Neuquén — which is located just north of Rio Negro, amid slightly more arid scenery — focuses on red wines. Meanwhile, Catamarca sits about as close to the Andes as Mendoza but is farther north, where a combination of warmer weather and drier air leads to juicier grapes that are more productive and, therefore, more profitable.

San Juan and La Rioja sit between Mendoza and Catamarca and make great stops if you're planning to take a longer road trip through the Argentina vineyards — or even beyond it, all the way up to Salta. Spending even a single day in any one of Argentina's seven wine regions gives you a wonderful peek into what makes this corner of the world so special.

If you want to plan your own wine trip to Argentina, the first step is to decide how it fits into the rest of your travel. Maybe you'll want to fly to Mendoza for the week before a long weekend in Buenos Aires, or maybe as a chaser to an expedition through Patagonia or even to Antarctica. Or, perhaps you'd like to include it as one of many stops on a more epic journey of South America. For instance, some longer-term travelers visit Mendoza or Salta while moving between Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile, either before or after crossing the Andes (depending on the direction of travel).

The second question is where you'll stay. While some travelers prefer to stay at an inn on-site at the winery, others prefer a city hotel in Mendoza with a day trip to the vineyards. To do this, catch one of the frequent buses from Mendoza's city center to Maipú, the largest and most convenient town in the wine country. The journey takes just 42 minutes and drops you off in walking or biking distance to several wineries.

You'll also need to decide how extensively you want to explore the wine country. Will you primarily dine and drink at the vineyard where you're staying, or will you rent bikes and ride between several of them? Do you have particular vintners in mind, or will you simply see where the (dirt) road takes you? Whatever you choose, the Malbec produced near Mendoza is delicious and unique, so there's no such thing as a bad glass.

Having these broader strokes in place will allow you to craft tangible plans and make your trip a reality. That said, I don't necessarily recommend planning out an itinerary in excruciating detail. You'll want to leave room for magic — and time to sleep late, in case you have a few too many glasses of Malbec and wake up not feeling your best. Simply book your way to and from Mendoza, work out where you're staying, and set the intention to wine, dine and enjoy yourself.