Mendoza, Argentina: Wine Tour, Winery Dining

During my Argentina vacation this past April, I made sure to include a long weekend in Mendoza, the country’s preeminent wine-producing region. In recent years, it has become renown around the world for its excellent malbecs, among other red varietals. Friends who ventured to Mendoza before me had recommended quite a few wineries (known as bodegas) and restaurants to visit, and based on those, along with my own research, I made an ambitious list for my intended gastronomic feast.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, and incorrect assumptions, I didn’t get to about half the venues I had intended. Still, I had incredible experiences and can’t wait to go back.

So you can be better prepared for your Mendoza wine-tasting visit, here are a few highlights from my trip, integrated into a tip list to make sure you plan the best vacation possible to the region.

• Art and wine go hand-in-hand at Familia Zuccardi in Mendoza.
• Michael P. Ventura

Plan ahead

Unlike some other wine regions around the world, where you can drive up and get a tour and/or tasting, the wineries in Mendoza require reservations. There are limited slots available, which fill up quickly, with 3 p.m. often the last tour of the day. Plus, many places are not open on Sundays, and some close regularly for special events. The top wineries all have Web sites where you can request your reservation, and many have an English-speaking person on staff to handle phone calls.

Don’t try too book too many wineries in one day

Mendoza is a large district, with multiple wine regions and towns within it: Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo, San Juan and Valle de Uco are just a few. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours to get from one place to another, depending on location and traffic. For one day I had booked a tour and lunch at Familia Zuccardi, located north of Mendoza, starting at 11 a.m., to be followed by a tasting at Catena Zapata, about 30 minutes south at 2 p.m., then one at Achaval Ferrer at 3 p.m. I had been assured that even though it might be a tight fit, I could get all three in.

• The lobby of the Park Hyatt Mendoza.
• Courtesy of the Park Hyatt Mendoza

A friend in the food and wine industry had strongly recommended Familia Zuccardi, saying it was the best meal she had had during her visit. While it was interesting to see a tour of the modernized facilities for mass-produced labels, the meal left much to be desired. (Perhaps the chef she had is no longer at the facility, because all her previous recommendations have been top notch.) The bread served had mold on it, and not only were the dishes mediocre, at best—avoid the olive oil ice cream at all costs—but they were sloppily prepared and took forever to be served, even though we had indicated that we needed to finished with lunch by 1:30 at the latest.

We had to ask for our check no fewer than four times, and it took nearly 40 minutes to receive it and another 10 for the credit card to get processed because the receptionist was on the phone with her boyfriend. During this time, I got locked in one of its bathroom stalls for 15 minutes, and the person who finally came to let me out didn’t even stick around to apologize or see if I was okay. Needless to say, we missed both the Catena and Ferrer tastings, much to my dismay. All this for more than $60 a head.

• A cook prepares the food in the kitchen Francis Mallmann’s 1884 restaurant.
• Donna M. Airoldi

Hire a driver

Some wineries are remotely located down gravel roads with minimal signage. You don’t want to spend your day getting lost. And besides, you’d then have to limit the amount of wine you could indulge in. Your hotel will be able to book a driver for you. We stayed at the Park Hyatt Mendoza—definitely recommended—and our driver was a terrific woman who used to work in the hospitality industry in Miami. It cost about $125 for the day; some places may charge a bit less, but we found $100 to be the average. It was totally worth it, as she not only shared sites and history along the drive, she also called around to find a winery we could get into to make up for our missed tastings the day we visited Zuccardi. We visited LaGarde, which was okay, but a far cry from the quality of the bodegas we missed.

Don’t set your expectations too high

If you live in a culinary capital, such as New York or San Francisco, you probably have standards that are a bit above average because you’re used to getting superior quality and service when dining out. We had dinner one night at 1884 Francis Mallmann, a top-rated restaurant that’s located within Bodega Escorihuela, on the outskirts of Mendoza city. It’s a beautiful, romantic restaurant with a courtyard where chefs grill the succulent meats. Most of the meal was excellent, especially paired with wines from the bodega: try its 2005 Malbec. Our favorites were the ring of fresh bread, the melt-in-your-mouth empanadas, grilled squid with a tomato/avocado salsa, and a sirloin steak marinated in mustard. However, though my roast suckling pig was tender, it was flavorless and had skin that was tough and tasted funky, and the accompanying salad was drenched in dressing. For dessert though, don’t miss the chocolate cake with a liquid center and homemade vanilla ice cream.