Trans-Andean Wine Adventure
Together with the epic Salta to Mendoza road trip, our Argentina and Chile wine tour is proving increasingly popular and is now one of our best sellers. And why wouldn’t it be, it is a spectacular experience for wine nuts!
Chile and Argentina are the two wine powerhouses of South America and are ranked 6th and 7th on the world wine production lists respectively, so they are obviously very important players globally. These two countries used to be all about volume and didn’t focus so much on quality, but how times have changed. The number of high-investment, high-tech wineries has exploded on both sides of the Andes and now you have to try very hard to find poor wine. Hand in hand with this investment in wine quality has been an improvement in tourism facilities, with many wineries frequently winning awards for their visitor experiences and infrastructure.
In an ideal world, with no restrictions on time or budget, the absolute dream trip would be:
- Fly into Salta, Argentina and enjoy the highest wineries in the world in Humahuaca
- Start the Salta to Mendoza road trip – spending a couple of extra nights in Cafayate
- Spend 3 or 4 days in Mendoza to visit all the sub-regions, such as Uco and Lujan de Cuyo
- Travel across the Andes to Santiago de Chile – by either bus or plane
- Spend some time visiting wine regions from Santiago – e.g. Casablanca and Maipo
- Travel south to visit Colchagua and Itata
The schedule above is an incredible wine experience, showing the best that an Argentina and Chile wine tour can offer, but you would need to have 3 weeks open to you, plus a high budget. What normally happens is people pick a couple of elements to combine over a few days, and often that is Mendoza with Santiago.
Using Mendoza and Santiago as two bases allows us to program day trips for you to several very important and prestigious wine regions. Day trips mean that you don’t have to unpack and pack all the time, being based in a centrally located hotel and the proximity of the wine regions means you can visit several wineries each day quite easily. We generally try to include 3 wineries per day, with the depth and length of visit varying according to the winery and time available, and at one of the wineries you will have lunch, providing you with a very balanced day of visits and ample refuelling.
From Mendoza you can visit Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo and Valle de Uco on a day trip, Uco being the farthest away from Mendoza, around 90 minutes each way. Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo are much closer. Mendoza is home to the vast majority of Argentine wineries, with over 650 in the region. 75% of Argentina’s wine production comes from this area and there are so many wineries to choose from that the choice can be overwhelming, so feel free to let us guide you.
A very short flight or a bus ride over the Andes connects you to the capital of Chile. Santiago is very nicely located a 90-minute drive, or less, from several wine regions and therefore is a perfect base from which to explore Chilean wine. we can arrange for you to visit Maipo, Casablanca, San Antonio, Leyda, Cachapoal and Aconcagua – all on day trips. If you wanted to spend some nights away from Santiago then the famous Colchagua Valley can be visited and a little bit farther south you have historic Maule and Itata. Chile really has so much to offer.
To sum up. The Argentina and Chile wine tour combo is an experience that wine enthusiasts will never forget, and the longer you can travel the more you can take in. There is a massive range of wineries on offer from world-class, famous names producing 98-point plus wines, to boutique and garage-style setups, and everything in between. Hundreds and hundreds of places to choose from, and a huge range of experiences and gastronomy. Let us know how long you can travel and trust us to design the perfect itinerary for you, giving you tastes and sights that will blow up your Instagram.
