With a cellar at 3850 meters above sea level!
The location of the world´s highest vineyards is a bone of contention and will probably always be so – although there must be an altitude limit to viable terroir, right? Enterprising winemakers will always try to innovate and push boundaries further and in this case, higher.
Argentina and Chile have the highest vineyards in the world with Colome winery near Molinos, Argentina previously recognized as the absolute king. However, in the region of Humahuaca in Jujuy, 300 km north of Molinos there is a new player on the scene and we offer the chance to visit the new world´s highest vineyard with what is almost certainly the highest wine cellar in the world also.
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Not just that but the visit to Uquia will be made with the owner himself! Gary and Malka are shown below with the charming owner Claudio Zucchino and his lovely family.
Humahuaca Canyon Wine Tours – Day 1
Your private driver/guide will take you north from Salta 3 hours through the dense cloud forest that surrounds the city and then into the region of Jujuy and the stunning UNESCO recognized Humahuaca Canyon. There are only a few wineries that are established in this area as it is the most recent addition to the wine regions of Argentina and is very much a work in progress.
The first visit of your day will be to the Dupont winery and vineyards located just outside the striking town of Maimara perched at nearly 2500 meters above sea level (8200 feet). The backdrop to this winery is the famous (famous locally that is!) “Painters Palette” mountain, with its layered rock strata of many different colors, which is beautiful in the right light.
Dupont is the most well-known of the wineries in this very young wine-producing area and the most experienced. The bodega has 4 main lines, 3 red blends, and a rosé. The blends are made in varying proportions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah, un-oaked and with one line fermented in oak. These wines have scored highly with Stephen Tanzer and Robert Parker. At the winery, you will tour the vines and production areas, with the owner if we can arrange it, and then enjoy a tasting.
After the Dupont wine tour, we will visit the lovely little town of Tilcara just around the next hill. Tilcara is where you will spend the night so we will check you in now, you can drop off your luggage and then have some time for lunch before moving to the second winery of the day. Depending on time open to us we may be able to fit in a visit to the pre-Inca ruins found above the town, your guide will show you around and give you some of the histories of this interesting place.
Heading a little farther up the valley we visit the Viñas del Perchel winery, a boutique winery in all senses of the word. This bodega produces a very small harvest of Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc which results in only around 3000 bottles per year coming onto the market. The winery will be happy to show us their small vineyard of just 2 hectares and their boutique production, aging, and storage areas. As the winery is such small-scale tastings are not offered to the general public but we include a bottle of their excellent Runa line (Malbec-Syrah blend) for you to try while standing among the vines at 2625 meters (some 8600 feet) above sea level.
You will be dropped back at the hotel late in the afternoon for a shower and a wide choice of restaurant for the evening, ask your guide for his or her recommendation and get a good night’s sleep for another full day of visits tomorrow.
Day 2 – World´s Highest Vineyards & Wine Cellar
After breakfast, we will pick you up and drive the short distance to the Viñas de Uquia winery, just past the Tropic of Capricorn line (which we can visit). This winery is so new that only 3 vintages have been produced and the results are good and getting even better under the expert eye of winemaker Marcos Etchart, who also consults at other wineries in the Humahuaca Canyon and Cafayate.
For many more details on what you will see at the vineyards of Viñas de Uquia please click to see our Blog regarding the visit made by Gary and Malka.
The label of the world´s highest vineyards currently sits on the “Uraqui” wine bottles produced by Claudio Zucchino. Uraqui means “terroir” in the ancient native language of the area, Aymara. This very deep, intense wine is produced from grapes grown at 3329 meters (some 10,922 feet) in the Moya vineyard. The Moya plot produces Malbec, Syrah, and Merlot – and the Uraqui red blend is composed of 60% Malbec, 30% Syrah, and 10% Merlot.
Firstly we look around the winery and hear how this ultra-high altitude wine is produced from the “horse´s mouth” so to speak. Claudio is very proud to have the highest vineyard and we will head up from 2750 meters where the lowest blocks and the winery sit, an oxygen-starved 3329 meters above sea level.
The highest wine cellar in the world (in a mine) at Viñas de Uquia
We will spend a short time wandering the vines and admiring the tremendous views of the surrounding mountains. Then it is off again, steeply uphill, to the highest and maybe strangest wine cellar in the world. Claudio decided that the 3850-meter high ex-Barium Sulfate mine provides the perfect environment for the aging of his wine with its almost constant 13 degrees Celsius. Our Blog will tell you much more about the mine-wine cellar, but suffice to say it will be a very memorable visit. You will enjoy a tasting from a dusty wine bottle taken from the racks in the cellar, plus a selection of cheeses, olives, and bread, with incredible views.
After this visit, we wind our way back down to the winery, say goodbye to Claudio, and continue on to the town of Purmamarca for a lunch stop. After time spent eating and maybe trying another Argentine wine (maybe try a Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza to try the iconic terroir) we will take a good look at the main attraction of this small dusty town, “the hill of seven colors”. This hill is lovely late in the day, we will see it from several angles on a 40-minute stroll around it.
After Purmamarca there may be time to visit another small winery on the way back to Salta, the Amanecer Andino (Andean Sunrise) is located just the other side of the river not far from Purmamarca and is managed by the Mendoza winemaker Lucas Niven. Niven says he is producing a more citric Sauvignon Blanc at this vineyard, a wine with soul and passion…we can get you to try it.
Not only have you checked off the current world´s highest vineyard, but also some other close contenders and experienced an area of Argentina that is rich in cultural heritage.
After all this, you will probably sleep it off on the way back to Salta where we will drop you off at your hotel where you can relax and plan for your next adventure with us or feel sad that you have to go home.
