In all honesty, Mendoza underwhelmed. It’s our own fault – we didn’t do enough research to understand the importance of reservations. Luckily, if you’re reading this post, you’re already a step ahead! Mendoza has a ton of potential with its mountains and vineyards. You just need to do some planning.
Wine Country
Without a doubt, Mendoza’s primary draw is its collection of delicious Argentinian wineries. While Malbec is the star of this region, you’ll be able to find a variety of delicious wines across the vineyards in this area.
You have a few options when deciding how to visit Mendoza’s many wineries. Some, however, take more planning than others.
The region’s best vineyards are about 1-3 hours outside the city. Renting a car is technically an option, but don’t drink and drive. Instead, look into the many bus tours that shepherd tourists daily from downtown Mendoza to a collection of the region’s vineyards. This option will cost you a pretty penny, but it is without a doubt the preferred way to make the most of a visit to Mendoza.
These tours, however, take planning. We unfortunately did not do enough research in advance of our trip, and all the tours were sold out when we arrived at our hotel.
There are other options, though! A handful of wineries are within 20 minutes of town. If there is a specific vineyard you want to visit, you can always take a taxi. If you want to visit multiple vineyards on one trip, you can also rent a bicycle down the street from those vineyards at Mr. Hugo’s. We chose to go this route.
Imagine riding a bike through wine country, going from vineyard to vineyard, taking the time to sample a flight at each stop. Sounds romantic, right? It’s a shame the experience didn’t live up to the ideal. Rather than lush hillsides, we rode along a dusty road with cars whirring by. Add in 90° weather and it was a hot, sweaty ride. To exacerbate things further, some of the vineyards along this route require reservations or don’t accept bikers. Without an easy way to contact each vineyard or learn of these policies, you’ll have to ride by to see if you can actually visit.
All of that said, Mr. Hugo’s still provides a good way to visit multiple vineyards if you want a budget-friendly option or missed out on reserving a bus tour. We suggest working with your hotel to confirm which of the vineyards in that area are open, allow bikers, and/or require reservations. Our favorite stops along this road were Bodega Trapiche (great wine, requires a reservation), LAUR Olivícola (olive oil producer), Bodega Viña el Cerno (friendly service and also great wine), and Bodega MEVI (terrific views).
Where to Eat
- Bodega Trapiche: We already mentioned the great wine, but Trapiche offers an upscale lunch too. Because we were unsuccessful visiting on our bike tour, we decided to make a reservation for the next day and arrive by taxi. Some of the food was great, but we found a hair in one of our dishes… The restaurant didn’t offer any kind of refund, but they did offer to give us a replacement dish. We declined since we were already pretty turned off and full at that point in the meal. The high cost of the food here made the hair situation all the more unfortunate. Next time, we’ll stick to the wine or make sure we’re able to visit the nicer vineyards further from town.
- La Lucia Grill & Bar: Sadly, this restaurant is now permanently closed. We had some delicious steak and tapas here, and the front porch makes for a great environment on a nice evening.
- La Marchigiana Centro: If you’re in the mood for Italian food, this restaurant is a great option. It is right in the heart of Mendoza and has plenty of seating, so you can likely get a table quickly without a reservation. The only real downside is that the menu is somewhat expensive.
Other Tips and Tricks
- Where to Stay: We felt incredibly lucky to stay at the Park Hyatt in Mendoza. It was relatively cheap with points, so we weren’t expecting much, but we ended up being blown away. The hotel is right in the center of town next to Plaza Independencia, has delicious breakfast, and offers an on-site spa and pool with 5-star luxury. We even got upgraded to the Presidential Suite. The only downside is the hotel’s distance from the region’s nicest vineyards. If you intend to spend most of your time touring those wineries, we suggest looking for a hotel in that area to save some driving time.
- Plan Ahead: Don’t make the same mistake as us. Do your research and plan ahead! Pick out the vineyards you’d like to visit, and make reservations as far in advance as possible. If there are specific restaurants you want to try, we suggest making reservations there as well.
- Use the Taxi Meter: We ran into an issue when taking a taxi to Trapiche for lunch. The driver didn’t turn on the meter and tried to overcharge us, which we could tell because we had taken a taxi to Mr. Hugo’s down the street the day before. To avoid any potential conflicts or rip-offs, we suggest having your driver turn on the meter at the start of every trip.
Happy traveling!
Kitrina & Jordan
