Back in 2001, when gringos turned up like stray dogs on the doorstep of Bodega Santa Julia in the key Mendoza grape-growing department of Maipú, the winery’s owners used to assume these poor people had lost their way in the elevated desert.
Out of pity, the winery’s namesake Julia Zuccardi, her grandmother Emma, or her winemaking brother Sebastián would show them some vines and explain what a fermentation tank is used for. Understanding that this basic tour experience had potential, the family built a tasting room, started serving empanadas, and then opened two restaurants set among 520 hectares of organically-cultivated trellis vineyards.
They weren’t the only ones with an eye on wine tourism. In 1998, Dutch-owned winery Salentein started building an architectural behemoth with an astounding cellar in Uco Valley. At that point, such projects had only really been seen in the US’s Napa Valley and the châteaux of Bordeaux. It formally opened in 2006.
Catena Zapata had already started taking oenophiles’ breath away with its Mayan-inspired trapezoidal winery, which opened to the public in April 2001 — just in time for the economic crisis. These were some of the pioneers who constructed Mendoza’s now-acclaimed wine tourism. The region is now one of the world’s great wine capitals, mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned, as well as Porto, Rioja and Verona.
Today, around a quarter of Mendoza’s 900 or so wineries serve up some kind of visitor program. It could be a complimentary three-wine tasting in the rather unglamorous cellar door of Carmelo Patti in Mayor Drummond. What it lacks in facilities, it more than makes up for with the owner’s charisma. Speaking no English, he lets his Bordeaux-style blends lead the conversation. I often recommend a visit for a taste of how simply you can fall in love with wine.
Another bodega I recommend is López in Maipú, still run by the fourth generation of the family that founded it. You can count on one hand the number of wineries still practicing the art of cooperage (barrel making): ageing their vintages in vast wooden casks of 10,000 liters or more for three years, using them time and again. Founded by a family of Andalucian winemakers, López is a testament to the migrant pioneers who made a new life on the other side of the Atlantic: their traditions are still alive and respected in New World winemaking.
Photo courtesy of Santa Julia
One bodega that seamlessly brings together the historical and the contemporary is Lagarde, a neighbor of Carmelo Patti. Founded in 1897, it was bought by the Pescarmona family in 1969 and is led by third-generation Sofia, who has placed the winery in the spotlight for its gastronomy. Boasting two restaurants, her vision serves up Mendoza through two concepts. While Fogón, led by chef Lucas Olcese, has created a short vineyard-inspired tasting menu, you can also dine à la carte. Dishes such as sweetbreads and gremolata or grilled trout with sweetcorn are hearty yet elegantly plated, and the sommelier team can guide you through pairings.
But it’s Zonda, an intimate space for just 22 diners, that stands out. Led by Augusto García, at 29, he became one of just six Argentine chefs to receive a Michelin star in the first guide, which was released in November 2023. Of those six, four are Mendoza-based: Zonda was also one of three to receive a green star for its forward-thinking approach to sustainability.
I’ve had lunch several times at Zonda, and while it is named for the Andean wind that wreaks havoc, it is in fact a calming breath of fresh air. The experience is unobtrusively interactive, meandering through the century-old olive groves, past the Malbec and Semillón vines to the organic garden, to pick herbs you will later consume.
Maybe you’ll try your hand at folding empanada edges, or simply sit down by the open-plan kitchen and order the paired tasting menu. The Pescarmonas open their private cellar collection, which dates back 70 years and includes the legendary lost–but-found Semillón 1942, one of Zonda’s pairing options. Thanks to the calm approach — and cap on diners — Zonda is notable because many other winery restaurants have a bustling turnover, squeezing in as many covers and tastings as possible.
Those are just three of the many experiences I share to give a distinctive panorama of Mendoza. But there is one other — and it’s a big gun. Fast forward from the turn of the century to 2019, when Mendoza placed another flag in the enotourism map. The Zuccardi family’s eponymous Uco Valley project was named World’s Best Vineyard by 50 Best that year, an award celebrating everything encompassing wine tourism, from architecture to hospitality. Both pioneering and visionary, the Zuccardis inadvertently opened the path in 2001, then set the bar for others to showcase Mendoza’s riches. In fact, the winery won that prize for three consecutive years before moving into 50 Best’s Hall of Fame.
One last mention goes out to La Chacha, Santa Julia’s empanada queen. Starting out as a cleaning lady, she turned her hand to making Mendoza-style patties, which are filled with hand-chopped beef and hard boiled eggs, then baked in a clay oven. Maybe it’s the flaky pastry, perhaps it’s the light char or the insane meaty juices, but her empanadas were named national champions in 2019, and start every meal at La Casa del Visitante, Santa Julia’s first restaurant.
My Mendoza sources say this summer season is proving tough. Argentina is no longer the blue-dollar gift it was for tourists in 2023, and there are substantially fewer international visitors. Nonetheless, the province is set to become a talking point. I’m writing this story on a flight to — you guessed it — Mendoza, to attend the Smoke & Fire masterclass led by Argentina’s baron of the brasas Francis Mallmann and US counterpart, brisket baron Aaron Franklin, at The Vines Resort & Spa (a hotel and wine hospitality pioneer in Uco Valley). The good news is that a second Michelin guide is set to be released. So, Mendoza, we’ll be seeing each other again, stars in our eyes, on April 7 at Susana Balbo Wines in Luján de Cuyo. Cheers to that.
Photo courtesy of Santa Julia