Mendoza Wine Touring Tips
Living as a wine expert, educator and writer in Mendoza, Argentina for the better part of year I was able to tour numerous wineries. There are now dozens of wineries in and around the city of Mendoza making great wines and upping the bar of quality every year, and I was able to enjoy the fruits of their labor on several occasions. There are a handful of quality touring companies, my favorite being http://www.mendozawinetours.com, though there are others. Through the period of time I lived in Argentina I gleaned a few worthwhile tips about touring Mendoza’s wineries and I figure it’s time to pass those along to you.
First, don’t drive. Mendocinos drive like crazy people, so conducting an automobile around town is challenging enough. But if there is potential for you to cop a buzz tasting wine, it’s smart to leave the driving to a local with experience – that’s where remises come in. A remise is similar to a taxi, but can be thought of as a private car for hire. There are hundreds of them in Mendoza and most are willing to book an entire day to cart you and up to three other people around to Mendocino wineries, and the rates are amazingly affordable these days. For under $200, including tip, you can spend the whole day with what is essentially your own private winery chauffer! That’s as low as $50 per person for a full day of worry-free winery fun! You plan the route and they do the driving; they’ll even pick you up and drop you off at home.
Second, call ahead to the wineries you intend to visit. Sometimes people forget that the whole world does not operate like America. Things are slowly changing in Mendoza, in Argentina and in South American wine regions in general as more wineries are creating public tasting rooms that are open on a regular basis. However, this change is slow and even non-existent in some areas. A smart wine tourist will map out the following day’s adventure and call ahead to the wineries to make sure they will be open and that someone will be there to host them; whether that means a tasting, a tour and tasting, or something even more detailed or special. Arriving at a highly-anticipated winery only to find that its employees are on holiday, closed for siesta or closed just because they feel like it (and that does happen) will quickly bring major disappointment to what could have been a great day of wine touring.
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