Malbec

Wednesday night is winemaker's night at The Vines of Mendoza in Argentina.

One of the more modern wineries in Mendoza, Tempus Alba combines technology with family-run pride, resulting in some delicious and affordable wines. One of the winery's main goals is to make the best Malbec in Argentina, a lofty goal where Malbec is one of the most popular varietals in Argentina. In search of the best Malbec grapes, the winery is testing and researching 370 vines to find ones that will produce a superior Malbec.

Tour of Pulenta Estate

Winery Achaval-Ferrer started out in 1999 as an experiment. The winery owners saw great potential to make premium Malbec wines in Argentina, a purpose which they have pursued with gusto. The winery focuses on quality and making high-end wines, resulting in a small production of 12,000 bottles per year of which 80% will be consumed outside of Argentina.

Old World and New World Wines

About Alta Vista

Ten years ago, French wine group Edonia purchased Alta Vista from its Spanish owners in the Luján de Cuyo region of Mendoza, Argentina. The winery is beautiful: in addition to the typical vineyard and mountain view, the entrance is lined with full lavender plants and ancient olive trees. Like CarinaE, Alta Vista has done a great job of keeping with tradition while having their own modern style. The winery building and equipment has been restored for their needs but in a historically-minded way.

Perhaps one of the wineries in Mendoza that best encapsulates the gaucho image and lifestyle of Argentina is Hacienda del Plata.

La Azul Winery

This enormously cute winery in Valley de Uco of Mendoza, Argentina, La Azul is one of the smallest production wineries we've visited. Perhaps their size allows the focus and attention needed to produce some incredible wines. Like many wineries in Mendoza, Azul is a relatively new winery in Argentina with its first wines produced in 2003.

Bodega Sottano's story

On the same road where you'll find Séptima and Ruca Malén, relatively new winery Sottano is making some great wines and is opening its doors to winery tours. The winery is a shared project of the three Sottano brothers, natives of Mendoza with Italian heritage and a family history of bulk winemaking. The winery building was designed by the brothers with the goals of fitting into the desert landscape of Mendoza and on the inside, being able to see all aspects of the winery from one place: the cellars and barrels, the tanks, the vineyard, and, of course, the beautiful Andes mountains that provide the water runoff that makes grape-growing possible in Mendoza.

Bodega Andeluna