Gregorymac

I will be in BA next month and want to check possibility to ship a few cases back to USA. Do you do it?

Gaucho100K

Yes, we regularly ship wines to the USA. I will contact you via PM.

dhring

I have read that MDZ security may not meet TSA standards and, if connecting in SCL for a US-bound flight, you must claim bags, enter Chile, pay the fee, and check in again. Is this actually true? Or if you have all flights on one LAN ticket, can you just stay in international transit airside?

Thanks.

Gaucho100K

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/22.2.110; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) BrowserNG/7.1.4)

Sounds unlikely... not because of MDZ not meeting TSA standards, but more because of the SCL connection and the entry fee... I suggest you start a thread in the South America forum and ask about this.

Gaucho100K

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/22.2.110; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) BrowserNG/7.1.4)

Sounds unlikely... not because of MDZ not meeting TSA standards, but more because of the SCL connection and the entry fee... I suggest you start a thread in the South America forum and ask about this.

lewishogs

Planning to visit Mendoza the first week of June, 2011. Considering the LAN flight from BsAs that arrives at 1:10 pm. Would it be possible to take a taxi to the Sheraton, check in and leave our suitcases, and arrange for a driver to take us to La Bourgogne for lunch at 2:00 pm, followed by a tour of VistAlba bodega at 4:00 pm? Or is there simply not time to do this?

The next day thinking about visiting La Azul at 11:00, followed by lunch and a tour at Andeluna, followed by a tour of Salentein. They seem fairly close to one another and sound as though they would offer a nice variety.

And finally, the next day, lunch and tour at O.Fournier, followed by a tour of Clos de los Siete, Monteviejo, then taking 8:25 pm flight back to BsAs.

I will contact the bodegas via email and reserve tours and meals. Can anyone recommend an English speaking driver?

I welcome advice!

Gaucho100K

50 minutes to do all you are planning to make a 2pm appointment is pushing it very hard. I think you need at least another 45-60 minutes before your first appointment.

Arranging for three visits in one day is pushing it.... if you want to do this, I suggest having the 1st appointment no later than 10AM, and make sure you factor in transit time from one place to another. Also, if you are doing private visits then you can manage your time, but if you will be part of a group tour, then remember that this will usually take longer than you may want.

lewishogs

Thanks for the input. Think I'll cut it down to 2 tours on day two and only go to O. Fournier (with lunch) on day 3. Wish we had more time in Mendoza!

Jersey Joe

Hi everyone,

My wife and I will be in Mendoza 5-11 and would like to arrange for some wine tours. Yes, I know that this is during harvest season and we are probably doing this a bit late, but I'm hoping we can still get some fantastic tours in. What I've found reading almost this entire thread is that we should tour the 3 "mini-regions" of Maipu, Valle de Uco, and Lujan de Cuyo and our schedule should be something like this:

Maipu (we are staying at Club Tapiz and would love to do a bike tour, possibly in addition to a driving tour, although I have read that the wineries on the bike tours are of lesser quality?)
- Zuccardi
- Bodega Benegas
- Tempus Alba (lunch)

Uco
- La Azul
- O Fournier (lunch)
- Clos de los Siete

Cuyo
- Terrazas (lunch)
- Achaval Ferrer
- Carmelo Patti

Are there any I'm missing here or any here that aren't worth a visit? We obviously like wine, but we probably love food even more, so great lunch / dinner spots are definitely exciting to us!

Also, it looks like a private driver is the way to go. Any up-to-date recommendations?

Also, I haven't seen much FT chatter about it, but we will have 5 full days in MDZ so we'd like to do something other than tour wineries, such as white water rafting, horse riding, hiking, running (I am in the middle of marathon training) etc. Any recommendations?

Thanks / Gracias !

davescharf

If you are 'foodies' then you should plan a trip somewhere in there to VistaAlba for lunch (maybe instead of Terrazas) so you can eat at La Bourgogne. You should also try planning a night to eat at 1884 for dinner too and if you have an extra night I'd recommend eating at Azafran.

I've heard that Zuccardi is a place you would want to have lunch as well so you might want to eat there instead of Tempus Alba (but you should still go to Tempus Alba for the wine)

In terms of other things to do, we went Horseback Riding and really enjoyed it. We also went to see a Godoy Cruz soccer match which was a fabulous experience.

Feel free to PM me if you want info on the other activities. Otherwise people more knowledgeable on the current 'in' places to tour would be able to help you out more in the wine side.

Gaucho100K

The above is spot on.... forget Tempus Alba for lunch and instead do that at Zuccardi. Actually, I would drop Tempus altogether and visit another winery.... but that is just my tastebuds.

In the Uco Valley.... I would say try to visit Atamisque and drop Clos de Los Siete if you want a more boutique producer instead of a huge 1200 pound Gorilla... Clos is a large producer.

davescharf

I personally really enjoyed Tempus Alba's wines (probably #2 or #3 overall after Benegas and maybe O Fournier).

One eatery I forgot to mention too was Cava de Cano in Chacras de Coria. It's an experience unlike anything you'll have ever tried IMO and well worth the 5 lbs you'll gain there.

Jersey Joe

Thanks for the winery recs. I will book those. Now looking at drivers for our tours. Are these good rates (in ARP for 2 people)?

Lujan De Cuyo: $ 450
Maipu: $450
Uco Valley: $ 650 (w/ O. Fournier: $750)

Molinari

Arriving in Mendoza in about 3 weeks time for a 3 night stay before heading to BA. This is our honeymoon, and we are short on time as we had planned to go to Japan and had to reschedule.

Does anyone have any reccomendations on staying in winerys/fincas or downtown. We have been looking at Park Hyatt, but it seems even more romantic staying "in the wineyards"
How long is it from the city to the winerys and is taxi the best way of getting around?
We are interested in food/wine, and are planning winery tours as well as eating at great restaurants - so if anyone has reccomendations for restaurants both for lunch & dinner - we will take these as well.

Thank you for all help

Gaucho100K

If you want to stay at a Winery... then here are some options:

Posada Salentein
Club Tapiz
Cavas Wine Lodge
Vistalba Carlos Pulenta

The last option is not easy to get as they only have a handful of rooms and they are not open to the public all season.... check for details. Cavas is not really a Winery, though they do make their own wine but some list it as a winery.... that would have to be discussed but regardless, if you are looking for a high-end place then that is an option.

Places that are not bodegas but that are also not in the usual urban setting and I think are great places to stay include.....

Lares de Chacra
Postales del Plata
Finca Adalgisa