We're in the middle of a similar tour
http://www.wineloverstours.com/wine-...tina-2011.html
and we have not been having dinners because the lunches are so late and so big.
Lunch yesterday at O. Fournier was incredible.
http://krauss.ws/travel/arg/8/indexa8.htm

redburgundy-- if you get a chance, please come back and report how the rest of your tour goes.

Complete report including pictures and blogs will be here:

http://krauss.ws/travel/arg/indexa.htm

Thanks !!! ^

Mendoza to San Juan
 

Hello:

Going to Argentina for the Copa America. Landing on Mendoza mid afternoon and need to get to San Juan for a game later that day.

Taking a bus might not leave me too much time. Checked car rentals but I can't find a company that does one-way rentals. Does anybody know one?.

Does anybody know a company/taxi service that would pick me up @ Mendoza Airport and take me to San Juan?. Any idea how much would that be?

Any input/suggestions would be appreaciated.

Regards,

Alonzo

I would guess that some of the large rental companies will allow one way rentals, but the surcharges will be harsh. Rental cars are already expensive here.... it get worse if you get creative. Also, be prepared to drive a stick, as automatics are rare and expensive.

To arrange for a car service.... you may be best served to contact a TA in Buenos Aires and have them arrange something for you in MDZ... I have no idea on how much this could cost, but I can put you in contact with a TA here in EZE that it professional and will charge you a fair/market price.

Cheers,
Alex / Gaucho100K

Thanks a lot Alex for replying. Yes, would be great if you can provide me a contact on a TA.

Please send me an email or PM so I can forward you the details.

Thanks,
Gaucho100K

Prior to arriving in Mendoza, we had arranged for two days of winery tours with Miguel Sanz - [email protected]

Miguel picked us up at the airport and took us directly to Zuccardi for a parrillada lunch. In addition to the parrillada, lunch included three types of empanadas, a salad, grilled vegetables, and dessert. We also sampled several wines, including a late harvest sweet dessert wine.

The winery grounds were beautiful and the restaurant had a nice atmosphere. There was a row of antique cars outside the restaurant, and drivers took a group of MBA students from Purdue on a short ride in the cars. One driver asked if I wanted a ride, but I passed. Note: Zuccardi takes credit cards and does not assess a surcharge. However, tips must be in cash. The cost of the meal, including wine, was 180 pesos per person before tip.

The next morning Miguel picked us up at the hotel and took us to La Azul, a very small winery that only makes red wine. The winery itself is one small room and the tour lasted no more than 15 minutes. It was early in the morning and my husband sampled (a sip each) of four red wines, whereas I passed since I prefer white. I was shocked that the winery charged us 80 pesos (almost $20) for the short visit.

Our next stop was Salentein. The setting was beautiful and we began with a short video of the winery. The tour was well conducted and we sampled one white and three reds. This tour costs only 30 pesos per person. This winery also has an exhibit of contemporary art and a restaurant.

Our final stop was O'Fournier. The setting was not as beautiful as Salentein and the dining room did not have the same nice atmosphere as Zuccardi. There was no charge for the tour as there was no tasting. Based on FTalk's recommendation, we had the gourmet lunch here. While the presentation was elegant, I would not have categorized the food as gourmet. We began with two tiny eggplant croquettes. The next course was steak tartare, which both my husband and I declined. (Much as we love steak and we did use to eat steak tartare, our digestive system now warns us against raw meat.) The restaurant prepared a substitute of thin slices of raw zucchini with a few slivers of parmesan cheese. The third course was a vichysoisse made interesting with slivers of fried leeks. The main course was a disappointing piece of grilled steak with no sauce or condiments - not even chimichurri. Finally, the last two courses consist of dessert - the first, an orange sorbet with a drizzle of olive oil (quite delicious) and the second, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a crispy honey shell.

O'Fournier's meal price is 115 pesos without wine or beginning at 140 with wine. If one picks a more select wine pairing, the cost can increase to 230 pesos per person. O'Fournier takes U.S. dollars at a 4 to 1 conversion rate. It also takes credit cards, but charges a 7% surcharge. I was expecting to pay with a credit card and did not have enough pesos on me. Our driver Miguel came to the rescue and lent us some pesos.

We were very happy with Miguel's services. My husband (who speaks Spanish fluently) chatted happily with Miguel. My spoken Spanish is limited and Miguel was happy to switch to English to translate when I didn't understand something. Miguel's English is excellent and he is a careful driver. In fact, he shared the fact that he used to be a Greyhound bus driver in Toronto. I've included Miguel's email address at the beginning of this post if anyone would like to contact him.

Just finished reading all 29 pages of this thread, wow lots of info on here.

So we are going to be in Mendoza for 3 days of wine tasting, and so far here's what I have:

Day 1: La Azul, O Fournier, Clos de los Siete
Day 2: Archavel Ferrer, Carmello Patti
Day 3: Tempus Alba, Zuccardi

I'd like to add probably 2 more wineries... I'm looking at: Pulenta Estate, Andeluna Cellars, Carinae, Terrazas... which ones! So hard to choose... Anyone wanna opine with some recommendations?

Thanks!

The additional wineries you are considering are fine, Im not a fan of some on your list but please dont take this as something conclusive, if you want I can elaborate.... but I would say you try to get appointments to visit one of the following...

Benegas
Escorihuela Gascon
Ricominciare

Alex, being that you are the resident expert around here, I definitely want to hear you elaborate on my potential plans.

1) Are the wineries I've selected so far for Days 1, 2, 3 good options? Would you make any changes to those?
2) Of the additional wineries I'm looking at, which do you suggest I remove from my list, and of the 3 you suggested, which would you most recommend I add?
3) If we only wanted to do 2 of 3 regions (lujan, maipu, uco), which one should we cut out?

Well, Lujan and Maipu are right next to each other, and it's really not two separate trips - and IMHO, Uco is BY FAR the most scenic and interesting, so I wouldn't cut any of them - just know that Uco is it's own day, while one can go between Lujan du Cayo and Maipu in less than a half hour driving. You could easily do 3-4 wineries on each of the days you have allocated to Lujan and Maipu. Uco generally involves more distance between places and certainly more driving to get to and from the region in general.

I would recommend you include on day 2, Carlos Pulenta (Vistalba) with lunch at La Bourgogne. Ruca Malen would be a fallback if you were looking for a less pricey, less fancy dining establishment.

Forget La Bourgogne... overpriced and Ive not had good reviews on food and service lately. For a more upscale dining experience, I suggest going to Mallmann 1884 at Escorihuela Gascon.

Agreed that Lujan and Maipu can be combined.... and yes, the Uco Valley is something that should not be missed.

I would say that the above itinerary has quite a few large and more industrial producers... which are not a bad thing, but in my experience folks that are serious about wine will enjoy visiting smaller more boutique producers. One candidate to kill, in my view, would be Clos de los Siete. They export all over the world... so its not that you wont be able to taste their stuff back home... I would drop them for sure.

Tempus Alba is also another candidate for the axe..... in Maipu, I would add a visit to Rutini La Rural as they have a wine museum that is an interesting thing to do... and their wines are outstanding.