Casa de Uco Vineyards & Wine Resort ~ Vista Flores, Near Tunuyí¡n ~ Uco Valley ~ Mendoza

Golf, tennis, vineyards, horseback riding, a spa and more by the Andes….

This is the ultimate Uco Valley Vacation lodge: golf, tennis, horseback riding (into the nearby Andes) on 790 acres, with a wide open natural reserve on one side, vineyards as far as you can see, a lagoon and a spa. The hotel, designed by the architect father of the owner, has an organic roof garden and sun decks. Rooms open on to lagoon or the vineyards, and you can dine in an elegant restaurant, at the casual “quincho” (Argentine outdoor bbq) or at a special table set up in the vineyard.

http://casadeuco.com/blog/

 

Alpasií³n Lodge ~ Tunuyí¡n ~ Uco Valley ~ Mendoza, Argentina

Sip and sleep when the sun sets behind the Andes….

 

In this modern adobe structure with five rooms (each with a hammock on its veranda), guests gather in the evening on the roof of Alpasií³n for sipping while the sun sets behind the Andes. It’s remote setting could be a plus or minus, depending on your personal tastes. An unusual amenity is the fun kid-friendly suite with bunk beds. Award-winning wine, produced on the premises, is served in the wine bar.

www.alpasion.com/the-lodge/

 

Nearby Wineries

Bodega J&F Lurton

Clos de Los Siete

 

 

Casa Antucura Wine Lodge ~ Vista Flores, Tunuyí¡n ~ Mendoza

There’s a small hotel….

Casa Antucura Wine Lodge, Vista Flores, Tunuyí¡n, Mendoza, Argentina | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

Casa Antucura Wine Lodge, Vista Flores, Tunuyí¡n, Mendoza, Argentina | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

This gracious country estate, with huge bedrooms, a second-floor library that houses 8,000 books and 2,000 DVDs, feels like home. Cocktails and dinner served outside on the veranda, followed by dinner in front of the fireplace. Stroll around the premises and admire the sculptures. Go beyond the swimming pool, through the rose garden and into the vineyards. Plan with guests or staff a visit to nearby wineries.

www.casaantucura.com/index.php/antucura-hotel

Nearby Wineries

O. Fournier

Finca La Celia

Bodega Aconcija

Siete Fuegos Restaurant at Vines Resort and Spa ~ Uco Valley ~ Mendoza

Lunch, Dinner, and a Rock-Star Chef  at Siete Fuegos Restaurant
Vines Resort and Spa
Tunuyí¡n, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Siete Fuegos restaurant at the Vines of Mendoza Hotel and Vineyards Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

Francis Mallman’s Siete Fuegos restaurant at the Vines of Mendoza Hotel and Vineyards
Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

Argentina’s rock-star chef, Francis Mallmann, grills beef, lamb, vegetables, potatoes over open flames in the outdoor kitchen, where all can observe. Start with a Proveleta (grilled Provolone cheese with oregano and tomatoes).

Dine inside or out by the pool. Chose from 250 wines, or try one from the surrounding vineyards, where wannabe winemakers have paired a little cash with local agronomists and award-winning wine-makers to produce their own wines.

 

Open 12:30-11pm

www.vinesofmendoza.com

Lunch at Restaurant Andeluna ~ Tupungato ~ Uco Valley ~ Mendoza

Lunch, Wine, Vineyards and Mountains in the Uco Valley

Andeluna Vineyards and the Tupungato Volcano from the Restaurant Andeluna | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

Vineyards and the Tupungato Volcano from restaurant Andeluna | Photo: Eddy Ancinas

 

The Andeluna restaurant in Tupungato has an open kitchen where you can watch your six course meal being chopped, sliced, grilled, mixed and served. Add six or more wines to pair, then enjoy the view of miles of vineyards reaching to the mighty mountains.

Open for lunch Mon-Sat

Grapes to Glaciers ~ Drive in the Andes from Mendoza to Aconcagua

Aconcagua-Giant of the Americas 22,834 feet, Mendoza, Argentina/ photo by Eddy Ancinas

Aconcagua-Giant of the Americas 22,834 feet, Mendoza, Argentina/ photo by Eddy Ancinas

 You can drive from Mendoza, Argentina’s Wine Capitol, to the top of the Andes in one long all- day round trip (242 miles/190 km). Whether you rent a car in Mendoza, hire a Remis (car with driver), or sign up for a tour, this is a road trip you will never forget.

 

When I crossed the Andes from Chile to Argentina in a freight train in 1961, my husband couldn’t wait to show me the highest mountain in his country and in the Western Hemisphere.   Aconcagua towers above the Andes at 22,834 feet, and you can gaze up at its 10,000 foot-high wall of granite, topped by five gleaming glaciers and wind-whipped summit from the parking lot at the Parque Provincial on the Uspallata Pass at 10,400 ft.

The train is gone, but the road is better; so leave your glass of Malbec on the table in one of the fine wineries or bistros of Argentina’s wine capital, and head for the mountains.

Ruta Nacional 7 (the Pan American Highway, the only road that connects Argentina to the Pacific Coast) follows the Mendoza River into blue-black mountains.   In 1934, an ice dam broke from a glacier at the top of the pass, sending mud, rocks and debris down the canyon, destroying every thing in its path including two hotels.

Into the Andes on RN 7

Into the Andes on RN7

After you pass Uspallata, the last town before the Chilean border, the multi-hued mountains rise on either side of the road, followed by dark, brooding mountains.   Stop for a photo break where two rivers–Tambillos and Blanco spill out of the mountains and under the road into the Rio Mendoza,   Inca tambos (resting places) will remind you that this was once an Inca route from Peru through northern Chile to Argentina. The movie,  Seven Years in Tibet, was filmed in the rugged mountains nearby. At Punta de Vacas, corrals that once held cattle en route to Chile lie abandoned alongside a now defunct cog railway.   The two countries have discussed re-building that railway from Santiago to Mendoza –an “Andean Express?”   Another photo stop–Looking  south,    Cerro Tupungato’s white cone rises above the Uco Valley at 22,304 ft  — 3rd highest montain in the region. After you pass the ski area at  Los Penitentes, named for the rock formations that resemble penitent monks, you will see Puente del Inca on the left side of the road.   At 9,000 feet, its red rocks encrusted with yellow sulphur form a natural bridge over the Rio Cuevas.

Puente del Inca on Uspallata Pass at 9,000 feet on Pan American Highway Argentina to Chile

Puente del Inca Uspallata Pass 9,000 feet. /photo by Eddy Ancinas

The refugio, where mountaineers hang out before and after climbing Aconcagua, is a good place for lunch and a soak in the hot sulphur springs after visiting the Parque Nacional Aconcaua–just a few more miles past the Argentine customs station. About 9 more miles west of the park entrance, the road forks right to Chile, left to the statue of Christ the Redeemer–a symbol of peace between Argentina and Chile. At 13,800 feet, you can see a lot of Chile!

Lunch or Dinner at Urban ~ O. Fournier Winery ~ Uco Valley

Pairing Wine and Mountains in the Uco Valley

O. Fournier Winery-Uco Valley/Eddy Ancinas

O. Fournier Winery-Uco Valley/Eddy Ancinas

After a scenic drive from Mendoza to the Uco Valley, a tour in this ultra-modern winery takes you from grape to glass-several glasses, actually-,

Argentine Beef & Watercress/EddyAncinas

Argentine Beef & Watercress

each paired with seven small ,

Grapefruit Avocado Salad/EddyAncinas

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

but significant servings while you gaze across the pond and the vineyards to the Andean foothills.

Nadia Ortega, wife of the owner is the award-winning chef.

Terruí±o – Lunch or Dinner at Club Tapí­z – Mendoza

Terruí±o (Terroir) ~ where the walls are painted with Malbec

Restaurant Terruno ~ Club Topaz - Mendoza<br />Photo: E. Ancinas

Restaurant Terruno ~ Club Topiz – Mendoza/E. Ancinas

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Lunch at Ruca Malen

An Intimate and Innovative Restaurant on Pan AM Highway

Lunch at Ruca Winery/E. Ancinas

Lunch at Ruca Winery/E. Ancinas

Tastings and private lunches are held on the top floor overlooking vineyards and the Pan American Highway that crosses the Andes to Chile.

Wild mushroom ragout with carmelized onions is a snack to swoon for, and Malbec & chocolate were made to marry.

www.bodearucamalen.com


Nearby wineries: Septima, Decero, Dominio del Plata (Susana Balbo), Terrazas

Lunch at the Vineyard ~ Zuccardi Winery ~ Mendoza

La Casa del Visitante ~

Casa del Visitante Bodega Zuccardi ~ Mendoza / E.Ancinas

Casa del Visitante Bodega Zuccardi ~ Mendoza / E.Ancinas

The restaurant in the vineyard adjacent to the Familia Zuccardi Winery serves grilled veggies from the garden and empanadas from a clay oven.

Clay Oven/Eddy Ancinas

Clay Oven/Eddy Ancinas

In Feb and March, guests are invited to join the harvest, followed by a wine-tasting lunch.

Open M-S 10-4
http://www.familiazuccardi.com