Mendoza was our final stop during our ten day adventure in Argentina. Given the cold weather and snow in New York, we were very much looking forward to warm weather and some time in the sun! And wine. Lots of wine! Mendoza did not disappoint.

We stayed at Cavas Wine Lodge which was about a 45-minute transfer from MDZ and from the moment we arrived, we knew this hotel was special. The Cavas Wine Lodge is located at the base of the snow-capped Andes Mountains and it was the first hotel in Mendoza dedicated completely to wine. A Relais & Chateaux property that just celebrated its 20th anniversary, the hotel consists of 18 rooms/ adobe style bungalos spread out through a 35-acre vineyard in the heart of Mendoza’s prime wine growing region - Lujan de Cuyo. Its a short stroll under a vine-covered path to get to each villa.

We were drawn to Mendoza for the wine (obviously) and Cavas came highly recommended from friends who visited a few years ago. We booked a Vineyard Villa (give us all the space, please and thank you) and loved the accomodations (minus the giant crickets). We had a separate living room with a couch, fireplace and bar table, a king-sized bedroom, double bathroom (2 sinks, 2 toilets, 2 showers, yes really), double outdoor showers and japanese-style jacuzzi, private plunge pool, outdoor eating and lounging area, and a roof deck with a fireplace. Oh, plus a powder room. If the room had a summer kitchen, we could have moved in and never left! The villas were very private and were the perfect spot to enjoy a few days of relaxation and wine! Mendoza is a desert (who knew) and we experienced the high end of the temperature range (it was about 100 degrees F every day) so the fireplaces didn’t get used, but we certainly enjoyed all the indoor and outdoor spaces. Our villa also had a wine fridge, mini fridge, a Nespresso machine and an instant hot water pot.

Here are some photos of our Vineyard Villa at Cavas Wine Lodge!

Outdoor showers and japanese-style hot tub

The roof deck of our villa - complete with loungers and a fireplace

Villa plunge pool, loungers and outdoor dining area

As for wine and food we had plenty of that planned too! Breakfast was included at the hotel and each day we planned a wine tasting at a vineyard (or Bodega as its called in Mendoza) and then a wine-paired lunch at a separate spot for each of our three full days. Cavas is sorta in the middle of nowhere - think a few miles down a dirt road off another barely paved road - so generally, we planned to have dinner on property each night - cooking class (great experience), dinner at their signature restaurant (literally, not memorable at all) and tango night (lots of wine and yes, I tangoed).

Day 1 - Tasting at Matervini (tasting pretty standard format but great malbecs from Mendoza and Salta and pretty vistas) and lunch at Angelina at Catena Zapata. This was a 12 course lunch which was an interesting experience and A LOT of wine, but vastly overrated for the price (think almost the same price for lunch as a wine-paired dinner at Michelin starred Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower in Paris (see Paris post)). Dave had the “Wine First” pairing which was a traditional pairing based on the food ($176.000), and I had the “Roller Coaster” pairing which was D.V. Catena’s favorite pairing for each course ($144.000). This was in addition to lunch which was in the neighborhood of $240.000 per person

In all fairness, this is one of the few Argentinian wines we drank regulary before going to Argentina (Catena Alta Malbec) so it was high on the list to visit (which perhaps led to the somewhat disappointing experience). Don’t get me wrong, it was a great lunch - just not worth the price. We’ll give it a 6 out of 10. Part of the problem was a very soft spoken, heavily accented sommelier which couldn’t be heard over the noise in the restaurant. Honestly, we missed about 90% of what he said…

Somewhere in the middle of a 12 course lunch (with 23 wine glasses on the table)!

Day 2 - Tasting at Vista Alba (mediocre wine but a very pretty winery and a great tour) and lunch at Zonda (Lagarde). Zonda, a green and red Michelin star restaurant, and a haven in the middle of Lujan de Cuyo city, was hands down the best meal we had in Argentina in a beautiful, airy space with farm fresh ingredients which were shown much care and love. Seriously, the freshness and the flavors of each dish blew our minds. Who knew tomato water was a thing?! Plus, the chefs and sommelier were so welcoming, informative and spent time to give us a tour of the restaurant and farm (in 100+ F degree weather). Highly recommend if you find yourself in Lujan de Cuyo.

Over the course of a 2+ hour lunch, there were a total of 4 parties of 2 in the restaurant! So peaceful and quiet!

7 course wine paired lunch which was about $200 per person

Day 3 - Biked to a wine tasting at Finca Decero and then had lunch at Bodega Septima. Generally meh on wine and food but the actual grounds at Decero were beuatiful. Seriously, one of the prettiest wineries we’ve ever visited. Their rose wasn’t too bad either!

OVerall, we loved Mendoza and it was so much more than I can include in this post!

Yes, we picked and ate malbec grapes every time we walked around Cavas Wine Lodge.

Please reach out if you’d like more information or recommendations!

Travel Tips:

Our in country Argentina flights were all on Aerolinas Argentina. The flight from Buenos Aires to Mendoza is about 1:20 - very easy and quick! See El Calafate post for more informtion about flying this airline.
Type I plug converters were needed at this hotel
The cooking class and tango show were both pre-booked and pre-paid experiences.
We opted to skip Jazz & Cocktail Night at Cavas. Dave was very thankful. It was loud (could be heard in our villa) and lasted well over 2 hours.

Hotel and Intinerary booked by Jet Set Getaways. Local transportation through Wine Safari.

No part of this trip was gifted.

Mendoza - Argentina

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