Best time to visit
When the light is right
The seasons run opposite to the Northern Hemisphere’s. Winter, June to August, brings snow to the Andes and fires lit in the villas; summer brings long, dry days that end with sunsets from the pool.
South America · Andes & Wine Country
Argentina
Argentina’s wine country at the foot of the Andes, where The Vines Resort & Spa keeps thirty-three villas within 1,500 acres of private vineyards in the Uco Valley.
Now in Argentina
From Choose a departure city Approx. flying time, non-stop equivalent
South America · Andes & Wine Country
Argentina
Argentina runs the length of a continent, from subtropical forest in the north to the edge of the Southern Ocean, with the Andes drawing its western border all the way down. Along their eastern foothills lie the country’s great vineyards, and Mendoza, its largest wine region and the home of Argentine Malbec, sits beneath the highest peaks of the range. It is a dry, bright country of snowmelt rivers and poplar windbreaks, where the day is measured by the light on the mountains and a meal is cooked over fire.
We open the country in the Uco Valley, south of the city of Mendoza, through The Vines Resort & Spa: a wine and culinary resort of thirty-three villas within 1,500 acres of private vineyards, with twelve two-level Andes Condor Villas and The Sanctuary, a house apart for four couples or a family across generations.
Days in the valley follow the vineyard. You might blend and hand-bottle a wine of your own, spend a harvest morning picking and sorting grapes beside the winemakers, or taste through the Winemakers Village, a gathering of specialty wineries within the resort. There are horses before sunrise toward Manzano Histórico, treks from Paso Los Puntanos to the waterfalls of Guardia Vieja and the granite canyon of Cajón de los Arenales, a five-kilometer trail through the vines by bicycle, and in the evening the open fires of Siete Fuegos, where gaucho techniques meet the valley’s produce and its wines.
In the far south, on the Beagle Channel, we open Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego with Los Cauquenes Resort + Spa + Experiences: forty-eight rooms and suites of lenga wood and stone on the shore, 7 km from the city, with the hotel’s own boat, guides and kitchen for days on the channel, in Tierra del Fuego National Park and in the snow.
Why visit
A reason to make the journey.
- Wine at altitude Mendoza is Argentina’s largest wine region, its vineyards planted high on the Andean foothills, and the heartland of Malbec.
- The Andes as horizon The range rises along the western edge of the vineyards, snow-capped for much of the year, the backdrop to every day in the valley.
- Fire, horses and long tables Open-fire cooking and horseback rides are part of life in the foothills, from sunrise rides to Francis Mallmann’s seven fires.
In motion
Into the Uco Valley
Vineyard rows, gravel roads and horses under the Andes in the Uco Valley.
Featured properties
Where to stay
Most journeys arrive through Buenos Aires, and many hold a few nights in the city before the short flight west; others cross the Andes from Santiago de Chile. Your advisor works directly with The Vines, matching the villa to the party and the season, timing the stay to the harvest if you wish, and setting the rides, tastings and tables before you land. The Vines is also the first house in our South America Wine Country collection.
Los Chacayes, Tunuyán · Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina: thirty-three villas within 1,500 acres of private vineyards
The Vines Resort & Spa
Thirty-three villas within 1,500 acres of private vineyards at the foot of the Andes in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, with twelve two-level Andes Condor Villas, The Sanctuary for four couples, and Francis Mallmann’s Siete Fuegos.
Bahía Cauquén, Ushuaia · Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: on the shore of the Beagle Channel, 7 km from the city, with the Fuegian Andes behind
Los Cauquenes Resort + Spa + Experiences
A resort of lenga wood and stone on the shore of the Beagle Channel, 7 km from Ushuaia: 48 rooms and suites facing the channel or the Andes, the Spa del Fin del Mundo, and a boat of its own, the Akawaia.
The house
In stills
A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.
Sub-destinations
Places within this destination
Towns, islands, and smaller landscapes that sit inside this one.
Argentina
Mendoza & the Uco Valley
The high vineyards of the Uco Valley, south of Mendoza, where The Vines Resort & Spa keeps thirty-three villas at the foot of the Andes.
Argentina
Ushuaia & Tierra del Fuego
The city at the end of the world, on the Beagle Channel beneath the Fuegian Andes, where Los Cauquenes Resort + Spa + Experiences keeps 48 rooms and suites on the shore.
When and how
Light, season, and the arrival
Each season keeps its own calendar. We plan the transfer around it.
Seasonality
When to go
Harvest, roughly February to April, is the liveliest time in the vineyards, and autumn turns the vines gold beneath the mountains. Harvest weeks are the most sought-after in wine country; your advisor confirms dates at The Vines when you inquire.
Airport / logistics
Arriving without hurry
International flights arrive in Buenos Aires; Mendoza (MDZ) is a domestic flight of about two hours, or a short flight across the Andes from Santiago de Chile. From Mendoza, The Vines is about ninety minutes by road, south along the foothills into the Uco Valley.
Luxury experiences
Hours we would keep
- A villa facing the Andes The Vines’ twelve Andes Condor Villas, each set over two levels with a private pool and unobstructed views of the mountains.
- A blend of your own A blending session at The Vines to create, and hand-bottle, your own Uco Valley wine.
- Seven fires Dinner at Siete Fuegos by Francis Mallmann, at the shared table of the Patio de Fuegos or at the chef’s table.
Ways of traveling
Open the collection
Begin with the collection that holds these houses and shores.
Related destinations
Other destinations we return to
Landscapes that sit well beside this one.
Destination
Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s green north, where Amor Arenal keeps thirty-one hardwood casitas on a forest canyon in the foothills of Arenal Volcano.
Tuscany
Chianti
The Chianti Classico hills between Florence and Siena, where Villa Gran Sogno keeps five king rooms among the vines outside Castellina in Chianti.
Destination
Antarctica
Antarctica with Exclusive Villa Collection: the continent’s interior, reached by air from Cape Town, with White Desert’s three camps in Queen Maud Land, the South Pole and the emperor penguins.
Plan My Trip
Begin with a conversation.
Tell us the season, the company, and the feeling you want to keep. We will write back with a considered path, not a link to a search.
Write to an advisor