90% of wine production from Argentina comes out of Mendoza. This spectacularly beautiful wine region is located near the eastern slope of the Andes, that separates Argentina from Chile. The diversity of geography, architecture, and people, along with a splendid climate, savory food, and unparalleled South American hospitality, blend into a feast for all your senses, will make this tour a lifetime experience. Our inaugural Wine Trek will tour the land of Malbec. We will have the opportunity to visit and talk one on one with the people who actually "rediscovered" this wonderful grape for Argentina.

Our itinerary is both diverse and illuminating. After the trip, you will a have fresher, newer, vision of Chilean and Argentinean wine, food and the people who make it. Come with us to the south and experience premium wines firts hand. We also have available some leisure activities that will complement this incredible tour to make it one of a kind.

• Montes: Montes was established in 1988 by four partners with years of experience in the art of winemaking and in the wine trade. The philosophy was, from day one, to produce premium quality wines from Chile. A level of quality that we felt was absent at the time. Premium wines that quickly became the standard to follow, such as MONTES and MONTES ALPHA, and now with ultra-premiums like MONTES ALPHA "M" (after Murray) and MONTES FOLLY, also the pioneers in the ultra-premium category. And follow they did! Not only did the large established wineries create premium wines to compete with MONTES ALPHA but many producers decided to try their luck exporting bottled wines. Wine exporters, as a result, went from about 10 to well over 100 wineries now. With 5 Estates, three in Curicó and two in Colchagua ("La Finca de Apalta" in Apalta and our new "El Arcangel de Marchigüe" in Marchigüe), totalling nearly 600 Hectares of vineyards with varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc -with Syrah and Pinot Noir producing for the first time, experimentally, in 1999 and in fuller scale in 2000- Montes wines are mainly exported (95% of total production) to over 60 countries in the five continents. (Source: monteswines.com)
• Errazuriz Winery: Don Maximiano Errazuriz planted his first vineyard at Panquehue in the then-barren Aconcaqua Valley in 1870, using vines imported directly from France. The firm is now owned by his descendants, the Chadwick family, who produce about 5 million bottles annually under the Errazuriz label. Errazuriz's Wild Ferment Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines provide examples of how calculated risk-taking by the wine maker delivers something that is both outstanding and different. The grapes for both Wild Ferment Wines come from Errazuriz's La Escultura Vineyard in Casablanca Valley and are usually fermented with out being seeded with commercial wine yeasts. These are just one example of the many extraordinary wines that this old 1870's winery produce. Errazuriz was one of the most beautiful wineries we visited in Chile. The charm of its historical setting made me feel like I was stepping back in time. The wine tasting luncheon we are preparing in the old Barrel house will be one of the highlights of our visit.
• Tabalí: Legend and reality further north, Tabalí starts on the edge of Valle del Encanto, a magic place, where ceremonies and rituals were held and where history and the heritage of old towns meet with the wine making wisdom of men and women of today. Valle del Encanto, its a colonial legend and precious vestiges of the Molle and Diaguita culture, gives us proof of their mystic way of life: the presence of Rupestrian art, through Petroglyphs and Pictographs together with Tacita Stones, shows us these original villages, giving us a reference that Tabalí adopts as its own. Tabalí is the vineyard located in the northernmost part of Chile. Its vineyards comprise 150 hectares of virgin lands with special weather and geographic characteristics: its closeness to the Atacama desert, the proximity to the sea, its pristine skies, its warm days and cool nights. As there is no early frost and no rains during the harvest, the wines that are obtained here by the outstanding enologist Irene Paiva and the support and experience of Viña San Pedro, allow the grapes to ripen slowly. Thus the aromas and colors gently form the fine and varied wines that go out and conquer the world (source: limariwines.com).
  
  

• Achaval- Ferrer: We have been to this small boutique winery and can reassure you that it is one of the most incredible experiences we had in Argentina. Achaval-Ferrer is a small winery that specializes in making limited production hand crafted wines from old vines.  These have a very limited production and are not the type of vineyards high production wineries want to keep.  Old vines produce a low yield but the grapes are rich and concentrated with color and flavor.  Their roots go deep and they have a wonderful complex flavor that young vines are incapable of producing.  Each Berry is hand selected and carefully handled to extract every essence of flavor.  The Wines Achaval Ferrer produce are one of a kind and receive ratings in the 90’s by wine critics around the world.
  
• Fabre Montmayou: Domain Visalba founded Fabre-Montmayou in 1992. It is a young winery compared to the long history of Catena Zapata but Hervé Joyaux-Fabre and Diane Joyaux brought their wine expertise and heritage from Bordeaux, France. Fabre-Montmayou's French winemaking team works from a renovated winery in Vistalba, Compuertas and Barrancas in Central Mendoza. The wines show clean, rich fruit flavors and textures with subtle oak. The Cabernet Sauvignon reds have a well crafted black fruit richness and a lingering finish that stays on the palette. A mouth-filling dry merlot has a gentler texture and long wonderful finish. The Fabre-Montmayou grand Vin is the top red wine. It is a blend of 80% Malbec with 10% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It's flavors are mouth-filling and ripe, without being jammy. My favorite wine was Malbec Diane 2002. A superb, limited production wine of exceptional quality, this Malbec is harvested and destemed prior to barrel fermentation. The wine is bottled without filtration after 24 months of aging in new French oak barriques. Rich and flavorful, featuring very elegant notes of dark red fruits, licorice and spices. This beautiful Malbec is a truly sublime interpretation of Argentina's signature grape variety . I felt very privileged to share a glass with Diane herself, there were only 285 bottles made. The wine was as delightful and complex as it's namesake.
  
• Bodegas Lurton: The Bordeaux based Lurton brothers, winemaker Jacques and brand manager Francois, produce their finest South American wines in Argentina. Jacques Lurton is one of South America´s finest winemakers, having played a key role in producing the Catena Groups wines under Nicholas Catena in the early 1990's Their wineries are located in the hot low lying Barrancas area in central Mendoza, and at Vistaflores in the cooler more mountainous Uco valley. It's concrete fermentation tanks have so far survived cracking brought about by frequent earth quake tremors in the region. Generously flavored Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Torrontes, and Viognier White wines are made in a ultra clean, creamy style that is highly distinctive. Is a strikingly beautiful winery that was under construction during our last visit. It seems to be at the very foothills of the snow capped Andes in a breathtaking setting.

• Fundador Hotel. This hospitable hotel has been functioning since 1991, and is tucked away in a quiet side-street, a short walk from the busy Alameda, Santiago's main thoroughfare. All the rooms are comfortable and elegantly furnished. For those guests who do not wish to take their breakfast in their room, a buffet service is available in the restaurant.
• Santa Cruz Hotel. This spectacular hotel is the perfect setting for a quiet stay at the Colchahua valley where more than a few wineries operate. It has a wonderful restaurant with a large wine selection and the rooms have a view to die for.
• Santa Cristina Ranch: A place full of history, where each space transports us back to the Spanish colony. Beautiful Antiques in every room, fresh vegetables from the garden, fresh goat cheese form nearby farms and all the amenities of a great southern Estancia (ranch). Santa Cristina Ranch will fulfill all of your expectations.
  
  

• Park Suites. We will stay at one of the finest hotels in Mendoza, it is certainly one of the tallest buildings in the city with rooms with a view of the snow capped Andes and the desert. It is located in downtown at a walking distance form the finest dinning restaurants in the city.
  

Chile is well known not only for its great wines but also for the superb sea food their long, long, pacific coast provides. There are rare and delicious dishes that will make your head spin with pleassure. We will visit a sample of the best they have to offer.

Food from Argentina is amazing, it is delicious and it is abundant, specially when we talk about beef. In our wine treks, we delight ourselves with the variety of dishes from Mendoza. Every lunch at the wineries is accompanied by fine cuisine from the region, while at night we visit the best restaurants in town.