In 1983, Adriana Cantini graduated from Mendoza’s Nacional University of Cuyo with a degree in industrial designed. During her third year she began getting her hands dirty in ceramics class, a passion that carried her into her first job: Peña y Lillo ceramics studio. There she began making, among other things, small figurines of women holding the fruits of a Mendoza harvest. Dressed in...
Travelers unfamiliar with Mendoza, Argentina often enter Mendoza city with the expectation that mariachi bands and taco stands will line the city streets. When that’s the case, the small town pace and European vibe of central Argentina can come as quite a shock. However, just 800 miles to the northeast, in the southern corner of the Salta Province a little town called Cafayate offers...
Buenas Companias, a small ceramics studio located in Chacras de Choria, is the art and passion of a former journalist turned artist who took advantage of a unique opportunity to enter the wine scene. Born in Cordoba, Milada Baraga moved to Mendoza more than 15 years ago and made a 180 degree career change when she uncovered her artistic passion and identified a gap...
Over the past decade, Mendoza has become a Mecca for wine travelers seeking out fruit-forward New World flavors and old school elegance, but when Mendoza sparkling wine is mentioned, few know where to find it in the folds of this Andean region. That’s why three Mendoza wineries have joined together to offer the first ever Mendoza Sparkling Wine Trail, a journey of tiny bubbles...
High valley of Cafayate, in Salta Province a short 5 KM uphill drive from Cafayate city toward the foothills. After leaving the tranquil streets of downtown Cafayate, travelers meander along a dessert dirt road until a pink adobe building begins to peer over the top of trellised vineyards, from far off in the distance. The José Mounier Winery – Finca las Nubes sits at...
Though wine is certainly the beverage of choice amongst Mendoza locals, yerba mate is a close second. This communal tea is one of the oldest Argentine traditions and it brings together family, friends, coworkers and study groups. On your adventures through Mendoza and Argentina, you can bet that sooner or later someone will offer you a sip, so here is what you need to...
Small in size, big in reputation, the Gimenez Riili winery is the culmination of a dream more than 70 years in the making. In 1945, Don Pedro Gimenez broke ground in Mendoza and today the project is under the management of his grandchildren: Pablo, Federico, and Juan Manuel. Ensconced in the Uco Valley, the winery is an unimposing cement structure surrounded by fields of...
Located in the Salta Province of Argentina, El Porvenir Winery is located just a few blocks from the Cafayate central plaza. The name literally translates to “The Future,” but this family owned and operated winery somehow manages to blend state-of-the-art winemaking techniques with a great respect for the traditions of a region just beginning to make a name for itself. Everything about the winery...
Looking in through the windows of this white house on the corner, you’d probably think you had stumbled upon an elegant dinner party. Just on the other side of the stained glass window, wine glasses are clinging and gorgeous entrees are being swept out of the kitchen and onto dinner tables. A prominent Mendoza restaurant, Ocho Cepas feels like a luxurious evening spent in...
The serpentine streets and gravel alleyways that lead to the MMPascual studio would certainly qualify as Robert Frost’s road less traveled. The studio is tucked within the folds of a residential neighborhood in one of Mendoza’s affluent suburbs, but not a single street sign nor trail of art scraps exists to signal that artists are hard at work nearby. For two sisters, Marcela and...
As the weather warms up in Mendoza the air starts to fill with a smoke and in Argentina, where there´s smoke, there´s Asado. Asado is the famed Argentine Barbeque, the country’s preferred food group, pastime and art form all rolled into one. A variety of meat cuts are seasoned, and cooked over fiery red coals and an open-air grill. Here’s what you need to...
Built in 1901, Bodega Benegas is a boutique winery with impressive wines and a family tree with roots that stretch back to the earliest days of the Mendoza wine industry. Located in Luján de Cuyo, just 20 minutes south of Mendoza City, Benegas Winery produces approximately 30,000 cases annually – a far cry from its high volume history. The downsize however, allowed the family company to...