Wine Travel Stories

In-depth Tales of Winery Visits Around the World

Checking into Patios de Cafayate Wine Resort & Dinner at Vinas de Cafayate, Argentina

Entrance to Patios de Cafayate Wine Hotel After the splendid tours and tasting of Bodegas Piattelli and San Pedro, I checked in the luxurious Patios de Cafayate Wine Hotel. This is a spacious old hacienda built of white stucco with a bell tower. The approach is magnificent as you enter a gated vineyard and traverse a long driveway to see the long white resort glowing in the sun and backlit by the red mountains rising behind. The resort is also part of a working winery, Bodega El Esteco. I spent 3 delightful nights here and enjoyed waking up every morning [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:22:31-08:00June 14, 2014|

Visiting the Famous San Pedro Yacochuya Winery – Four-wheel Driving & Cactus

View of Valley from San Pedro Winery That afternoon we visited the famous Argentine winery called San Pedro Yacochuya where we met the Etchart brothers, Marcos the winemaker and Pablo the marketing expert. The winery achieved its fame partially because they hired Michel Rolland as their consulting winemaker, and became highlighted in the movie Mondevino. In actuality they hired Michel in 1988 before he became famous, and he worked his magic on the San Pedro Yacochuya Malbec. Now Marcos continues the tradition, and the wine truly deserves its great reputation. It is huge, complex, and brimming with concentrated dark berry [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:22:50-08:00June 11, 2014|

Driving from Salta to Bodega Piattelli in Cafayate, Argentina

Cafes in Salta Along the Plaza (March 2014) We had flown into Salta the evening before, and after checking into our hotel walked several blocks to the main plaza. The sun was just sinking behind the green mountains and cast lovely light on the beautiful pink cathedral that dominated the square. We quickly found a sidewalk café, and enjoyed a bottle of cold Torrontes with a platter of empanadas. We watched people stroll around the plaza, and enjoyed the balmy evening as a few musicians played for us. The next morning, we left early to drive the 2.5 hours south [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:23:10-08:00June 5, 2014|

Salta, Argentina – One of the Most Beautiful Wine Regions in the World

Pink Cathedral in Salta Dubbed by many to be one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world, Salta is located in northern Argentina near the Bolivian border. It is home to the highest altitude vineyards in the world with vines growing at over 10,000 feet high. The major challenge for wine tourism in this region is arriving. Flights only come from Mendoza twice a week, or visitors have to start from Buenos Aires to catch a daily flight. Upon arrival in the town of Salta, it is another 2.5 to 3 hour drive south before arriving in Cafayete [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:23:31-08:00June 4, 2014|

Delightful Day Long Visit to Zuccardi Family Winery – Mendoza, Argentina

Hours of Operation at Zuccardi Winery After more workshops and lectures the previous day, I was treated to a full day visiting the very hospitable Zuccardi Family Winery. It is located in the Maipu appellation about 20 minutes from the city of Mendoza in the Santa Rosa area. We were greeted by Julia Zuccardi, Director of Hospitality, who gave us an excellent tour beginning with the history of the estate. She said her grandfather had started a business in 1963 selling irrigation pipe to vineyards. To assist with sales, he planted a vineyard to demonstrate how it the equipment worked. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:23:52-08:00June 2, 2014|

Trapiche Winery – Amazing History & Focus on Sustainability in Mendoza, Argentina

Entrance to Trapiche Winery We received an unexpected invitation to visit Trapiche Winery in the morning before my first seminar, so we were delighted to accept because Trapiche is one of the largest and most famous brands in Argentina. The winery is located on the outskirts of Mendoza in an industrial area near the old railroad. Established in 1883, Trapiche was the first winery to ship their wine to Buenas Aires. The original brick winery buildings have been lovingly renovated, and now include a wine museum, the original concrete tanks in the cellar, and a beautiful tasting room on the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:24:28-08:00May 29, 2014|

Visit to the Spectacular Salentein Winery in Uco Valley, Argentina

Horse Drawn Wagon in Uco Valley After breakfast at our hotel, we left the city of Mendoza around 10am in order to make our 11am appointment at Saletein Winery in the Uco Valley. It was a sunny warm day and we could see the snowcapped Andes mountains in the distance. As we drove through the hills and vineyards, we passed small villages, and at one point, saw man driving a horse-drawn wagon filled with branches. As we crested the hill and saw our first view of the Uco Valley everyone caught their breath in awe. So we stopped the car [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:25:06-08:00May 28, 2014|

Wine Tourism Advantages & Challenges in the Mendoza Area

Dancing at Vendemia Wine Festival in Mendoza As home to more than 400 bodegas (wineries) and with an international airport, Mendoza is a logical place for wine tourists to start. It has the advantages of large well-known wineries such as Catena Zapata, Achaval-Ferrer, Norton, Trapiche and many others. It also has a large number of wine tour companies that can schedule and transport tourists to wineries in the Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo areas near Mendoza, and an hour south to the famous Uco Valley. Plentiful restaurants with excellent food at bargain prices and upscale hotels make Mendoza and the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:36:21-08:00May 23, 2014|

Visiting the Town of Chakras and Carinae Winery in Mendoza, Argentina

Malbec Vine in Mendoza Vineyard On Monday after a visit to the University of Cuyo in Lujan and a meeting with the Dean and other wine economics professors, we visited the charming “wine village” of Chakras. It is situated in the middle of the vineyards and wineries, and just a short 20-minute drive from downtown Mendoza. Filled with shops and restaurants, I thought this would be an ideal place in the future for wineries to establish mini-tasting rooms, similar to the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. We had an excellent lunch at the Chakras at Tea & Company where [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:25:29-08:00May 23, 2014|

Snapshot of the Argentina Wine Industry

Wines Regions of Argentina According to the National Institute of Viticulture in Argentina, the country now boasts 894 wineries, with more than 300 exporting wine to the US. The signature red grape is Malbec, which has become a favorite in the States because of its velvety texture and blueberry notes. Torrontes, which produces perfumed and spicy wines, is the signature white grape. Argentina also produces large quantities of excellent cabernet sauvignon, Syrah, tannat, merlot, and chardonnay. Its sparkling wines, which are rarely exported, are refreshing, well priced, and similar in style to Prosecco. There are 8 major wine regions, with [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:36:53-08:00May 18, 2014|

Wine Tourism Healthy in Mendoza, Argentina

Vineyards of Mendoza with Andes Mountains Ironically Malbec is not the best pairing with empanadas – the small meat and cheese filled turnovers of Argentina. Instead most locals recommend Torrontes wine as a better match. This is just one of the tips wine tourists learn when they visit the fifth largest wine producing country in the world. Wine tourism in Argentina is on the rise, spurred on by the devalued peso that has recently dropped 30% against the US dollar. This makes visiting Argentina attractive not only to Americans, but to many Brazilians as well who find excellent deals on [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:37:26-08:00May 18, 2014|

Chateau Bacchus – The Fairytale Wine Estate of Ningxia, China

Sunset at Chateau Bacchus (Dec. 2013) - Chateau Bacchus was a great winery to visit in that everything about it was “over the top.” It was extravagant, from the red carpet they rolled out to greet us, to the status of Bacchus standing proudly in the courtyard, and the fancy King Louis 16th décor dripping with chandeliers, gold leaf and rococo furnishings. Red Carpet Treatment at Chateau Bacchus The winemaker gave us a tour of the winery with its marble floors, and showed us the new membrane filter machine. Everything was state of the art and impressive. Chateau Bacchus has [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:37:45-08:00January 16, 2014|

Xixia King Winery – Largest in Ningxia, China

Standing in Front of Xixia King Winery (Dec. 2013) We visited Xixia King Winery on a sunny winter afternoon, and I was very impressed with all of the large signs and entry gates signaling the approach of the huge Chinese style visitor’s center, which is named Chateau Yuachan. Xixia King is the oldest winery in Ningxia having been established in 1982. They are also the largest, farming over 100,000 mu (1/3 of the vineyards in Ningxia) and, have extensive housing for their workers. It was originally a cooperative and has 14 farms. Today is it owned by the regional government, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:06-08:00January 9, 2014|

Chateau Lanyi – Winery of Rocks and Music, Ningxia, China

(Dec. 2013) - In the afternoon we visited Chateau Lanyi (also spelled Lanny), which has as its symbol the native grey-blue rock of the region. The tasting room is fittingly designed in a Chinese style with a long low building and wide porch with posts. There is also a restaurant, game room, and beautifully decorated hotel rooms on site. The front of the property has a small pond, picnic tables with Chinese roofs, and a table grape vineyard in addition to the wine grape vineyard where tourists can walk in arbors under hanging grapes in the summer. The winery is [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:26-08:00January 7, 2014|

Chateau Helan Quingxue – Winner of 2011 Decanter International Trophy, Ningxia, China

(Dec. 2013) - The next afternoon we visited Chateau Helan Quingxue which is housed in a more modest structure of red brick and reminded me of a combination of Soviet and Chinese architecture. Inside there is a modern winery with stainless steel tanks, a small barrel room, and a very large visitor’s center. Though not finished yet, this part of the winery is designed to showcase all of the wines of Ningxia so that visitors can taste all of the brands in one location. We were greeted with much enthusiasm by the petite and vivacious winemaker, Zhang Jing. She speaks [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:38:45-08:00January 2, 2014|

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