Mendoza: The Signature Tour
Malbec at the Foot of the Andes
Spend a week in Argentina’s great wine region with a sommelier, going from the old-vine heart of Luján de Cuyo up to the high-altitude vineyards of the Valle de Uco. You’ll taste wines that never leave the country, stay at two of Mendoza’s most beautiful wine estates and come home understanding Argentine wine.
June 13 - 19, 2027
7 days
Led by Luciano Patiño
$9,995
Pricing is for double occupancy. Single occupancy will include a supplement.
Special Access
Some of Argentina’s most thrilling wines are made in such small quantities that they never get exported. Single-parcel Malbecs from Gualtallary, old-vine Criolla, cellar-door bottlings poured by the people who made them. You won’t find them on a wine list back home, but you will on our tour.
7 Days in Wine Country
We start with three nights at Entre Cielos in Luján de Cuyo, Malbec’s historic heartland, where the vines come right up to your door and a six-stage hammam waits after a day of tasting. Then we move to Casa de Uco for four nights. It’s a 320-hectare estate more than 4,000 feet up in Los Chacayes, with the Andes behind it. That’s two remarkable places to stay and only one change of hotel all week.
Sommelier-Level Guidance
Nobody will be reading to you from a placard. Luciano Patiño, a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, builds each day around a real curriculum: what altitude does to Malbec, how the different soils show up in the glass, and how to taste like a professional. By the end of the week you won’t just enjoy Argentine wine. You’ll understand.
About this Journey
Mendoza is where Argentine wine made its name, and it’s also where the most exciting new work is happening. Over four days of winery visits, we follow that story from the old-vine estates of Luján de Cuyo up into the Valle de Uco, where growers keep planting higher in the Andean foothills. You’ll taste wines from different subregions side by side and talk with the people who make them. You’ll also learn why the same grape can taste so different from one vineyard to the next a short drive away.
Then there’s the table. Argentine hospitality is all fire, long lunches and generous pours, and we eat accordingly. We dine at Siete Fuegos, Francis Mallmann’s celebration of open-fire cooking, and at Azafrán, one of Mendoza’s most beloved dining rooms. June adds its own magic: the harvest is done, the Andes are capped with snow, and winemakers have time to linger over a bottle with us.
What’s Included
Sommelier-led instruction throughout the journey
Custom educational materials for each day of tasting
Four days of winery visits and tastings, including private and small-production pours
Seven nights of accommodation: three at Entre Cielos and four at Casa de Uco
Breakfast and lunch every day
Two delicious dinners, including wine
All ground transfers from hotel arrival to final day departure to the airport
Travel by deluxe climate-controlled coach
Testimonials
“The vineyards, the wineries, the food, and our accommodations were all on point!”
“Wonderful and thoughtful experience.”
“Luciano has an innate ability to gather like-minded people and curate an educational luxury wine experience with perfection.”
Your Guide
Luciano Patiño is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and the founder of Elliano Wine Journeys. Born in the Dominican Republic and shaped by years of travel across Europe and South America, he brings a global palate, a gift for teaching and a firm belief that wine education should be rigorous, joyful and deeply rooted in place. A native Spanish speaker, he talks with Mendoza’s winemakers in their own language, and the conversations go deeper for it.
A devoted fine-dining obsessive, Luciano has eaten his way through some of the world’s great tables, including Noma, Arpège and Alinea. That’s why the meals on this journey were chosen as carefully as the wines.
He led his first guest journey, Burgundy Revealed, in 2026, and he designed this one the same way: every detail considered, so all you have to think about is what’s in your glass.