September 2, 2008

LATIN AMERICA | ARGENTINA | PATAGONIA, MENDOZA

Patagonia’s Latest Crush

By Sandra Ramani

Move over, Mendoza — and look south for Argentina's hot new wine resort.

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There’s no doubt Argentines love their wine — they soak in it, they make it at high altitudes, they even crown women Queen of it. And over the last few years the rest of us have followed suit, snapping up enough bottles of Malbec and Torrontes to make Argentina the world’s fifth-largest wine producer. The country’s vino-themed tourism is growing, too, and a new contender has just entered the mix: Valle Perdido Wine Resort (pictured), a 20-room Small Luxury Hotel nestled into a working vineyard, opened its doors last month.

While most of the country’s wine tourism is centered around Mendoza, Valle Perdido is luring oenophiles south to Patagonia, where extensive cultivation in the Neuquén and Rio Negro regions (with excellent conditions for Merlot, Pinot Noir and sparkling wines) have helped make it the hot new area for production. At the resort, guests can participate in the Planet Wine Experience, which includes the chance to join the harvest (depending on the season), learn from the winemakers and enjoy tastings. The Wine Trial package takes you around to other vineyards in the area, and there’s an on-site wine spa proffering antioxidant-rich vinotherapies and relaxing water circuits. Meanwhile, teetotalers can busy themselves with fly fishing, cooking classes or paleontologist-guided excursions through the “land of the dinosaurs.”

The increasing spotlight on Patagonia (and on the high-altitude wineries of the northern Calchaquí Valleys, between Salta and Cafayete) hasn’t slowed Mendoza down, though. This month, Sheraton Mendoza opens its doors in the center of town — away from the actual vineyards, but with the vino spirit alive in Cava, a restaurant and bar stocking the best local bottles. Plus, the hotel’s got a bird’s-eye location from which to enjoy next year’s wine festival.