Uco Valley Vineyards and Fun Facts

We have lots of posts about wine in the Mendoza area. There are three primary locations for wine and this post is about the Uco Valley vineyards. The Uco Valley has gained international recognition for its wines and has been named one of the world's top wine regions by publications such as Wine Spectator and Decanter. Its wines are highly sought after by wine enthusiasts and collectors around the globe. The Uco Valley is also a popular destination for gastronomy lovers. Many wineries in the region have on-site restaurants that offer gourmet dining experiences paired with their wines. The culinary scene showcases the region's fresh, local ingredients and Argentine flavors.

The Uco Valley is also referred locally as the Valle de Uco. It is about an hour's drive south from the city of Mendoza and it is home to some of the region's most famous wines. If you’ve come to Mendoza, you will probably enjoy a glass of Malbec. Argentina's primary grape variety of Malbec is very popular in the Uco Valley. Cabernet Franc is much less widely planted, but some great results have been achieved here. For white wine, some of the Chardonnay and Torrontes come from Uco Valley vineyards. The relatively cool climate allows for a slower ripening period.

The Uco Valley is at the foot of the Andes mountains and elevations range between 2,000 and 3,600 feet. From the Tupungato region in the north to San Carlos in the south, the Uco Valley is roughly 45 miles long and 15 miles wide. The area does not receive a lot of natural rainfall, so the Tunuyan river that flows down from the Andes is an important source for irrigation.

The Uco Valley is a prime fruit-growing region. There have been small family-owned fruit farmers and vineyards in the Uco Valley for centuries, but during most of the 20th century there were no large producers to compare with those closer to the city. Infrastructure was the problem. The roads were dirt, and it was difficult to transport either fruit or wine to a larger marketplace. Investors put millions of dollars into creating the roads, electricity, irrigation channels, etc. 

The Uco Valley has seen unprecedented investment in the past 20 years and wine tourism is becoming one of the region's key industries. As we drove into the area, we thought we were in southern California perhaps heading from Gilroy to the Napa Valley. Fruit and vineyards are everywhere.

Madeline and I visited three vineyards in Uco Valley. The list below includes those vineyards and many more that we would have visited if we had more time. You can read our more detailed information of La Azul, Salentein and Domaine Bousquet in our separate post: Our Vineyard Wine Tasting Tours in Mendoza – Uco Valley.

La Azul

RP89, Tupungato Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

This was a fun visit for us. Madeline and I visited this winery and as the picture above shows, it was an outdoor tasting. La Azul had humble beginnings as just a vineyard, selling harvested grapes sold to local winemakers. Today it is a thriving boutique winery with a reputation for great quality red wines and attention to detail.

Salentein

Tupungato Uco Valley, Mendoza Province, Argentina

This was a very large winery, and the picture above shows one of the very large barrel rooms set up for a tasting when Madeline and I visited it. When walking through the winery, you will notice it is designed in the shape of a cross. This design of Salentein’ s entire property is meant to be both spiritual and practical, intriguing the visitors while making wine production efficient.

Andeluna Cellars

RP89 Km 11, M5561 Tupungato Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

When you visit here, you will notice the French chateau located in the middle of the Uco Valley. Andeluna offers great mountain views and vines as far as the eye can see. In 2003 two families came together, the Ward Lay family (think Frito-Lay) from the USAS. and the Rutinis, a well-known Argentine winemaking family.  

The vineyards are located at an altitude over 4,000 feet. The vineyard offers many varietals, but the Torrontes won a bronze medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards

Atamisque

Ruta Provincial 86 Kilometer 30, M5561 San José, Tupungato Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

At the entrance to one of Mendoza’s most renowned wine regions, the Uco Valley, this winery features stunning stone crafted architecture designed by architects Bormida & Yanzon. This setting helps the winery blend into this wild, rustic setting.

The winemaker Philippe Caraguel makes great Malbec, but you’ll find many varietals here. The Serbal Cabernet Franc, for example, is one of the best tasting values in the area.. 

Atamisque also has a very nice restaurant, delightful guest accommodation and a trout farm. Maybe you should visit?

Bodega Piedra Negra (Francois Lurton)

Bodega Piedra Negra Ruta Provincial 94 km21 (Manzano Historico) Vista Flores Uco Valley, Mendoza Argentina

The large colonial villa style winery produces lots of different varieties including the less common Pinot Gris. However, their most interesting experimentation is with different Malbec varietal clones.

The master vintner, Francois Lurton, was the first to venture onto the heights of the Chacayes region which is a desert landscape. Somehow, he has transformed it with loving care.

Bodega Rolland (Clos de los Siete)

Clodomiro Silva, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Michel Rolland is one of the most famous wine producers in the region. He is famous for being a French winemaker with great success in developing fabulous wines in Mendoza. Rolland’s own winery is a “cube” featuring very modern technology. His Mariflor Sauvignon Blanc is one of his best wines. 

Cuvelier de los Andes (Clos de los Siete)

Clodomiro Silva s/n, M5565, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

The winery was designed with simplicity in mind and is made up of three units – one for tanks, one for barrels, and one for bottles. The main building is colored yellow and orange which makes a striking impression against the mountain backdrop.

Finca Decero

Bajo las Cumbres 9003, Agrelo, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Decero has beautiful gardens with a perfect Andean view of the Cordon del Plata mountain range and Tupungato Uco Valley volcano. Decero, meaning “from scratch”, started with a small piece of land and a family´s love affair with wine. The Thomas Schmidheiny family came from Switzerland, but Mendoza beckoned to Thomas when he was travelling over the Andes into Argentina. 

The vineyard employs a hands-on approach from planting to picking. They call it “amano” meaning by hand.  The state-of-the-art winery design works using gravity allowing a gentle winemaking process that finishes in small, yet wide, tanks.

DiamAndes

Clodomiro Silva S/N Vista Flores Tunuyan Mendoza, M5565 Vista Flores, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

In 2005, the Bonnie family left France to come to Argentina in the Uco Valley. They created Bodega DiamAndes. The name DiamAndes is a pun on the words “diamante” (Spanish for “diamond”) and “Andes” (the name of the mountains that provide a background to the estate). Alfred-Alexandre Bonnie came up with it one day as he was enjoying a barbecue at Laguna del Diamante, in Mendoza. He saw the reflection of the Maipu volcano on the lake, and it made him combine the two words.

Domaine Bousquet

Route 89 S/N km 7, Tupungato Uco Valley ZIP 5561 Mendoza, Argentina

Madeline and I thought this was a very fun place to visit. The Bousquet family moved its winery from Southern France in 1998 and settled in Tupungato Uco Valley where today the winery continues to combine their European traditions in winemaking with the climate and terroir of the Uco Valley.

You can read more about our visit in our other post about Domaine Bousquet.

Finca Sophenia

Km 12.5, Ruta 89, M5561 Tupungato Uco Valley, Gualtallary, Mendoza, Argentina

Finca Sophenia was founded in 1997 by Roberto Luka. The vineyard is focused on producing great wines in a genuinely unique “terroir” in the foothills of the Andes. Chief winemaker Rogelio Rabino, and consultants Matias Michelini and Michel Rolland form the winemaking team. 

The vineyards are located at 4,000 feet in Tupungato Uco Valley in the Valle de Uco region of Mendoza. The varietals include French clones of: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. An area of the vineyard is also reserved for Malbec plants that were raised in Mendoza.

Mariflor (Bodega Rolland)

Clodomiro Silva, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Michel Rolland is one of the most famous consultants and wine producers globally. He is known as a French winemaker, but he has found great success in the development of wines in Mendoza. He started a group called Clos de los Siete which is a collection of French-style winemakers producing wine together, but in different styles in the Uco Valley.  The Michel Rolland Mariflor Sauvignon Blanc is one of his signature wines today.

Monteviejo

Clodomiro Silva, M5665BPA Vista Flores, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

This vineyard is well-known for its high scoring wines. Their Lindaflor has earned 93 points from Wine Spectator. The winemaker is Marcelo Pelleriti who began his professional career in France and later in Argentina. He learned from Michel Rolland who runs Mariflor which we also covered in this post.

Marcelo splits his time between France and Argentina. His extensive experience resulted in becoming the first Latin-American winemaker to obtain 100 Robert Parker points for a French wine. 

O. Fournier

Calle Los Indios s/n, M5567 Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

O. Fournier´s mission is to produce high-quality wines in different regions of the world: Argentina, Chile, Ribera de Duero, Rioja and Douro (Portugal). Here in Mendoza, this is a small vineyard and a bit off the beaten path.

Qaramy

Los Arboles, Tunuyan, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Qaramy means "poetry" in the ancient Quechua language, a native South American language spoken primarily in the Andes. The name symbolizes the winery's expression of loyalty, tradition and commitment to its terroir and wines.

With vineyards located at the foot of the Andes in Tunuyan, the winery is managed by a father-son team, Mario and Leonardo Bromberg. When they started this project, they were originally only selling their grapes; Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah all grown in their vineyards located about 3,000 feet above sea level. They later decided to begin using 10% of their grapes to create small lots of their own wines under the label Qaramy. 

In their first vintage year of 2005 they produced 39,000 bottles of two wines. Today they have six wines in their portfolio: three blends, two pure Malbecs and a pure Cabernet Sauvignon. In the second half of 2008 they built a small winery on their property, which truly solidified their commitment to not only being quality growers but also producers.

We think you will enjoy an Uco Valley wine tasting experience. Please check out our posts on other vineyards from Lujan de Cuyo and Maipu.