Fly into Mendoza, Argentina, and explore the world’s newest, exclusive hot spot for discriminating wine connoisseurs.

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When I mentioned my upcoming visit to Mendoza, Argentina, a friend informed me, “The people are of Italian descent, and at every turn you’ll find someone speaking Spanish with an Italian accent, not to mention beautiful men. You’ll love it.”

Having lived in Italy, my affinity for all that is Italian is no secret. The love of food and wine, an infinite supply of stylish footwear and finely tailored clothing, especially when donned by beautiful men, makes the boot of Europe a big one to fill. So my skepticism of the likeness between the two countries loomed. True, the name “Mendoza” sounds like an Italian pastime, but “sleepy” hardly seems an appropriate description considering that Mendoza is the newest hotbed for foreign vintners.

Known as “the land of sunshine and good wine,” Mendoza does indeed have all the ingredients to be a hot spot for connoisseurs. Located 650 miles west of Buenos Aires and seemingly within an arm’s reach of the snowcapped Andes mountains along the Chilean border, this arid valley equals Florida in size and no doubt gives the Sunshine State a run for its money in terms of UVA exposure. The average temperature in the summer (November through February) hovers around 85 degrees, which adds to the desert-like conditions outside the city, also named Mendoza. The city’s unique irrigation canals add a welcome touch of humidity, and the more than two million trees lining the streets and dotting the parks provide a shady escape from the heat. Even though almost a million people live in Mendoza, making it one of Argentina’s largest cities, the wide streets and low-rise buildings give it a definitively small-town feel.

Mendoza, also called “Cuyo,” produces many commodities including copper and oil, but its “liquid gold” comes from its 860-plus wineries, which produce three-quarters of Argentina’s wine. Both red and white varietals, ranging from cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, and merlot to chenin blanc and chardonnay, flourish in the region’s vineyards. You will also find Argentina’s signature dark and fruity yet elegant malbec grapes growing in some of the country’s finest vineyards clustered in the Maipu, Luján de Cuyo, Guaymallén, and Godoy Cruz districts of Mendoza.

Many wine experts anticipate that Argentina will quickly surpass better-known global wine exporter and neighbor Chile in quality and recognition due to the ideal growing conditions, rich soil, and resurgence in foreign prospecting after the devaluation of the peso in 2001. The Chileans themselves are banking on this inevitability and have acquired many of the Argentinean vineyards, following in the footsteps of their forefathers who colonized the region in the 1600s and planted vines to produce communion wine. Apparently wine was quickly paired with the breaking of bread at home as well as church because large-scale production of table wine ensued and continues to be a significant portion of domestic wine sales today. In addition to Chilean vintners who introduced the traditional grapes, the Italian immigrants who came in droves to the Mendoza region between 1800 and the outbreak of World War I, comprising half of the six million immigrants who relocated to Argentina during that time, brought with them modern varietals.

Prior to the late 1980s grape harvesting in Mendoza vineyards proved as refined as a canning factory producing a daily staple. Today however, with investments bolstering an improved infrastructure combined with historical knowledge of winemaking and overall tourism in Argentina on the rise, the Mendocinians recognize the potential for the wineries to draw visitors to this pastoral region. In attempts to sing the praises of their spicy notes and long finishes, the region’s wineries are serenading this expanding foreign market with new tasting rooms, accommodations, and organized site tours.

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