Argentina Wine Tour

Welcome to Argentina! You'll be met at Ezeiza International Airport and transferred to your hotel with an English speaking guide. Tonight we'll meet up for our welcome dinner for a chance to meet your Big Journey Company Tour Director and the fellow group members you'll be travelling with.

Our exploration begins in the Palermo residential neighbourhood with its quiet curvy streets, wonderful parks and rose gardens, monuments and city mansions. This is an oasis of calm in the city. Next we head to the posh Recoleta District where we can stroll along Avenida Alvear, the most palatial street in Buenos Aires. With its elegant architecture and tree lined promenades, this distinct area was once home to the porteño aristocracy who gave it buildings such as the Pereda Palace, now the Brazilian Embassy. A visit to the mausoleums and statues of Recoleta Cemetery is a must. This is the final resting place of Eva Duarte, known throughout the world simply as Evita. She is perhaps Argentina’s most famous figure.
We also visit the historical and financial centre of Argentine politics, “la city”. From Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, the Avenida de Mayo leads to the National Congress building. Towards the banks of the river we take in Puerto Madero, once the old city docklands. This is now a completely updated area with modern buildings and avant-garde restaurants and this makes for an interesting contrast with San Telmo, the old quarters of the city. Here we see the traditional charm of colonial houses, cobblestone streets, and churches. La Boca grew around the first Port in Buenos Aires. It was inhabited by immigrants and gave birth to the Tango.
After our introduction to Buenos Aires, enjoy the afternoon at leisure.

A day with the Gauchos 
Delve into the gaucho, or cowboy, culture with a full day at a traditional “estancia” (ranch) in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Come close to local traditions and history in a calm atmosphere, surrounded by nature. Argentina’s wealth came from its farmlands producing quality cattle and agricultural goods. A visit to this traditional ranch provides a glimpse of life on the pampas and offers the chance to share in the country’s farmland customs, traditions and asados.
Lunch invites guests to savour a typical argentine asado (barbeque) with a variety of cuts of beef and salads paired with Argentine wine.

After breakfast at the hotel we head to the airport to board our flight to Iguazu. The flight takes around 1h 45m and we will be met at Iguazu airport and transferred to our hotel.
We visit Iguaçu National Park (Brazil) in the afternoon. Described as ‘an ocean falling into the abyss’, the Iguaçu Falls are impressive: imagine nearly three million gallons of water plunging down every second. The Iguaçu Falls span the border between Argentina and Brazil. Some 80 metres (263 feet) high and 3 km wide, the falls are made up of roughly 275 cascades and rapids (depending on the water level) that generate vast sprays of water and produce one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. These frothing, all-powerful cascading jets of water form clouds of spray that are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation which in turn is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.
The Iguaçu National Park was the first conservation area in Brazil to be established as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.

The Cataratas del Iguazú National Park (Argentina) is home to roaring waterfalls and colourful wildlife in the heart of the jungle. A towering mass of spray and thundering waters, “Iguazú” means “big water” in the language of the semi-nomadic Guaranís who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. It has been described as a shimmering necklace of 275 separate falls divided by emerald-green jungle islands that stretch nearly 4 kilometres (2.5 miles). At its largest and most dramatic conjunction, the water is whipped into thick creamy clouds that tumble through rainbows of light. The resulting spray rises so high that, from a distance, the falls almost seem to be travelling in two directions. These breath-taking natural falls are truly worthy of their place among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The Argentina side of the Iguazú Falls will take one full day to explore as the falls can be from a number of angles: the Lower trail, Upper trail, and Devil’s Throat:
Lower Trail: over a kilometre (1/2 a mile) of paths run across individual falls of immense natural beauty. The misty air takes guests into charming corners of the jungle to admire begonias, orchids, ferns and palms with flocks of parrots, toucans and countless butterflies. From the Lower Circuit (optional) guests can navigate to San Martin Island where a circuit of paths goes to some of the less-visited falls.
Upper Circuit: catwalks literally hang over the falls offering a breath-taking sight. The paths are often dotted with lizards squirting past, monkeys jumping from branch to branch and colourful parrots and butterflies.
Garganta del Diablo: chug along on the ecological train as you take in the chirping sounds of birds and wildlife in the forest. At Estación Garganta stroll over the pathway that leads to a fantastic lookout point hanging over what is often considered the most spectacular fall: Devil’s Throat. Gallons of water plunge and sprout back up as an eternal cloud of mist creates blazing rainbows. This trail is in full bloom at dusk when the light gives it a special aura.

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll transfer to Iguazu Airport for our flight to Salta. On arrival we'll be transferred to our hotel.

Exploring the city of Salta will demonstrate to us all why this town is nicknamed Salta “La Linda” (the beautiful): the town has kept a colonial feel intact in many of its important monuments and historical buildings. The central 9 de Julio square is surrounded by an important part of the well preserved architectural legacy dating back to the 18th century. The Cabildo, where important historical events took place, houses the Museo Historia del Norte. The Cathedral, a beautiful pink building, features a golden alter and its floor and ceilings are beautifully thought out reflecting the richness of the city and the influence of colonial architecture. The plum red and gold building has the tallest church tower in South America. The facade’s colours reflect the colourful landscape of the red rocks and snow-capped mountains of Salta. After exploring this area, we'll head back to our hotel for some time at leisure.

An early departure leads guests to experience a section of the tracks on a “Train to the Clouds”. One of the world’s railway engineering marvels weaves through the Andes at 4,200 m above sea level, connecting Argentina with Chile and making this the third highest train system in the world.
We continue our journey by road, to the Quebrada Del Toro (Bull’s River Gorge) and past the Ruins of Santa Rosa de Tastil, an ancient pre-Inca settlement and the mining town of San Antonio de los Cobres, a typical highland settlement with adobe houses. We take in the vistas as we cross Puna to the expansive 212 square km salt flats of Salinas Grandes. The striking landscape is an invitation to take some creative jumping, handstanding and optical illusion photos, and purchase a llama or cactus figurine carved in salt.
After visiting this natural phenomenon, the winding, beautiful Cuesta del Lipan descends to Purmamarca, a quaint village with dusty streets at the foot of multi coloured mountains known as the “Seven Colours Hill”. The minerals and sediments in the surrounding mountains create brilliant green, purple, red, orange, and white stripes that swirl through the rocky mountain faces. The streets in Purmamarca are flanked by craftsmen selling colourful blankets and hand-woven hats, scarves and an array of hand-crafted objects. From Purmamarca we return to Salta for the evening.

The road from Salta to Cachi is one of the most spectacular drives in Northwest Argentina. We pass through four different ecosystems. We travel from the green jungle of the Yungas to the semi-desert of Calchaquí Valley. The mountain road brings us close to Paso Piedra de Molinos, 3400 meters above sea level. Fill your eyes with the deep blue skies where Condors hover above us. Expect to see guanacos and wild burros (donkeys) among thousands of Cardones, the local species of cacti. We will make time for a walk in a small, rarely visited red desert and a moment of relaxation in a cosy Molle in the charming colonial village of Cachi where the sun shines almost all the year round.
We have lunch at a local restaurant before we continue to Molinos, a tiny village of nine hundred souls that seems as though it ma have stopped in time hundreds of years ago, were it not for the sporadic satellite dishes on the roofs and the occasional car slowly driving by.
Dinner will be served at the hotel tonight.

Today we depart Molinos and drive northwest towards Colomé Winery. Bodega Colomé was founded in 1831 by the Spanish Governor of Salta. In 1854, his daughter brought the first French Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon vines to Colomé. Grapes from three vineyards planted in that year are still being used in the production of Colomé Reserva wines. We visit the winery and James Turrell Art Museum, followed by lunch at Estancia Colomé.
After lunch, we continue the drive south along Route 40, one of the longest roads in the world. The road winds its way past desert scenery, small ranches and vineyards, through the limestone mountains and the striking Quebrada de las Flechas (Arrows Gorge).
Cafayate is famous for its wine production. The perfect combination of weather, soil, vines, human expertise and altitude make the Calchaquí Valley the perfect place for the production of Torrontes: the region’s distinctive varietal white wine. This is our destination for this evening.

After breakfast we explore the Conchas’ Gorge. Conchas’ Gorge is 70km of deep ravine, developed over the last 50 million years, where huge deposits of minerals have been moulded by water. This former lake is now a huge valley surrounded by colourful mountains.
We arrive in Salta Airport in time for the afternoon flight to Mendoza. We'll be met at Mendoza Airport and transferred to our hotel before enjoying dinner together tonight at the hotel.

After breakfast today, we head out for a full day exploring the Familia Zuccardi Wineries and Zuccardi's Olive Oil production area. Familia Zuccardi Wineries is a family company, founded in 1963. Alberto Zuccardi started planting vines in the Maipú area, experimenting with an irrigation system of his own creation based on a method used in California. This was the starting point of a path followed by the next three generations, joined by a passion for wine.
The day starts with a visit to the vineyards at the Santa Julia winery. You will enjoy the scenery, taste the wines and learn the secrets of wine-making. Continue with a visit to Zuccardi’s Olive Oil production area to learn about the complete process of olive oil production.
After the visit to the winery, we continue to a charming traditional restaurant for a cooking class of typical Argentinian dishes. Guided by the local chef, visit the organic garden to harvest ingredients to be used to prepare dishes chosen by the chef. We finish with a relaxing lunch we have prepared for ourselves.
We return to the hotel late afternoon.

Today we visit three different wineries in the Luján de Cuyo area. At the third winery, we will enjoy wine blending, guided by professionals. Blending is the process of combining different varieties of wines to create a superior composite. At its most basic, vintners blend wine made from different grapes in order to add more complexity to the flavour and texture of a wine. The goal of blending wine made in different vintages is to balance out flavour characteristics. Some wine blends are made from classic recipes handed down from generation to generation. Other vintners create brand new blends in an attempt to produce a new and exciting wine like nothing else on the market. Here is your opportunity to become a winemaker for a day, producing your own wine or sparkling wine guided by an enologist.
The blending activity will be followed by lunch.

Today we depart Mendoza for our flights back to Buenos Aires. On arrival at the hotel, we have some time at leisure before our farewell dinner and tango show this evening.

Tango is everywhere in Buenos Aires. Argentinians believe that only in Buenos Aires could the tango be born- only in this city of immigrants could music of such emotional depth spring forth and take hold of a population. In the early days, tango was most often heard in seedy cafés and the dance was performed by two men. Today, tango has evolved into an important cornerstone of Argentine culture. The spirit of the dance is captured and expressed everywhere, from small milongas- tiny bars where an ageing porteño sings of a long-lost love- to huge theatre venues. This evening, get ready to watch dancers embraced in passion as they dance to the strong beat of Tango as we attend a show together for our farewell evening, to be enjoyed alongside a three-course dinner and wine. Wear your comfortable shoes in expectation of being shown a few steps yourself- a quick Tango Class is part of the evening.

We bid a fond farewell to Argentina today. We will arrange your departure transfers to Buenos International Airport to meet your departure flights.