Our Top Wine Destinations in South America

May 17 • 2024

South America produces some of the worlds finest wine. Be sure to include some vineyards on your holiday

While Mendoza in Argentina is the most well known wine region in South America and produces some of the worlds best Malbec, Sinead on her recent adventure round Chile and Argentina discovered Cafayate in Salta, which she explains here is a strong contender for THE wine region to include in your bespoke holiday. South America is home to several world class wineries and regions that provide the perfect climate, soil and overall conditions to make some of the finest wine around. Here we take a look at our top suggestions of where to include in your tailor-made holiday to South America that will tick the boxes for culture, food and wine tasting…

Stay at gorgeous Entre Cielos Hotel for views of the Andes and surrounding vineyards

1. Mendoza, Argentina

Whether you love wine or not, Mendoza is well worth including in your luxury adventure holiday to Argentina. At the foot of the Andes, the Mendoza region is renowned for its many vineyards that produce over 70% of Argentina’s wine, notably Malbec. Mendoza city is a fascinating and culturally rich place to explore for a few days; tree lined cobbled streets make for a lovely evening stroll before enjoying a delicious meal with some local wine. The City is a hub for the arts, community projects, fine dining, incredible steak houses and of course red wine. There are some lovely hikes to enjoy from here; speak to Sam or Sinead about including an expert food and wine guide for the day to show you the best places to eat and the best vineyards to try. Why not take a bike out for the day to explore the local vineyards in a different way… just be sure not to drink to much to safely make the ride back to your hotel! Mendoza is a place where wine and luxury really do meet, there are some world class hotels to base yourself from and explore the wineries in the day and relax at night. Cavas Wine Lodge is the original luxury wine lodging, known for its high end food and lush surroundings. For something a little more modern and close to some well known vineyards, stay at Entre Cielos. Beautiful rooms with beautiful views surround a swimming pool which is perfect to take a dip and cool off with a glass of wine. Want to do it differently? Mendoza works really well as an overland add-on with Chile. For the best wine experience, combine the two. Be privately driven and cross the high pass via Aconcagua and head through incredible lush and varied scenery towards Santiago to link with Matetic Vineyards Chile. This is how you combine a passion for wine and slow travel.

Do it differently, stay in a room on stilts above the vines at Entre Cielos

The grounds of the beautiful Matetic Vineyards. Stay on site and enjoy the whole winery experience

2. Matetic Vineyard, Chile

Nestled in the Rosario Valley surrounded by the coastal valleys of San Antonio and Casablanca you will find a true Travel Differently favourite, Matetic Vineyards. With a big focus on sustainability, the winery uses pioneering methods to create organic and biodynamic wines, making this family run vineyard increasingly internationally recognized for its quality. The vineyard offers some really lovely on site activities such as guided hikes and cycling tours which vary in length. The hotel has beautiful boutique rooms, each named after the wine produced and each a little different in size and style. After a long day exploring the vineyards and sipping wine, enjoy a dip in the refreshing swimming pool or some down time in the main communal areas to read a book in front of the fire in the colder months. The location is a real winner here, being just 90 minutes drive from the capital Santiago means you don’t have to include extra flights on your holiday to Chile to add on a wine adventure. The food in the restaurant is delicious and works well as a wine pairing, and of course its all about the wine! Be sure to book onto a tasting, and look out for the signature bottles of wine in other hotels around Chile, such is its quality and popularity.

The lush vineyards and blue skies of Montevideo, Uruguay

3. Montevideo, Uruguay

Want to know a secret about Uruguay? It produces exceptional wine. You will be forgiven for not knowing Uruguay is player on the wine scene of South America. In fact Montevideo (Uruguay’s capital) is actually one of the few capitals in the world located so close to high quality vineyards. The soil in the region provides excellent conditions for fine wine to be harvested, with the climate and topography comparable to that of Bordeaux. You may not often see Uruguayan wine on the shelves in the UK as the volume produced is fairly low, but in the wine world the quality is known to be high and in demand. For those who like the technical side of what makes good wine; the sea breeze that comes through in the Montevideo area helps produce grapes that have a longer period of maturity which moderates the alcohol level by in part preserving acidity levels. We will book you a specialist wine guide for the day who will take you round a selection of vineyards known for high quality, and are typically family run. Enjoy a tasting, a light lunch, and onto the next vineyard. A fantastic addition to your bespoke holiday to Uruguay; days spent in the sun sipping fine wine and trying local delicacies.

The vineyards of the lesser known Cafayate region

4. Cafayate, Salta Argentina

Why do we think Cafayate serves as a really good alternative to the much better known Mendoza? The Central Valley in Argentina is great but the north really packs a punch for variety; offering amazing scenery, red rock formations, cactus as far as the eye can see, canyons, arid and stunning landscapes and Salta as the gateway, a pretty city with tonnes to explore. Meet your guide and drive through the desert, passing small villages, remote lands and huge skies. You get a sense of the unique and indigenous culture in this region due to its proximity to Bolivia and northern Chile which differ hugely from the rest of Argentina which feels much more westernised. Reaching Cafayate, we found some really charming and great value hotels as a base to explore this gem of a region. The food is delicious, great value and is really traditional; at times feeling more like remote parts of Peru or Bolivia rather than Argentina. There are so many opportunities to hike, take a bike out, go wine tasting in one of the larger estates or a smaller family run vineyard, amble through markets, and see the local architectural highlights. The wine in this lesser known region is absolutely delicious, you will be blown away! For those with a sophisticated well -traveled pallet, to those who like a simple full bodied red, the wine produced in this area is on the up and growing in reputation. You could easily spend a week here and combine a visit to the salt flats which rival those in Bolivia. The area really has it it all. Due to its location in the north, the weather here is great from September – April so the season is longer, availability is better and it works really well as an overland extension from a Peru or Bolivia or with a late trip to Buenos Aires and Iguazú falls where you can avoid the crowds and premium price tags.

Traditional wine harvesting in Serra Gaucha, Southern Brazil

5. Serra Gaucha, Brazil

It may come as a surprise to some that Brazil has a thriving wine industry. Often overshadowed by Chile and Argentina, the Brazil wine scene is slowly but surely finding its own identity. While the wine regions here don’t produce a specific grape and the country isn’t home to any native grapes, the industry is striving to promote its own style and flavour. Wine experts review Brazilian wine as typically fruitier and fresher due to rainier climates than other big wine producers in South America and the proximity to the Atlantic. The majority of wine is produced in the south, thanks to the drier cooler climate. The state of Rio Grande do Sul is home to the best and most internationally recognized vineyards, in particular Serra Gaucha which has a hilly landscape to allow to good drainage. The region is best known for Chardonnay, Merlot and some really exceptional sparkling wines. Its well worth including a visit to Serra Gaucha as part of your adventure holiday to Brazil, making for a perfect add on to a slow travel journey. The natural landscape of the region is dominated by the Serra Gaucha Mountains with endless forested hillsides, clear waterfalls, rocky cliffs and dramatic natural wonders. This is off the beaten track stuff and if time allows we can arrange some fantastic hikes and outdoor activities as well as private wine tasting in a family run vineyard to try the undiscovered Brazilian wine yourself.

Summary

As you can see if you love wine, South America is THE place to plan your holiday to. Each of our favourite regions and vineyards mentioned here offer so much variety; both in terms of style and taste of the actual wine, but also things you can do from each area. In an ideal world you would take an extended holiday to South America and cover all our suggestions. But if we had to choose one area, we would recommend Cafayate in Argentina which offers something really different. Remote, peaceful, incredible scenery, less busy, but still with delicious wine to enjoy.

Get in touch today about planning your luxury Eco wine holiday to South America.