Do You Need Reservations to Visit Wineries in Mendoza?

• Yes: most winer­ies require a reser­va­tion, made through each win­ery’s web­site.
• The best-known ones can book up a month ahead. Many ask for a cred­it card to con­firm.
• The winer­ies are far apart: you’ll need a car, a dri­ver or a tour.

Many guests arrive at the hotel and the first thing they ask us is: “We’d like to vis­it winer­ies. How do we do it?” I ask if they have any in mind, and most don’t. Oth­ers do: they want to go tomor­row to one of the best-known winer­ies. And there’s no room for tomor­row.

That’s why I’m writ­ing this note, so you arrive know­ing how it works.

How winery visits work

As in any wine region, there’s a bit of every­thing. Some winer­ies receive a lot of vis­i­tors and work only by reser­va­tion. Oth­ers, small­er ones, are more flex­i­ble. But in Men­doza most ask you to book, and not infor­mal­ly: they ask for a cred­it card to con­firm your vis­it.

Every win­ery has its own web­site, where you’ll find its tours, tast­ings and, at those with a restau­rant, lunch. That’s where you book.

How far ahead to book

It depends on the win­ery. The larg­er, bet­ter-known ones some­times fill up a month in advance. If there’s one you real­ly want to vis­it, book it from home, before your trip, and plan the rest of your day around it.

Getting from one winery to the next

This is what sur­pris­es peo­ple most. The winer­ies are far from each oth­er, and you won’t find a taxi wait­ing at a win­ery gate. You need your own car, a dri­ver or a tour.If you go with a tour, the reser­va­tions are includ­ed. If you go on your own, you book each vis­it your­self and plan the dis­tances so you arrive on time.

What we can do from the hotel

If you’re stay­ing at Fin­ca Adal­gisa, write to us before your trip and tell us what you’d like to do, so we can see how to help. We can’t make the reser­va­tions for you, because the winer­ies ask for the card of the per­son vis­it­ing. What we can do is put you in touch with an agency that books the vis­its and dri­ves you there and back.

Keep planning

I’ve writ­ten three oth­er notes that help you plan your day: how many winer­ies to vis­it in a day, get­ting to the winer­ies: by car, with a dri­ver or on a tour and Men­doza­’s wine val­leys.

If you’d rather go on your own, that’s fine. Just do a lit­tle home­work before you arrive.