Awasi Mendoza

At 600 metres in the foothills of the Andes, Malbec vines planted on old Bordeaux rootstock thrive in the high-altitude continental desert climate that defines Mendoza. Awasi Mendoza tailors each guest's exploration of this terroir through private wine tours led by bilingual guides, moving between family bodegas in Luján de Cuyo and high-altitude parcels in the Uco Valley where Cabernet Sauvignon and Torrontés flourish under cool night skies. Every tasting is built around the guest's curiosity, whether that means a morning among old vines followed by a wine-paired asado or an afternoon comparing expressions of Malbec across three sub-appellations. Each room is assigned not only a private guide but a dedicated 4×4 vehicle, turning the entire Mendoza wine belt into an accessible tasting room. Guests design their days around premium tastings at boutique wineries, wine-paired lunches under pergolas heavy with fruit, and cooking classes where empanadas mendocinas are rolled and filled alongside winemakers. The guide adapts in real time—if a particular Cabernet Sauvignon sparks interest, the next stop might be a cellar where the same grape is aged in concrete eggs rather than French oak. Rooms open onto views of the Andes, their snow-fed meltwater irrigating the vineyards that stretch east toward the city. Interiors are stripped back—stone, leather, linen—so that the cool evening breezes and the scent of grilled meats from the outdoor parrilla remain the dominant sensory notes. The design assumes guests will spend daylight hours in the vineyards and return only to sleep and dine, making the accommodations a base camp rather than a destination in themselves. The kitchen centres on asado—grilled steak, chorizo, and morcilla paired with estate Malbecs and high-altitude reds from Tupungato. Empanadas are baked to order, their fillings shifting with the season and the day's market haul. Cooking classes unpack the techniques behind locro and chimichurri, always with a glass of Torrontés or a young Bonarda in hand. Beyond the vineyards, the property arranges guided hikes into the Andes or horseback rides through the piedmont, but the 4×4 and guide remain on standby for spontaneous detours to olive groves in Maipú or a late-afternoon tasting in the Valle de Uco. Awasi Mendoza is part of a family of lodges that began in Atacama in 2007, each built around the idea that exploration should be as personal as the landscape is vast. Here, that philosophy translates into wine itineraries that change daily, shaped by harvest schedules, winemaker availability, and the guest's evolving palate.