Uncorking Argentina

Uncorking Argentina truly made our experience in Mendoza unforgettable. From planning and tailoring our private tour, to helping us book restaurant reservations outside of the tour they made every step enjoyable. Prior to our trip I was overwhelmed with trying to find the best wineries (based on our taste) and fit in as many wineries as possible. I finally decided to turn to the experts and chose uncorking based on the positive reviews. Lujan Castiglione and Eric ended up being much more helpful and accommodating than our hotel concierge.
Eric gave me his feedback on the wineries I was interested in visiting and added a few of his own recommendations. The first day we narrowed it down to Vistalba and Vina Cobos followed by lunch at Septima. The wine at vina cobos ended up being one of our favorites and the tour guide was equally friendly and informative. The lunch at Septima was delicious as we enjoyed it in a room to ourselves while taking in the breathless views. Even with rainy weather, the first day was such a success that we planned a second day of private tours. The team at uncorking was able to pull together a second itinerary while we were out wine tasting.
The second day seemed to top the first, with beautiful weather we decided to go south to the Uco Valley. Again we combined their recommendations of Andelune and La Azul with my interest in O’Fournier. Little did we know that the difference and uniqueness of the wineries would make for an incredible journey. La Azul was quaint and friendly with delicious varietals. I love the mission and family style of this vineyard. Following this small vineyard we went to the southmost winery in Mendoza, O’Fournier. This is worth the drive and is a MUST see! The ufo style building is unlike any winery I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to give too much away but this was our favorite. The tour, the wine tasting and the six course lunch was divine.
Aside from the wineries both drivers were very knowledgeable and very friendly. My boyfriend and I love to travel (7 countries this year) and learn about the local lifestyle. He asked a ton a questions and it was interesting to learn from the drivers. I highly recommend uncorking argentina to all of my friends and family visiting the area.

First day of winery tours in Mendoza. We had a private driver and toured 3 wineries.
The driver picked us up at the Hyatt in the morning. I had requested to taste the best of Mendoza but we did not quite get that.
The first winery was a very small enterprise run by a family. They were devoted to making the most of what they had but it was nothing near the best. They had 3 wines each selling for 110 pesos or about $ 13. Nothing special but they tried hard.
The next winery was Mendel and I had bigger expectations. Short tour and very small tasting of a few wines and olive oil. Nothing special at all, very little wine.
The 3^rd visit was to the winery of Susan Balboa for lunch. The lunch did not go well. We waited an hour for our first bite of food while enjoying our small tasting (half glass) of mass production Crios sold at duty free in large quantities for low prices.
After a few hours we made it through lunch that was not great and then were asked if we wanted to pay for a tasting.
After spending all day out and drinking very little amount of wine or different wines we said yes. It was only us and another couple. One of the bottles was bad and it took the guide sometime before admitting it and bringing another bottle.
The 4 of us decided to purchase and drink a bottle not offered in the tasting and we then started having a good time.
The next day I took a group tour with the top rated company and it was so much better. We drank top notch wines, our glasses were never empty and we spent time with the winemakers and proprietors like we were family. It even cost less than Uncorked.
Uncorked was a 3 while the other operator was a 5. We went with uncorked for a day due to the private tour but ended up being paired with others at the wineries.