Winery visits and driving do not go together: on a day of tastings, whoever is at the wheel should not be drinking. Mendoza offers several ways to follow its wine routes without your own car, and the right one depends mainly on the area. The wineries are spread over three zones at very different distances from the city.
Three areas, three sets of logistics
- Maipú. The closest to the city. Traditional wineries and olive oil producers stand near one another. You can get there by public transport, and it is the classic area for touring on a rented bicycle.
- Luján de Cuyo. South of the city and the home of Mendoza Malbec. The wineries are further apart, and you need a vehicle between them.
- Uco Valley. Further away, towards the Andes, around Tupungato, Tunuyán and San Carlos. It is a full-day trip with modern wineries and restaurants, and very hard to do without a hired vehicle.
The options without a car
- Agency group tour. You pay per person and everything is handled: transport, wineries and timing. In exchange, the itinerary is fixed and the agency picks the wineries.
- Hop-on hop-off wine bus. A service of this kind has run in Mendoza. Check whether it is operating and which circuit it covers.
- Bicycle in Maipú. Cheap and fun. Bear in mind the heat, the traffic and the fact that alcohol affects you on a bike too.
- Taxi, remis or ride app. Fine for getting there. Finding a ride back from an outlying winery can be difficult, so arrange the return in advance.
- Private driver for the day. A vehicle for your group alone, following the route you put together.
What to book beforehand
Most wineries receive visitors by advance reservation, and not all of them open every day. Visits, tastings and lunches are booked and paid by each visitor. Plan few stops per day: two or three wineries with a lunch is a realistic pace. Around the grape harvest at the end of summer, slots go sooner.
When a vehicle with a driver is worth it
It makes sense for a group, for a day in the Uco Valley, for people who already hold reservations at wineries the tours skip, and for anyone who wants a long lunch without watching the clock. Nobody in the group drives, and the route follows the order of your reservations. We arrange the service in Mendoza, and availability is confirmed when you book. Send us the list of wineries with the times and the number of passengers.
If you hire a car anyway, decide beforehand who drives and find out the alcohol limit currently in force for drivers. How to get there from the capital is covered in Buenos Aires to Mendoza.