Vendimia is Mendoza’s grape harvest festival and one of the busiest weeks of the year in Argentina’s main wine region. The central events take place at the end of summer, traditionally in early March. Rooms, winery visits and vehicles are all booked far ahead, and the city centre works differently while the parades are on.
The main events
- Bendición de los Frutos. The blessing ceremony that opens the central week.
- Vía Blanca de las Reinas. A night parade of floats through the city centre.
- Carrusel. A daytime parade the following morning.
- Acto Central. A large night show at the Frank Romero Day Greek Theatre, in Parque General San Martín. It is repeated on the following nights.
The programme and dates change every year. Check the festival’s official site before you buy flights.
Getting around during the festival
The parades close streets in the centre for several hours. If your hotel is inside that area, the vehicle may drop you a few blocks away.
The Greek Theatre sits in the foothills west of the city. On show nights private cars do not drive up to it. The audience walks or uses transport laid on by the organisers. A booked transfer takes you as far as the traffic plan allows and fixes a meeting point for afterwards, when it is late and crowded.
More flights use Mendoza airport that week. Send us your flight number.
Wineries at harvest time
The harvest itself lasts several weeks, from late summer into autumn, so you can see the vineyards at work outside festival week too. In Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and the Uco Valley, tastings and lunches have limited places.
If you taste, do not drive. The alternatives are group tours, a taxi hired for the day, or a private driver by the day who follows your own bookings. Our guide to the wine routes without your own car compares them.
What to book, in order
- Accommodation.
- Tickets for the Acto Central or a repeat night.
- Winery visits.
- Transfers, once you have the times of everything else.
Vehicle availability in Mendoza is confirmed when you book.