A guide to South America’s most extraordinary wine destinations — and why experiencing Chile & Argentina wine together is a journey unlike anything else in the wine world
If you’ve been drinking South American wine for any length of time, you already know the names: Mendoza. Malbec. Casablanca Valley. Colchagua. But knowing them from a wine list and knowing them from the place they come from are two entirely different experiences — and the gap between those two versions of understanding is exactly what a wine tour of Chile and Argentina is designed to close.
Why Chile and Argentina Together?
The obvious question is why combine two countries rather than focusing on one. The answer is geography, contrast, and one of the most spectacular travel experiences available anywhere on earth: crossing the Andes.
Chile and Argentina share the longest mountain border in the world, and yet the wine cultures on either side of the Andes are remarkably different. Chile is coastal-influenced — wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains, its wine valleys benefit from cool marine breezes and a climate that produces wines of notable freshness and precision. Argentina is continental — high-altitude desert country on the eastern side of the Andes, where the thin air and intense sun create conditions that produce some of the most concentrated, powerful wines in the world.
Tasting the two side by side, in the places where they’re made, with the people who made them, is an education that no amount of reading or tasting at home can replicate. The contrast is instructive, the journey between them is extraordinary, and together they represent one of the most diverse wine experiences available on a single trip.
The flight between Santiago and Mendoza takes just forty minutes and offers some of the most scenic, jaw-dropping views in the world — the Andes passing below at close range, the continent’s highest peak visible from the window. It is, genuinely, a highlight of the trip in its own right.
Chile’s Wine Regions: What to Know
The Casablanca Valley
Chile’s Casablanca Valley produces notable white wines including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, with both modern facilities and traditional clay vessel production methods still in use at some estates. Located between Santiago and the coast, the valley benefits from morning fog rolling in off the Pacific, which moderates temperatures and creates ideal conditions for aromatic white wines and Pinot Noir.
The Casablanca Valley is where Chile’s white wine revolution began in the 1980s, and it remains the benchmark for Chilean whites. If you’ve been drinking Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, there’s a good chance it came from here.
The Colchagua Valley
The Colchagua Valley in Chile is marked by the magnificent Cordillera de los Andes, showcasing a temperate region with a Mediterranean climate where Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carménère thrive. This is Chile’s most acclaimed red wine region — often compared to Napa Valley in its concentration of prestigious estates and the quality of its flagship wines.
Carménère deserves particular attention here. A grape variety thought to be extinct after the phylloxera epidemic devastated European vineyards in the 19th century, Carménère was rediscovered in Chile in the 1990s, where it had been growing for generations under the mistaken belief that it was Merlot. Chile is now its primary home in the world, and tasting it in Colchagua — where the warm days and cool nights produce its most expressive version — is something no wine lover should miss.
The Aconcagua Valley
Located north of Santiago, the Aconcagua Valley is named for the Andes peak that towers over it — at 6,961 meters, the highest mountain outside Asia. The valley produces powerful Cabernet Sauvignon and is home to some of Chile’s most innovative winemakers, who have been pushing toward cooler sub-appellations closer to the coast. This is less-visited wine country, which means winery access tends to be more intimate and personal than in the more tourist-developed regions to the south.
Santiago and Valparaíso
Santiago is one of the great cities of South America, with breathtaking surroundings framed by the Andes mountains and wonderful museums, colorful colonial architecture, and delicious food and wine. The nearby port city of Valparaíso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with steep, labyrinthine streets and colorful architecture, is a natural complement to wine country and one of the most visually distinctive cities in the Americas.
Argentina’s Wine Regions: What to Know
Mendoza
Argentina’s Mendoza region is the country’s premier wine destination, producing world-class reds like Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat, as well as the signature white Torrontés. The city of Mendoza itself is one of the most livable and pleasant in South America — tree-lined avenues leading to sunny plazas, a pace that slows to match wine-country living.
The Mendoza wine region is divided into several distinct sub-zones:
Luján de Cuyo is considered the cradle of Argentine Malbec, where the first vines were planted by Jesuits in the mid-16th century and where altitude, intense sunlight, and the cooling effect of air descending from the Andes combine to create ideal conditions for the grape. Some of Argentina’s most celebrated estates are here.
The Uco Valley, located approximately 90 minutes south of Mendoza city and formed by the drainage network of the Tunuyan River, is protected by the striking Cordón del Plata mountain range. At higher elevations than Luján de Cuyo, the Uco Valley produces wines of notable freshness and complexity — it’s the most exciting new frontier in Argentine wine and the place where the country’s most forward-thinking winemakers are doing their best work. The region maintains consistent conditions for wine tasting throughout the year thanks to its high-altitude position.
Maipú is the most accessible sub-region, flatter and easier to navigate, and particularly well-suited to cycling between wineries — a popular and memorable way to spend a day in Mendoza wine country.
Why Mendoza’s Malbec Is Different
Malbec originated in France’s Cahors region but found its greatest expression in Argentina — a fact that puzzled wine experts for years until the reasons became clear. The combination of high altitude (which slows ripening and preserves acidity), intense sunshine, minimal rainfall, and the cooling effect of cold Andean air after sunset creates conditions that are arguably better suited to the Malbec grape than its French homeland.
Argentina has been making wine since the 1500s and is one of the world’s largest wine producers. For most of that history, the wine was made for domestic consumption — it’s only since the 1980s that Argentine wine found the international export market. That relative lateness to the global stage means there’s still a sense of discovery here, and winemakers who are passionate about sharing what they’ve built.
Buenos Aires
Most South America wine tours include at least a day or two in Buenos Aires — and it’s worth planning time here regardless of your primary interest. The steaks are legendary, the tango is intoxicating, and the nights stretch on forever. The city’s cultural life, its neighborhoods (Palermo, San Telmo, La Boca), and its food scene are all world-class. For wine lovers, Buenos Aires also offers some of Argentina’s best restaurant wine lists, where you can taste the full range of what Mendoza and the country’s other wine regions produce.
The Food: An Essential Part of the Journey
No wine tour of Chile and Argentina is complete without serious attention to the food — both countries have culinary cultures that are deeply intertwined with their wine traditions.
In Argentina, the asado — the traditional open-fire grill — is more than a meal. It’s a social institution. A typical Argentine asado criollo includes different kinds of meat and vegetables grilled over an open fire, empanadas to start, fresh tomato salads, and the kind of wine-pairing that makes everything make sense. The beef is extraordinary — Argentine grass-fed beef has a richness and flavor that pairs with Malbec in a way that feels almost designed. Empanadas Mendocinas (baked beef pastries) are the unofficial snack of wine country.
In Chile, the food culture is more coastal-influenced — Santiago’s markets offer an abundance of native ingredients and the seafood is some of the finest in South America, owing to the cold Humboldt Current that runs along the Pacific coast. The culinary scene in Santiago has developed significantly in recent years and is now among the most sophisticated in Latin America.
When to Go: The Best Time for a Wine Tour
The wine regions of Argentina and Chile welcome visitors from October through April, when temperatures are mild and rainfall is minimal. Summer months from December to February are ideal for exploring Chile’s Casablanca Valley.
For most travelers, March and April are the most desirable months — this is harvest season in Mendoza, when the vineyards are at their most active and beautiful. Mendoza’s wineries come alive during harvest season in March and April, and visiting during the vendimia (harvest) means you may have the chance to see — or participate in — the picking and crushing that produces the wine in your glass. The Mendoza Harvest Festival in early March is one of the most celebrated events in Argentine culture.
October and November (spring in the Southern Hemisphere) are also excellent: the vines are leafing out, the weather is mild, and the tourist infrastructure is operating at full capacity without the peak-season crowds of February.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to speak Spanish? Not at all. English is widely spoken in the wine tourism industry in both countries, and a good guide will handle all communication. That said, a few words of Spanish are always appreciated and will deepen your interactions with locals.
How physically demanding is a wine tour? Most wine tours involve light walking through vineyards and cellars — nothing strenuous. The most demanding part is typically the travel between destinations. Tasting sessions are conducted sitting down. The biggest physical challenge is pacing yourself across multiple days of excellent wine.
Can I visit both countries without flying? Yes — it’s possible to cross the Andes by road, which takes 6–8 hours but offers spectacular mountain scenery. Most tours use the 40-minute flight between Santiago and Mendoza for efficiency, but the road crossing is a memorable experience in its own right.
What’s the best way to get to Chile and Argentina from the US? Santiago (SCL) is the most common entry point, with direct flights from Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Buenos Aires (EZE) also has direct service from several US cities. Flying into one and out of the other is a common and practical routing for a combined tour.
What if I’m a casual wine drinker rather than an enthusiast? South America’s wine regions welcome all levels of interest. The landscapes, the food, the culture, and the people are as compelling as the wine itself — and the wine tends to convert people who weren’t previously
Planning a Private Group Tour to Chile and Argentina
For travelers who want to go with their own group — family, friends, a wine club — a private tour offers something a scheduled group departure can’t: complete flexibility over dates and pace, and the experience of sharing the entire journey with people you chose to be there with.
A private wine tour of Chile and Argentina typically requires a minimum of 6 travelers and runs for 9 days. The journey usually begins in Santiago, moves through Chile’s wine valleys, crosses the Andes to Mendoza, and ends in Buenos Aires.
At Taste Vacations, our Chile & Argentina Wine Tour has been designed around the principle that the best wine experiences require real access — to winemakers, to cellars, to the landscape. Our guide, Lorena Gil Fin, was born in Mendoza and has spent 20 years building relationships across Argentina, Chile, and Spain. The blending course at Viña San Esteban in the Aconcagua Valley — where your group works with winemaker María José to blend your own cuvée from component varietals — is one of those experiences that changes how you taste wine for the rest of your life. The tour runs on your dates, with your group, at $5,950 per person for 9 days across both countries.
