Cavas Wine Lodge

You land at Mendoza airport (MDZ) and your driver takes you to the lodge. Check in, then walk the grounds: the spa with its grape-based treatments, the outdoor pool, the jacuzzi, the fitness center and the relaxation area. Whatever time you arrive, there is no rush.

Dinner is in the lodge’s own wine cellar. The meal is organic, and the lodge’s sommelier leads a tasting alongside it. Think of it as a first lesson before the wineries.

After breakfast at the lodge you head out to three bodegas, as wineries are called here, in Luján de Cuyo. The area is home to some of Argentina’s best wines, and the sun shines on the vines almost all year. Which wineries you see depends on availability and opening dates.

Lunch is at one of the wineries. Dinner tonight is not included: pick a restaurant in Mendoza, then ride back to the lodge for the night.

After breakfast your driver takes you back to Luján de Cuyo for three more wineries. This is Malbec country, and Malbec is Argentina’s most popular variety. Today is about how the wine is made and what the vineyards have meant to Mendoza province. The wineries again depend on availability.

Lunch is at one of them. Argentina is also known for its beef and for dulce de leche, a milk caramel. Save room.

Back at Cavas the afternoon is yours: the spa, your included massage, or your room with the Andes in view. Dinner, again not included, is at a restaurant in the area, then back to the lodge for the night.

Breakfast at the lodge is the last item on the schedule. Afterward your driver takes you to Mendoza airport for a flight home or on to the next stop in South America.

No winery visits are planned today, so use the morning as you like: pack slowly, take a last swim, or sit a little longer with the vines. Your flight time sets when you leave.