{"id":623,"date":"2016-11-12T22:29:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-12T22:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/?p=623"},"modified":"2016-11-13T15:51:28","modified_gmt":"2016-11-13T15:51:28","slug":"five-star-luxury-meets-uncommon-comfort-at-the-vines-of-mendoza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/?p=623","title":{"rendered":"Five-star luxury meets uncommon comfort at The Vines of Mendoza"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The extraordinary, ever-changing views of the Andes at The Vines of Mendoza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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It was uncanny.<\/p>\n

Walking alongside the Andes Mountains on the way to breakfast, every single employee – housekeeper, room service waiter, gardener – greeted me with:<\/p>\n

“Hola, Stephen.”<\/p>\n

They knew my first name. All of them.<\/p>\n

How is that possible? \u00a0But it’s only one of the very human aspects of this highly-reviewed 5 star resort in Argentina’s Uco Valley, the Vines Resort and Spa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Combine world-class accommodations with uncommon privacy and an unrivaled, ever-changing view of the Andes, in the heart of the country’s most\u00a0sought-after winelands, and you have the makings of a relaxing visit like no other.
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To be sure, this place isn’t cheap. I had to blow my budget to stay two nights here. But it was oh sooo worth it. Unlike so many other luxury options, here you actually get what you pay for. Luxury isn’t pretense and pomp. There’s\u00a0a relaxed, genuine, anything-is-possible vibe that allows you to leave your cares behind.<\/p>\n

\"img_3365\"<\/a>The Vines is the result of a unique partnership between an American political visionary and a talented\u00a0Argentine. Before Michael\u00a0Evans rocked the world of Argentine wine, he was COO of Rock The Vote, and worked on American political campaigns. Pablo Gimenez Rilli was a partner with his brothers in the family winery in Maipu. Add the talents of Santiago Archival, consulting winemaker, who is\u00a0the\u00a0owner of acclaimed Mendoza winery\u00a0Achaval-Ferrer, and you have all the elements of a unique winemaking opportunity.<\/p>\n

Together, they acquired a vast piece of land within\u00a0the\u00a0suddenly acclaimed Uco Valley, with some of the highest altitude vineyards in the world that are fast becoming the new frontier of Argentine winemaking. They envisioned a resort\u00a0with\u00a0vineyards\u00a0and world-class\u00a0luxury, that would give\u00a0owners the chance to cultivate, create and market their own labels of wine. Families return, year after year, to help pick the grapes and blend the wine, while the professional staff at the Vines helps them with marketing and distribution.<\/p>\n

The resulting feel is a cross between the most exotic destination you’ve ever seen, and the warmth and familiarity of a country club.\u00a0Families who own vineyards here cross paths year after year, and develop lasting\u00a0bonds. Meanwhile, tourists like myself\u00a0become part of the family while visiting.<\/p>\n

And how are the wines? Well, they’re… promising. I’m not going to say that I tasted the best bottles of my trip here, but the experimentation and enthusiasm made for a unique experience. And I am certain that as owners get to know their vineyards, and Achaval continues to refine their techniques, the resulting wines are only going to get better. After all, just a few\u00a0fields\u00a0away are some of the most exciting new winemakers\u00a0in the world.\u00a0Some vineyard owners hope for fortune and fame with their wine; some only share with a few friends. I hear that acclaimed chef Sean Brock has his own brand that he only serves at his beloved restaurant Husk<\/a>, in Charleston and Nashville.<\/p>\n

The villas are spacious, unaba\"img_3301\"<\/a>shedly contemporary – and stunning. One\u00a0the nicest places I\u00a0have ever stayed in a lifetime of world travel.<\/p>\n

Every detail was thought of, from the fully-stocked refrigerator to the frequently-appearing snacks to the Nespresso machine.\u00a0A custom-programmed iPad for every unit provided the ultimate in responsiveness, paired with privacy. I can easily envision this as the perfect place for a movie star to get away from the world without being bothered.\"img_3304\"<\/p>\n

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To top it all off, there is the restaurant, Siete Fuegos, led by Argentina’s most acclaimed master of the fire, Frances Mallmann. I\u00a0had nothing but the most perfect, inspired cuisine here – yes, there was meat, but there was so much more. My only regret:\u00a0I\u00a0at the resort on a quiet night when they weren’t having their big communal\u00a0feast. There was a salad with grilled pears that I am still remembering now, one year later.\"mallmann\"<\/p>\n

I may just have to drop back by next week for one more bite.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was uncanny. Walking alongside the Andes Mountains on the way to breakfast, every single employee – housekeeper, room service waiter, gardener – greeted me with: “Hola, Stephen.” They knew my first name. All of them. How is that possible? \u00a0But it’s only one of the very human aspects of this highly-reviewed 5 star resort … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Five-star luxury meets uncommon comfort at The Vines of Mendoza”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paRcNu-a3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":702,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drinkingargentina.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}