This guide is for you if you want a short day of wine close to Mendoza, or a first taste of the wine country before a longer day further south. It covers the choices that shape the five hours: the departure time, the wineries, whether to cycle it on your own, and what to know about the museum at the end.
Morning or afternoon
The tour leaves at 07:00 or 13:00. The deciding factor is the last stop, the Museo Nacional del Vino y la Vendimia. Its opening days are not listed the same way everywhere. One local travel guide gives Monday to Friday only. Another listing shows weekday hours until 17:00 and shorter hours at weekends, closing in the early afternoon on Saturday and around midday on Sunday.
The 13:00 departure reaches the museum in the late afternoon. On a weekday that is close to closing time, and at a weekend it is likely to be shut. If the museum matters to you, take the morning departure on a weekday. On the 13:00 departure, check the hours for your date and we adjust the order with you. Holiday hours can differ too.
Then the season. Summer runs from December to March, with hot days, nights around 18°C and very little rain. February and March are harvest time, when Mendoza celebrates the Vendimia. If your dates fall in those weeks, book the wineries as early as you can.
Choosing and booking the wineries
Most wineries in Mendoza take visitors by reservation only, so this is the one piece of planning the day needs from you. Tell us which bodegas you want when you book and we help you reserve. If you have no preference, your driver can suggest some.
Maipú is the traditional district, the one nearest the city. Some of its bodegas date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the museum belongs to that history. In 1896 two immigrants, the Swiss Gerónimo Bautista Gargantini and the Italian Juan Giol, founded La Colina de Oro, one of the first wineries in Mendoza. The owners later built two chalets on the next plot, which the workers called the casas patronales because the bosses lived there. By 1910 the houses had running water and electricity, before the rest of Maipú did.
The museum occupies one of the two chalets. Inside are early bottles and labels and the first home-made machines and tools of the wine industry, and guided visits run every hour.
The olive oil stop shows the district's other crop. Some of Maipú's olive businesses are old too: one at Cruz de Piedra was founded at the start of the twentieth century and now makes balsamic vinegar as well. You see the olive groves and the mill, and there is a tasting of oils and olives, paid on the day.
By bike, or with a driver
Maipú is the wine district near Mendoza that you can reasonably do without a car. The Metrotranvía, the city's light rail, runs from the centre to Gutiérrez station, and there are bike rental shops near the station and the bus stops. The routes are flat, with cycle lanes and signed circuits.
That makes a good day if you are fit and the weather is mild. The catches are the summer heat and the tastings. The same travel advice that recommends the bikes asks you to go easy on the wine before you ride, and to wear a helmet and a reflective vest.
A private car changes three things. Nobody in your group has to ride or drive after a tasting. You are collected and dropped at your door, or at a restaurant in the city. And the time moves where you want it: longer at the winery and a shorter museum visit, or the other way round. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- Sun cream, a hat and water in summer, when afternoons reach the low thirties.
- Money or a card for the winery visits, tastings, the museum and food. None of them are included.
- Something to eat before the first tasting, especially on the 07:00 departure.
- Space in your bag if you plan to buy a bottle of wine or oil.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits anyone with half a day to spare, a short trip that cannot give a full day to the vineyards, or a pair of days where you want wine one day and the city tour the next. Because the district is close to the centre, more of the five hours is spent inside than on the road.
Think twice in these cases:
- You want vineyards with the Andes in front of you. The Luján de Cuyo wine day and the Uco Valley wine day are full days further south.
- The museum is the point and you only have a weekend. Check its hours first, as above.
- You are more than 16. Two vehicles travel together on one booking. Message us and we will price it.
To compare all five days out of the city, read our guide to day trips from Mendoza.
Questions people ask
Can we choose the wineries?
Yes. Tell us when you book, or let your driver suggest some.
Can we turn it into a full day?
Our Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley days are full days among the vineyards. Either one pairs well with this half day.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. See our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Pick a weekday morning if the museum matters, book your bodegas early, and pack for the sun. The pick-up area and what is included are on the Maipú private wine and olive oil tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
