Spin: Argentina. Find: A sunset that outperforms Francis Mallmann, goats that appear from nowhere, and Malbec that tastes different when the Andes are watching.
THE SPIN
Argentina was never on the wheel — until Francis Mallmann put it there. The man cooks with fire in the shadow of the Andes and somehow that felt like reason enough to get on a plane. What I didn’t expect was that the most extraordinary fire of the entire trip would have nothing to do with him whatsoever.
THE BET
The Uco Valley announces itself immediately — jagged, cinematic, snow-capped peaks looming over endless rows of vines, the kind of landscape that makes you feel very small and extraordinarily lucky to be standing in it.
The villa is a glass-fronted sanctuary tucked into the landscape, floor-to-ceiling windows framing mountain views so vast they could be murals. Fireplaces for the nights, outdoor decks for everything else — designed to feel both private and expansive, intimate and completely, gloriously open to the world outside.
But the villa is just where you sleep. The valley is where everything actually happens.
THE ODDS
Here’s what nobody tells you about The Vines: the resort itself is extraordinary, and then Argentina shows up and absolutely upstages it.
I was walking through the vineyards in the late afternoon, sun warm on my shoulders, the scent of grapes thick in the air — that particular sweetness that only exists when you’re standing among the vines rather than just drinking what came out of them. And then the sunset started.
I have eaten at Siete Fuegos. I have watched Francis Mallmann’s legendary open-fire cooking — seven styles, live flame, lamb slow-roasted under the stars, empanadas blistered to perfection, vegetables smoked into something approaching poetry. It is extraordinary. It is performance art. It is absolutely, completely outperformed by an Uco Valley sunset with a glass of Malbec in your hand.
The sky caught fire in a way that felt almost aggressive — reds and oranges so saturated they looked impossible, the Andes turning molten at the edges, the vines going gold below. I stood there with my wine and genuinely forgot to do anything else for a very long time.
And then the goats appeared. With a dog. Completely unbothered, wandering through one of the most cinematic landscapes on earth as though this were perfectly normal. Which, for them, it is.
That’s Argentina. It just keeps going. And you keep thinking about it.
THE HAND
Walk the vineyards at golden hour with a glass of Malbec. The scent of the grapes, the sun on your shoulders, the mountains doing their thing beyond the vines.
Then Siete Fuegos for dinner. Mallmann’s fire cooking is extraordinary even when the sunset has already set an impossible standard — lamb, empanadas, open flame, the whole theatrical, primal, deeply satisfying performance. Let it go long. Order the Malbec from the vines surrounding you.
And if you’re staying in one of the two-bedroom villas with a plunge pool — that’s a “call your best friend and never leave” situation. The Milky Way over the Andes at night, wine in hand, is its own separate argument for Argentina entirely.
THE PASSPORT ROULETTE VERDICT 🎰
First time in Argentina. Not the last.
The Vines is where the country dares you to play big — gaucho rides at sunrise, Mallmann’s fire at dinner, a sunset that makes you question every other sunset you’ve ever considered impressive.
Pack the boots. Walk the vines. Let the Malbec stain your soul a little.
The goats come free.
The Vines Resort & Spa is located at RP94 km 11, 5565 Tunuyán, Mendoza, Argentina
