If you leave Mendoza on Route 40 towards the south, it will only take you a few minutes to reach Maipú, part of the “First Region” of Winemaking in Argentina. It’s here, in this modest region, that the rich history of Argentine viticulture began.
Maipú was destined to be chosen by the European immigrants who tried to conserve one of their most important and familiar traditions: winemaking. Thanks to the tenacity of the habitants and the natural privileges of the land and climate, Maipú maintained the tradition of the decendents, reaching international recognition for the excellence of its wines. It is referred to the “Cradle of Wine” for the fact that the history of Argentine wine began here.
The antique Bodega y Viñedos Giol is a winery integral in the history of wine in Argentina. Started by Juan Giol and Juan Bautista Gargantini in the year of 1887, it was the largest winery in the word for a while and produced more than half of the wine in Argentina. In the year 1965, it converted into the State Winery. Later, in the 90s, it was divided among cooperatives. Nowadays, the Municipality is dedicated to commemorating the winery in the center of Maipú with various projects, one of those being the Metropolitan Park. The 2 mansions of Giol were named Patrimonio Cultura de la Provincia de Mendoza and can be visited all year long.
Activities such as the Wine Museum in Bodega La Rural or the National Wine Museum of Wine and Harvest are proof that this region conserves a great part of the history here. Bodegas López, Familia Zuccardi, Bodega Trapiche o Finca Flichman, as well as numerous other artesanal and familial wineries offer the divine pleasure for each of our senses. With intense textures, shades, aromas, sophisticated flavors, creating a context. Their intense textures, nuances, aromas and sophisticated flavors produce a full context for tasting, providing indicators of their development, their natural environment, and even the ancestral desire to preserve for all mankind one of its most valuable treasures: wine.
With altitudes between 600-700m (1,968-2,460ft) above sea level, deep rocky clay soils, scarce rainfall, with a good thermal altitude, the vine’s long growing-cycle, the long tradition of winemaking, gives this region its terroir, which finds its best expression in varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Tempranillo, Chardonnay y Sauvignon Blanc. Malbec, of French origin, of course, but once it came to the new world during the 19th century, it became the emblematic varietal of Argentina, of Mendoza, the province of viticulture.
In this region, you will also find many olive oil makers, such as Familia Zuccardi.
Bodegas López
Finca Flichman
La Rural / Rutini Wines
Navarro Correas
Trapiche
Zuccardi
