Most people know that Argentina produces a lot of wine in the Mendoza region and there are loads of wine tours there, but in many ways it can be more interesting to visit the second-most-important wine grape region. That would be Cafayate, in the Salta province. It takes a few hours to get there from Salta proper, however, so stick around for a while using our advice on where to stay in Cafayate.
This is a dry and dramatic region that is sunny almost all of the time. It has warm days and cool nights, so while there is some red grape production, the white wines flourish the best here, especially the unique Torrontes varietal that you should really seek out if you haven’t had one before. It presents a real explosion of flavor that dances across your taste buds, a huge step up from the usual white table wines like Pinot Grigio.
How do you get to Cafayate? Well it does have an airport, so in theory you could fly there, but there aren’t many options if you’re not chartering a private plane. If you do that you would miss out on one of the most scenic drives in South America too, which would be a shame. See our post here on the gorgeous Quebrada de las Conchas route from Salta to Cafayate. It’s really spectacular and it’s worth stopping off for a hike or two if you have the time.
If you want our advice, that would be to fly to Cafayate and then rent a car there. Or set up a custom tour with a driver and that way you can visit lots of wineries without getting behind the wheel.
If you’re feeling adventurous and don’t mind bumpy gravel roads, keep going past where the asphalt ends and take an exploration to Colome, the last one on this list, with some of the world’s highest-altitude vineyards and some of the world’s oldest grapevines.
Grace Cafayate
While this hotel is unlikely to blow you away, it is the most luxurious option in this small city without a lot of choices. It’s part of a chain extending across several continents. It has comfortable rooms, views over grapevines, and a swimming pool.
All rooms have luxurious king beds, larger–than–life bathrooms, and all the amenities you would expect to find in a hotel of its caliber: espresso machine, high–quality linens, flat–screen televisions, his and hers robes and slippers, and high–end bath products.
This hotel is part of a large residential development, so there are also villas with multiple bedrooms in the rental pool and there’s even a golf course as part of the complex, a full 18-hole course.
See our detailed review of Grace Cafayate in the online magazine.
Vinas de Cafayate Hotel
This is one of the longest-running hotels in the area and has steadily improved and gone more upscale over the years as Cafayate’s visitor numbers have climbed up. Technically it’s Viñas de Cafayate Hotel since vines are viñas in Spanish. True to it’s name, you’ll look out at plenty of grape trellises from this location perched above vineyards and the city.
There’s a nice pool (pictured above) with a view and in cool months you can nestle up next to a fireplace with your glass of local wine.
Where Viñas outshines the competition is in its easy access to the outdoor activities that Cafayate has to offer. Mountain bikes are left outside on the patio for guests to use, perfect for cruising around town for wine tastings ranging from the traditional and prestigious Etchart, Lavaque, and Domingo Hermanos to small luxury wineries such as Finca Las Nubes, José Luis Mounier, and El Porvenir. Easy day hikes are available at nearby Cafayate Canyon, the Cafayate Dunes, and the Colorado River waterfalls.
See our full review of Vinas de Cafayate Hotel in Argentina.
Estancia Colome Hotel
Our most recent addition to the Cafayate scene is kind of a reboot. We had a review of Estancia Colomé Hotel posted on our site soon after we launched back in the ’00s. While the winery never stopped, the hotel closed down for many years and wasn’t admitting guests who weren’t friends of the owners.
Now it’s back open to guests again, though as I mentioned earlier, be prepared for an adventure to get to this remote winery established in 1831. You might want to stick around a few days after the journey and let your body truly unwind. The food is surprisingly good considering the location far from any cities and of course there’s no shortage of wine. Then there’s an unlikely surprise for art lovers:
There’s also horseback riding, an outdoor pool, a bocci court, wine tastings, and a gym equipped with a treadmill, a step machine, a rowing machine, and free weights. All of that is pretty normal for a winery hotel. However, the onsite James Turrell Museum—the first outside the US and the only museum solely dedicated to the US artist’s work—is a breathtaking surprise.
See more about their wines here, then look around for images of this unique art museum.
See our full review of Estancia Colome in the Salta Province of Argentina.
See our related Salta adventure travel tour story on the area too.
One last note on Cafayate, Argentina: don’t confuse it with Calafate in the same country. It would take you a couple of days to drive from one to the other, the latter being in Patagonia, not in the north.
Article by Timothy
Timothy Scott is the founder and editor of Luxury Latin America and has been covering the region as a travel journalist since the mid-2000s. He has visited each country we cover multiple times and is based in a UNESCO World Heritage city in central Mexico, where he owns a home. See contact information here.
