Mendoza Winery Tour with Olive Trees in Private Service

About this tour

When Tom from our BugBitten team ran this private Mendoza winery tour, he got a properly curated day across Maipú's wine country without the coach-tour crowds. You're picked up from your hotel and driven through three distinct bodegas — Antigal for the vineyard walk and tasting, a smaller olive grove for oils and gourmet tasters, then Manuel Villafañe for a three-course lunch matched with local wines. The day wraps at Los Toneles, a heritage-listed winery where the architecture alone justifies the stop. Eight hours total, and it reads like someone who knows the region designed it for people who actually want to taste things rather than tick boxes.

Highlights

• Private car means you set the pace, no waiting for stragglers
• Olive grove tasting between wineries breaks up the wine repetition nicely
• Lunch at Manuel Villafañe paired properly — not an afterthought
• Los Toneles is genuinely striking architecture, worth the final stop
• Water and transport sorted; no surprises on logistics
• Flexibility to swap bodegas if your favourite's fully booked
• Small enough group to ask winemakers actual questions

What to expect

The morning starts with a hotel pickup and a drive into Maipú, where the landscape shifts from town to vineyard pretty quickly. Your first stop, Antigal, is a proper walk through the vines with a guide who'll explain what you're looking at, then you settle in for tastings of their flagship stuff. It's unhurried — Tom noted the guide didn't rush the explanations.

Mid-morning you roll into the olive grove, which genuinely breaks up the wine fatigue. You'll taste oils, pasta, even skincare products made from olives — sounds gimmicky but it's different enough to keep things interesting. Lunch at Manuel Villafañe is the centrepiece: regional food (think empanadas, grilled meats, local cheeses) matched thoughtfully with wines. By the afternoon, you're at Los Toneles, a heritage site with real character. By hour eight, you're back at your hotel with a solid understanding of Mendoza's wine scene, not just blurry tasting notes.

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