Cafayate: Argentina's High-Altitude Wine Region
The Cafayate wine valley — 200 km south of Salta, at 1,700m altitude — produces Argentina's most distinctive white wine: the aromatic, floral Torrontés grape; the valley's dramatic red rock canyon (Quebrada de las Conchas) and the boutique wineries make it one of South America's most beautiful wine destinations
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Torrontés — Argentina's own grape
Torrontés – a white grape unique to Argentina (and especially to the Salta and La Rioja regions) – produces an intensely aromatic wine with floral notes (rose, jasmine, peach) and refreshing acidity; Cafayate Torrontés at high altitude is considered the finest expression of the grape; the wine goes perfectly with the spicy food from northwestern Argentina
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High Altitude Viticulture
Cafayate Valley vineyards at 1,700 m have extreme UV radiation, significant day-night temperature variations (up to 20°C daily swings) and low humidity; the combination produces grapes with thick skin (UV protection), concentrated flavors (slow ripening) and high acidity (cool nights); the resulting wines have a complexity and freshness that lower altitude vineyards cannot replicate
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Bodega El Esteco
El Esteco – the historic Cafayate winery, founded in 1892 – is the most atmospheric in the valley; the colonial style winery complex, the underground barrel cellars and the wine tasting in the colonial courtyard surrounded by the red rock mountains make El Esteco the quintessential Cafayate wine experience
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Quebrada de las Conchas
Quebrada de las Conchas — the 50 km long red sandstone canyon between Salta and Cafayate — is one of Argentina's most dramatic natural landscapes; the canyon's sculpted red rock formations (El Anfiteatro, Los Castillos, El Sapo) and the river that created them line the road south from Salta; driving through the Quebrada is one of Argentina's great road trips
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Bodega Colomé
The Colomé vineyard – at 2,300 meters in the remote Calchaquí valley above Cafayate – is one of the world's highest vineyards; Swiss owner Donald Hess has built a luxury hotel and an art installation by James Turrell (Hess Museum of Turrell's Light Spaces) alongside the vineyard; the combination of extreme altitude, art and wine is unique in the wine world
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Andean Archeology
The Cafayate Valley has extraordinary archaeological sites - the pre-Inca Diaguita culture built extensive settlements in the Calchaquí Valley; the ruins at Quilmes (the largest pre-Columbian settlement in Argentina, with 3,000 inhabitants) and the petroglyph sites in the valley reveal a complex pre-Columbian civilization that preceded and withstood Inca and Spanish conquests