The Nave Cultural was the site of Mendoza’s ‘Best of Wine Tourism’ 2018 awards ceremony, a contest that recognizes excellence in wine tourism. The ceremony was presided over by Mendoza provincial Governor Alfredo Cornejo and the Mayor of the City of Mendoza, Rodolfo Suarez.
Mendoza Best of Wine Tourism 2018 winners
This was the second event in less than two weeks in which the protagonists of wine tourism in Mendoza were partying, since, let us recall, the Second World Wine Tourism Conference of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) was recently celebrated in our province, placing us in the center of attention of the wine world.
With the performance of the Ballet of the Municipality of the Capital, which offered an electronic tango show, and the participation of “Los Taninos”, the characters that represent wine in the Mendoza metropolitan area, the participants of the evening had the best opportunity to enjoy the ceremony itself.
The masters of ceremonies of the gala, Ana Martinez and Luis Serrano, welcomed the crowd and the party began, but not before recognizing the jury that with great responsibility and dedication sat for several days to vote for the candidates of the eight categories and to award them the gold, silver and bronze awards.
The president of Ente Mendoza Tourism (Emetur), Gabriela Testa, gave a brief speech thanking the jury, “who worked honorably and so responsibly to choose the gold winners that will represent Mendoza in Chile.” She also highlighted the activities organized for the next weekend by the City of Mendoza, International Capital of Wine, and invited Mendoza and tourists to enjoy them.
“We celebrate this award, which combines tourism with wine, and whose experiences of excellence have made our province chosen by the World Tourism Organization to host, just days ago, the Second World Conference on Oenological Tourism”, said Ms. Testa.
Also present at the ceremony were the National Queen of the Harvest, Victoria Colovatti; the viceroy, Romina Méndez Pataro, provincial government authorities, municipal authorities, representatives of the tourism and wine private sector, as well as education, journalists and the general public.
The Gold winners of Mendoza’s ‘Best Of Wine Tourism 2018’ awards are:
Wine Tourism Restaurant: Bodega Casa Vigil
Casa Vigil is located in a beautiful location in the heart of the department of Maipú, Mendoza. A winery that offers its visitors a different outing, where the charm of wine and literature merge to present a unique wine tourism experience. Alejandro Vigil takes visitors to the magical world of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
Casa Vigil, of the well-known wine maker Alejandro Vigil, offers to locals and visitors, a fusion of the Maipú’s landscape, an innovative architecture and an inviting menu Each plate is made with products from the family organic garden. The excellent ranked wines are the treasure of the winery, where art and history are the pillars of this sensory experience.
Dante Alighieri’s glorious poem is the conceptual inspiration sensed in every corner of the winery. In the Republic of Chachingo, the visitor is offered to travel through Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, but with a pre-established punishment to that of the Italian poet. Here in Maipú, visitors will be seduced by a fusion of flavors and delighted by the whole portfolio of Enemies. Under the eyes of Dante, Virgil and Beatrice, Casa Vigil presents its dishes, which breathe the magic world of the Divine Comedy felt all through the winery. The special winery restaurant offers tourists and locals alike product cuisine, family recipes, plentiful dishes and familiar ambience.
Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices: Bodega Casa Vigil
Sustainable Practices in Bodega CASA VIGIL:
4 Conceptual areas of work: the Artists’ House, cult wine and product-based cuisine, natural family-style atmosphere, and sustainable house.
All these working areas are correlated and have one ultimate goal: turning Chachingo into a sustainable destination, where inhabitants feel proud and happy of the place they live. In this way, they will transmit to visitors the love and the strong identity that is breathed in the place.
Our sustainability work essential basis is to develop the community we inhabit: Chachingo, a place located in the department of Maipú, Mendoza. Based on the concept of Local Development, we have started to carry out sustainable practices related to environmental protection and Chachingo inhabitants well-being.
Sustainable Practices:
-Cultural actions with the Community: Chachingo School. School building repairs, paintings and drawings made on the walls of the classrooms by artists from Mendoza. Healthy snacks. Fundraising events.
– Organic garden: the revaluation of resources. “Conservation and management of biodiversity is not possible without the preservation of cultural diversity”
– Product – Based Cuisine: It highlights the excellence of raw materials in an almost pure state, hardly manipulated by the chef. It also claims to be eco-cuisine, one of the latest trends. It is linked to sustainability and environmental care, which stands for the use of eco-friendly products.
– Recycling: waste separation, searching of recycling plants, transfer and the gathering funds to support the school of Chachingo.
– EARTH CHEK Evaluate: we work with a program that recognizes organizations that engage in sustainable practices. The evaluation is a tool for operators who want to become green, clean and with greater social responsibility. It assesses an operator’s economic, social and environmental impact.
Architecture & Landscape: Bodegas Caro
Bodegas Caro is an old winery, built between 1884 and 1885. The building has a Neo Roman and Spanish reminiscence. In 2003, Mr. Nicolás Catena and Baron Eric de Rosthchild, bought the property. From that year they started the cornerstone project of Bodegas Caro, restoring the cellar’s façade and its interior. The outcome of that work is that today Bodegas CARO produces its wines in an old urban cellar, offering all the facilities to international and local visitors. They organize daytime and evening visits.
Art & Culture Casa del Visitante: Viña Santa Julia
From the year 2003, to the present, the Cava de Arte de Bodega Santa Julia is the space where Mendoza art is promoted and spread. The most renowned painters, sculptors, draughtsmen, potters and engravers from Mendoza have exhibited in this Cava that has an agenda of exhibitions, which changes four times a year.
During Harvest of Artists, which takes place during the harvest, artists are invited to a harvest day. After harvesting and sharing a lunch comes the period of creation, inspired by what was experienced during the day of harvest. Each one of the works created especially for the occasion makes up the shows “Harvest of Artists” which includes works produced in various techniques and formats: drawing, sculptures, paintings, engravings, ceramics and facilities, and in which the theme is wine.
Another space which offers works of art is the Hall of the Masters, a permanent exhibition space, in which you can appreciate a brief visual anthology of the main plastic works carried out in Mendoza during the first half of the 20th century
Innovative Wine Tourism: Park Hyatt / Bodega Monteviejo
Week of the Wine Rock, is the fusion of two companies, Park Hyatt Mendoza and Bodega Monteviejo. It is an experience that joins gastronomy, wines and art led by the conductive thread that is music, more specifically, rock. Activities related to the art of plastic artists begin at the hotel. One of the activities within the week is the Master of Food and Wine, where the chefs cook dishes inspired by rock songs or that have the name of the song itself. Later, the musicians present their own wines that were designed by Marcelo Peleritti, the renowned winemaker of Bodega Monteviejo.
The following day, is an art event in the winery, Plus + Arte, which shows works of art of local artists. Finally, there is a rock concert on the last day, where people can taste the best wines and food.
Wine Tourism Services: Entre Copas – Sheraton Hotel
Entre Copas is a great dinner with a wine maker!
Since wine is the leitmotiv for coming to visit Mendoza, Entre Copas offers a very special moment, where tourists from all over the world and locals, are seated around a big table, where the star is wine and winemakers are the way to connect with every guest to tell a thousand stories about wine and of course about his or her life.
Every month, a renowned wine maker is invited to serve the best wine he or she makes, which are matched with a five course menu to indulge a small group of wine lovers at dinner time on the 17th level of the Sheraton Mendoza Hotel. Thanks to wine, a magic environment flows there and guests who do not know each other, even the winemaker, become friends, turning a simple wine dinner into an intimate instance of great chats about life, family, success or even plain anecdotes ending in a great memory for the rest of their lives.
The winners of the gold of each Great Wine Capital will participate in the Best Of international, to be delivered in November in the City of Casablanca, Chile. In the international gala that took place in 2016 in Porto, Portugal, Mendoza won gold in the category “Architecture”, with the winery Zuccardi Valle de Uco.
About the Great Wine Capitals Global Network
Founded in 1999, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network is an alliance of nine internationally renowned wine regions – Adelaide|South Australia; Bordeaux, France; Mainz|Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Bilbao|Rioja, Spain; San Francisco|Napa Valley, USA, Valparaiso|Casablanca Valley, Chile and Verona, Italy.
The Best Of Wine Tourism awards serve as an industry benchmark for excellence and recognize leading wineries and wine-tourism related businesses within each Great Wine Capital that have distinguished themselves in areas such as innovation, service and sustainable practices. For more information visit Great Wine Capitals Global Network.
