By Siobhan Reid
When the Michelin Guide announced it would mark its second-ever round of selections in Argentina with a chef-studded awards gala in Mendoza, more than a few industry insiders did a double-take. Yes, the province is revered for its famed malbec wine, but had its dining scene truly earned a seat at the world’s most rarefied culinary table?
For Argentines, however, the moment marked a long-overdue coronation. Over the past decade, Mendoza has evolved into one of South America’s most sophisticated and well-rounded destinations, where wine is just one part of a wider gastronomic offering. The same high-altitude terroir that produces full-bodied malbecs, complex cabernet sauvignons, and aromatic torrontés is now fueling a culinary emergence, driven by a cadre of young chefs, many of whom have traded the high-intensity kitchens of Buenos Aires for the experimental kitchens of wine country. In fact, the region now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than Buenos Aires, and the bodegas (meaning cellar, warehouse, or winery in Spanish, a widely used word for wine-making facilities), too, are upping their collective gastronomic game, luring visitors with elaborate farm-fresh tasting menus and unexpected pairings.
Still, even as sleek new restaurants and tasting rooms crop up, Mendoza’s gaucho (cowboy) culture reigns supreme. Across the province, family-owned ranches and roadside parrillas (Argentine steakhouses) line the foothills of the Andes, serving rustic asados (barbeque) and humble table wines. Rather than sidestep these rich traditions, the region’s most exciting restaurants are committed to telling stories about Mendoza’s mythical landscapes and the generations of hard-working people who have farmed them.
Consider Azafrán, the once-modest gourmet shop reborn as a Michelin-starred dining room, where chef Sebastián Weigandt is on a mission to preserve—and reimagine—the culinary heritage of the wider Cuyo region. His tasting menus spotlight ancestral ingredients like algarroba (carob) alongside trout and goat, reframing age-old traditions through a contemporary lens. One of the restaurant’s signatures, tomaticán—an everyday dish of tomatoes, onions, day-old bread, and farm eggs, once eaten by vineyard workers—is elevated into a seven-layer starter filled with spicy tomato jam and cumin-and-paprika-laced meringue. Sommelier Camila Torta invites guests to think beyond malbec. The varietal often dominates visitors’ perception of the area, causing them to overlook other grapes, so she seeks out surprising, unexpected pairings and bottles that are the purest expression of place.
Wineries, naturally, have played a strong role in Mendoza’s gastronomic ascent. Some of its most sought-after tables are now found on working estates, including Casa Vigil, located in the home of winemaker Alejandro Vigil, and Zonda Cocina de Paisaje at Bodega Lagarde, a winery run by the third-generation women of the Pescarmona family. Both have received Michelin Green Stars for their sustainability-focused menus. At Bodega Lagarde, visitors can also tour the organic gardens, olive groves, and historic vineyards, or participate in cooking classes centered on regional recipes.
As the third-largest exporter in Argentina, the Bodega Familia Zuccardi isn’t just betting on Mendoza’s world-renowned red grapes; it’s also investing in white varieties like chardonnay, semillon, riesling, verdejo, and albariño, all of which are grown at more than 4,500 feet above sea level in the province’s cool, northwest enclave of San Pablo. The area’s proximity to the Portillo mountain range, calcium carbonate–rich soils, and distinct microclimate make San Pablo one of the most unique terroirs in the Uco Valley, producing aromatic whites with fresh austerity—the ideal pairing for lighter regional fare such as Andean potato gnocchi or trout cured in mountain herbs with citrus and olive oil.
These high-altitude whites point to Mendoza’s future as a region no longer defined by a single grape, but a patchwork of different sites, styles, and climates.
But just as Bodega Familia Zuccardi innovates for the newest generation, it is also telling stories about its past. At the winery’s Piedra Infinita restaurant, dishes are crafted using the family’s legendary olive oil, which is cultivated on-site from the local arauco—an olive that has been present in the Americas for almost 500 years. Paired with a glass of albariño from the high-altitude slopes of San Pablo, it’s a reminder that Mendoza isn’t reinventing itself so much as widening its lens.
