Everyone needs a weekend away once in a while – Amanda Barnes checks out new territory as she heads to San Rafael for a weekend of wine, mountains and sunshine. Not so different from Mendoza then?
Waking up for my earliest Saturday morning rise since Christmas Day, we left a dark Mendoza, heading South to San Rafael for a weekend trip. After about a 3hr drive (and a beautiful sunrise warming up the mountain scenery), we arrived in San Rafael. Honesty, it doesn't really look much different to Mendoza – wide roads with acequias, lots of trees and the same modern buildings – but it's already got a smaller, more local, feel to it.
San Rafael itself can claim a couple hundred wineries, so of course no trip would be complete without trying some of the local juice! As always weekends tend to see a lot of the smaller operations shut, so we first of all headed to perhaps the most famous and tourist-equipped winery in the region – Bianchi. A red carpet awaits visitors as they walk up to a mini White House, and you can jump on a free tour every 20 minutes or so where you do a circuit of the winery and champaneria (where they make fizz). It's a big tourist 
operation (for locals and foreigners alike), but perfectly pleasant and an educative experience in charmat and champanoise methods – and a small glass of fizz is always welcome at 10am!
Just down the road we stopped at Murville, a smaller family operation, making more sparkling wine and also a few organic wines with a more informal tour and family style restaurant.
San Rafael – like much of Argentina – is an attraction for its great outdoor landscapes, in this case canyons. Locals compare the Canon Atuel to the Grand Canon in the US. I haven't been to Colorado, but I get the impression this is one of those typically 'tall' Argentine tales. The Grand Canyon it is not, but its jagged ruggedness with bright blue glacial waters and endless blue skies are appealing all the same. You can do a whole host of sporting activities – perhaps even more than in Mendoza – including rafting, kayaking, fishing, horseriding, hiking, climbing... the list goes on. But being rather lazy, we opted to sit by the gushing river rapids in the sunshine with a picnic. Perfect.
Following the winding road back towards the city, we stopped 15km short of the centre to check into our lodge for the night – the gorgeous Algodon Wine Estates. This luxurious ranch-chic lodge is tucked away in the vineyards and boasts a boutique bodega, 9 hole golf course, 10 tennis courts (including clay courts), a swimming pool and a fantastic restaurant – it could really be a mini break in itself. After terrorising the members by racing around the golf course in our own personal buggies, we settled in to unwind in the lodge for a while and enjoy all the special touches – kaftans for guests on cooler nights, personal fireplaces, hand crafted furniture, heated towel rails, an evening turnover with chocolates left on your pillow...
Nightlife in San Rafael all revolves around 'El Boulavard' – a stretch of road on Hipolito Yrigoyen (the equivalent of Mendoza's Aristides) where you can find bars, restaurants and cafes aplenty. There were lots of typical brightly lit parillas and a few funky watering holes, the locals' favourite hangouts being El Bulivar and La 5ta. But the real place to head at night, or otherwise, is for the infamous ice cream at La Delicia – whose oh-so-creamy helados are well known in the region. The three hour drive is practically worth it for the ice cream alone – we recommend the Marscapone for its creamy but sour goodness.
After a restful sleep and massive breakfast with dulce de leche irresistibly thick enough it may as well be called 'dulce de heart attack', we took the again buggy for a tour around the boutique Algodon bodega. This attractive winery is a great introduction to wine making as you can see all the processes of wine making on a smaller scale. Algodon also has a unique project for those who want to be a bodeguero without the actual burden of a bodega: in their 'buy a barrel' programme you can own your own barrel, have your wine made to your tastes and have your personalised bottles shipped to your home. And, going by the Algodon wines, your barrel is in good hands. Our wine tasting showed some fantastic wines at great prices – particularly their Chardonnay, fermented in the barrel and only $35AR, bargain.
After a good lunch we moved on to drive back to Mendoza along the scenic route through mountain foothills, bleached out dunes and vineyards. Bumping into a rally race with dirt bikes and mobile fuel tanks through the wilderness on our return - it really did make us feel like it had been quite a road trip! That's the thing about Argentina, it takes you about 20 minutes to drive out of any city into the wild and beyond that there is a massive country to discover. San Rafael is another one to add to the infinite list of beautiful places to visit in Argentina.
Details: San Rafael can be reached from Mendoza by following Acceso Sur towards Ruta 143, it is around 200km south. Bianchi Champaneria: Ruta 143 and Calle Valentin Bianchi, (2627) 435 600 www.vbianchi.com Murville: Av H Yrigoyen 5800, (2627) 430 095. Algodon Wine Estates (bodega, lodge, golf course, tennis courts and restaurant): Ruta Nacional 144 km674, Cuadro Benegas. (2627) 429 020 www.algodonwineestates.com
