Hours of Operation: Mon.-Sun. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Tour Hours: Mon.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Belasco de Baquedano's winery and restaurant are open daily without appointment. However, due to popularity, 24 hours' reservation is recommended.
The Winery — Visit Us Pass through the stately gates of Belasco de Baquedano, down a long, smooth dirt driveway that stretches between the vineyards and up to the massive front door of the stunning modern Mayan-style five-story building. Once inside, the tasting lounge beckons, the wood bar framed by oversized portraits of Argentine landscapes. Private tastings are offered upstairs in a glass-walled room overlooking the vineyards and the magnificent Andes soaring to the west, at a custom table outfitted with individual sinks and glass racks at each seat. In this state-of-the-art facility, everything gleams, from red lacquered concrete floors throughout, to shiny stainless steel tanks, to burnished oak barrels that rest behind brick arched windows. The high-tech set-up is designed as much for function as it is for "wow" factor. Only one cellar worker is required during non-harvest seasons, and a few during harvest, thanks to conveniences such as mechanical steam barrel washers, small lot sorters and destemmers, and individually pumped tanks. As modern design website Build LLC describes the ambience, "The spaces are stark and almost monastic in their simplicity and minimalism. When not in use, the immense empty rooms are cleaned to perfection."Aroma Room - Unlock the Nuances of Wine Butter. Geranium. Game. Musk and mint and mushroom. These are not things you may instantly associate with wine, but at Belasco de Baquedano's "Hall of Aromas," they are just a few of the intriguing scents that invite visitors to explore the many olfactory nuances of the noble grape. As the only one of its kind and scale in the Americas, the Hall presents 46 such fragrances contained in clear Plexiglas posts that line up along the walls of a long, rectangular room. Twist a lever on the side of a post, a baffle spins, and an intense fragrance is released from a small capsule of oil. More than just a novelty, Belasco's Aroma Hall reveals many levels of a well-crafted wine's nose, which adds greatly to its art and appreciation. The Aroma Hall doubles as a tank room. Like the rest of the winery, tanks are set beneath the floors so just the silver-tone cap shows above burgundy colored concrete and below red walls dotted with warm spotlights. "The red tones and glowing perimeter lamps are straight out of a Stanley Kubrick film," says Build LLC. Navarra Restaurant: Perched on the top floor of the brick building, the Navarra Restaurant offers a lavish lunch in a broadly terraced room with spectacular views of the Andes. With seating for about 40, and service from noon to 4 p.m. daily, it offers upscale South American cuisine designed to complement just one wine varietal: Malbec. The four-course prix-fixe meal is paired with each of Belasco's four wines, and it's a full feast.
| DATA COPIED FROM NATALIEMACLEAN.COM |
DATA COPIED FROM NATALIEMACLEAN.COM
DATA COPIED FROM NATALIEMACLEAN.COM
DATA COPIED FROM NATALIEMACLEAN.COM
Distribution: Some wines available in Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba. Not available in Quebec or Ontario
