If you’re planning a trip to Buenos Aires, a wine tasting is a must-do experience.
Wine is Argentina’s national drink after all.
You’d be doing yourself a cultural disservice in NOT trying all the Malbec you possible can.
Wondering where to go wine tasting in Buenos Aires?
This article includes my favorite wine bars in town, organized wine tastings and tours to choose from.
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Wine Tasting in Buenos Aires: What to Expect
Recent years have seen a burgeoning wine scene in Buenos Aires.
Despite being world famous for it’s Mendoza Malbec’s, there weren’t many wine bars in town offering variety or expertise.
Thankfully, these days you have a wide variety of stylish bars to choose from, each with knowledgeable sommeliers offering curated wine selections.
For a more informed experience, I recommend an organized wine tasting with a sommelier.
There are a number of wine regions and varietals in Argentina beyond Mendoza and Malbec.
A local expert will give you a better picture and understanding of Argentina’s wine regions, history, and unexpected varietals.
Book a Food Tour with a Wine Tasting
Including your wine tasting into a food tour kills two birds with one stone.
And all the best Buenos Aires food tours offer the option for a wine tasting, it would be a sin not to.
My favorite food tour is by Asado Adventure, they have an incredible full day walking tour of Palermo (but if you’re tight on time you can request a half day).
You start the day with breakfast and a tour of the Botanical Gardens, continue with steak and a detailed tour of Palermo, digging into the history beyond the current hipster scene you see today.
I went on this tour with the wine tasting option included (obviously) and the wines offered were all unique, sampled from across the country beyond Mendoza’s Malbecs.
Click here to book your food tour with Asado Adventure, use code SOLSALUTE to save 10%.
Alternatively, Sherpa Food Tours are very popular.
I found it fast paced compared to Asado Adventure’s tours but if you have a tight itinerary it might benefit you as the tours start after 5 pm, allowing you to fit more into a day.
They have wine tastings included in a beautiful space at their Criolla kitchen.
Book a tour with The Argies
The Argies is a woman run business owned by passioned Argentinas.
Passionate about what? Argentina itself, its culture, literature, and of course, wine.
One of the founders, Giuli, is a sommelier and ties wine into most of her city experiences.
I went on a tour of theirs called Words, Walls, and Wine where they paired literature readings with street art and wine. It all tied in together so perfectly and was such a unique spin to a traditional wine tasting.
Along with their regularly scheduled tours (which you can see here) they can create a custom experience for your visit, so I recommend reaching out to them via WhatsApp or Instagram, just let ’em know I sent you!
Whether it’s a wine tasting, walking tour, or cooking class, they can create the perfect Buenos Aires culture and wine tour.
Visit a Winery
If you want to visit a winery IN Buenos Aires, you’re very limited but not out of luck.
There are a few in the province, read about them here.
But out of them, only one makes a for great day trip: Gamboa.
Click here to book a lunch and excursion to Gamboa, an hour to the north of town just past Escobar.
I was very impressed by the quality of their wine (my expectations were admittedly low), the beauty of the space and the menu.
It would be a great day out of the city for any wine lover.
Pain et Vin
Pain et Vin was one of the first (if not THE first) wine bar on the scene when it opened. It remains my favorite to this day.
Eleonora and her husband together form the pain and the vin.
Eleonora is the sommelier mastermind behind the wine and her husband is the expert baker, the pain.
They offer wine tastings from Tuesdays through Saturdays from 16h-20h.
They include five wines, a cheese platter, house made breads, and a very informative discussion about Argentina’s wine history and regions.
You’ll need to email them in advance to reserve your tasting.
If you’d prefer to just visit, they offer wine flights of three glasses and always have excellent wines by the glass available.
Small Group Wine Tour
Another very popular experience is this wine tasting with groups capped at maximum 8 people.
The experience is intimate and spread out over two hours, allowing plenty of time to savor the wines and learn from an expert sommelier.
A picada/charcuterie and empanadas are included to accompany the tasting, in true Argentine fashion.
Click here for more information and reservations.
Wine Discovery Buenos Aires
Join Bertie and Aby, an English sommelier (WSET3) and an Argentinian chef for a unique Buenos Aires wine tasting experience.
They have been operating Wine Discovery with their combined expertise since 2016.
Wine Discovery offers small group experiences and also private tastings, accompanied by local dishes.
Click here for more information and reservations.
Wine Tasting in San Telmo
So many Buenos Aires wine tasting experiences are in Palermo, but if you are basing yourself in the historic San Telmo neighborhood, never fear.
There are options for you as well!
San Telmo is a charming district with plenty of wine options to choose from.
Here are my three favorites:
- Nilson | Nilson is a tiny wine bar tucked away on the outside of the Mercado del San Telmo at Carlos Calvo 463. They have an extensive wine by the glass menu organized not by varietal, but by intensity. I love how reds and whites intermingle on the menu, categorized as intense or fresh wines.
- 1853 Experience | This is a dedicated wine bar offering scheduled events and private tastings. Email them to schedule a private tasting.
- Aldo’s San Telmo | Aldo’s is a restaurant and wine shop that offers wine tastings in the heart of San Telmo. They offer a tasting that includes three wines but you can upgrade your experience to include five. Click here to reserve.
How To Bring Wine Home With You
If you find a wine you love that isn’t exported, then you might want to bring a bottle or 6 home with you.
Wine in Argentina is very cheap for the quality that you get, so many wine loving friends of mine bring many, many bottles home with them each trip.
This is how they do it:
- A Wine Suitcase – This suitcase is filled with foam and fits 12 bottles. Filled to capacity it remains under 23kg/50lbs so you can check it without an extra fee.
- Wine Travel Pouches – Maybe you don’t need to bring two cases of wine. If you just want to pick up a bottle or two, these flat pouches take up no space or weight and keep your bottles safe.
- Inflatable Wine Pouches – These pouches are similar to those above, but inflate. It’s more of a hassle in that you need to have the little pump but they may offer more protection, emphasis on may.
Buenos Aires Wine Bar Map
Here’s a map of my favorite wine bars in Buenos Aires to grab a glass, a flight, or schedule a tasting.
Read More about Buenos Aires & Wine
- 3 Wineries in Buenos Aires
- 11 Traditional Buenos Aires Food Experiences
- Traditional Argentine Drinks to Try
- The 10 Best Things to do in Buenos Aires
- The 15 Best Wineries in Mendoza, Argentina
- 10 Days in Argentina Itinerary
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Argentina Travel Resources
- TRAVEL INSURANCE | It is always a good idea to travel insured. It protects you in so many cases, like lost luggage and trip cancellations, medical emergencies and evacuations. It’s very affordable with the potential to save you thousands in the case of an emergency. I recommend SafetyWing.
- PHONE PLAN | These days, traveling with data is essential. Especially in Argentina where everything is managed on Instagram and WhatsApp. I recommend this E-SIM card. It’s hassle-free and affordable, for more read how to get an Argentina sim card.
- ACCOMMODATION IN ARGENTINA | booking.com is the most common hotel site used in Argentina and it’s where you’ll find the most options.
- RENTAL CARS | I love to travel Argentina via road trip, I’ve always used rentalcars.com, now they are operating under the umbrella of Booking.com’s car rental system.
- BUS TICKETS | Check Busbud for long distance bus routes and tickets.
- VPN | If you’ll be using a public WiFi connection and want to secure your data, I highly recommend using a VPN, I personally use and have had a good experience with ExpressVPN. I also use it to access Hulu and American Netflix from Argentina.
- FLIGHTS | Always check Google Flights and Skyscanner for flights to and within Argentina. Aerolineas Argentina is the local airline with the most routes. FlyBondi and Jetsmart are two budget airlines with dirt-cheap prices (but expect to pay for every add-on like luggage).
- BOOK A CONSULTATION | I offer one-on-one travel consultations to help you plan your trip to Argentina. Pick my brain to get a local’s insight. Click here for more information.
