Cordón del Plata
The legendary Route 40 and Provincial Route 89, also known as the Wine Route, form the major tourist gateway through Valle de Uco, encompassing the departments of San Carlos, Tunuyán, and Tupungato. It’s a true postcard framed between the Cordón del Plata and El Portillo, with the view crowned by Mount Tupungato dominating the entire landscape.
The Cordón del Plata, situated between the meadows of Alto de Las Carreras, a site of historic Jesuit cattle ranches and currently a region producing barley, potatoes, olives, fruit trees, and alfalfa, is integrated into the circuit of the Potrerillos Valley (Luján de Cuyo). Along this route, you’ll find Chateau de Ancón. Starting from the city of Mendoza, you reach the town of San José to explore it with its ancient chapel. The impressive Quebrada del Cóndor is one of the magnificent places to fully enjoy horseback riding and observe condor nests.
The petroglyphs found provide evidence of the lifestyle of the ancient inhabitants of the region. These were people dedicated to agriculture and the hunting of animals, thanks to the advantages offered by this place.
The word “Uco,” referring to the name of the chief Cuco, translates as a water source or stream.
In the 16th century, the arrival of Spanish conquistadors from Chile and Peru marked the first explorations in lands inhabited by peaceful and industrious indigenous families: the Huarpes.
A century later, Jesuit fathers settled in the valley, establishing the first organized town and founding the Curato de Uco, initiating the process of evangelization.
The history of winemaking in the region has its landmarks. In the 1880s, Juan Giol, Bautista Gargantini, and Pascual Toso arrived from their European homelands and formed an association dedicated to wine production. The traditional Mendocinian Bombal family, led by Lucila Barrionuevo de Bombal and later her son Domingo Lucas Bombal, chose these lands to produce high-altitude wines, creating Bodega Bombal in 1914.
Those four renowned surnames paved the way in the early 1930s for a winemaking tradition that has now spanned five generations of winemakers.