Experience – Alfa Crux – Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina.
- Address: Los Indios s/n (Between Ruta 40 and Ghilardi), La Consulta, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina (Google Maps)
- Hours: Monday – Sunday 10:30 am – 6:00 pm
- How to Arrive: By car
- Distance from Mendoza: 112 km / 69.5 miles
- Alpha Crux Website
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone Number: +54 262 245 1579
- Ideal Month(s): October – May
Alfa Crux looks like an alien spaceship landed among the vines at the foot of the Andes Mountains. However, when it comes to combining high-tech innovation with producing great wine, Alfa Crux really is out of this world.
Alfa Crux is located in Uco Valley, about a 90-minute drive southwest from Mendoza. Uco Valley is home to some of the world’s highest-altitude vineyards, planted from 900 to 1,200 meters above sea level. The building is the vision of Bormida & Yanzón, an Argentine firm that has developed an international reputation for dramatic—and highly functional—winery design. Together, they have combined the latest technology with architecture that’s both functional and beautiful to produce exceptional, terroir-driven vintages while making as little impact on the environment at possible.
The first thing visitors see as they arrive is the giant, flat umbrella roof that controls temperature while evoking the condor, Mendoza’s symbolic bird, taking flight. Then, as they approach the building, they wander through a half-hectare of rosemary bushes planted atop the 2,800-barrel cellar to help moderate the humidity below, just one of the winery’s many clever eco-friendly features. Once visitors pass through the imposing doorway they’ll discover a high-tech laboratory, elegant tasting rooms, a subtle use of local materials, priceless artworks and the sumptuous glass cube that houses the highly regarded Urban restaurant.
Alfa Crux has won numerous awards for its deep, intense and sophisticated wines, especially its ultra-premium Alfa Crux and B Crux lines. Most of its wines are blends, often built around the spicy, deep-purple syrah grape as well as the popular malbec.