Jane Townsend
One of Mendoza's many public parks
Mendoza, Argentina's prime wine producing area, in late autumn is beautiful. The air is crisp, the leaves are changing, the harvest is over and the wineries, as always, are happy to provide tours and tastings to visitors. Remember autumn in South America is spring in the northern hemisphere, so if you are looking for a taste of fall before the long, hot summer, head south.
Most people arrive in Mendoza via air. Mendoza's new and modern airport is a 1½ hour flight from Buenos Aires or a 50 minute flight from Santiago, Chile. You can also cross the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza in a private car, hired van or by regularly scheduled, air-conditioned coach. In good weather it takes about seven hours and the views are spectacular.
The best way to begin a visit to Mendoza is with a city tour. The Province of Mendoza is a series of man-made oases, land reclaimed from the surrounding pampas by smart water management. The Huarpe Indians first channeled the plentiful water from melting snow in the Andes into a series of canals in this desert-like area to irrigate their crops -- potatoes and corn.
During the 1700s the Spaniards arrived and expanded the clever network of irrigation canals to allow for commercial production of wine, brandy, fruit, flour and olive oil and trade with Buenos Aires was established.
There are more than 90 wineries registered with the agricultural department of Mendoza so there's an enotourism vacation to suit everyone's taste - from backpackers visiting the free tours with tastings to full-scale, first-class gastronomy adventures, you'll find it all in this scenic area.
On a recent trip to Mendoza we visited small boutique wineries, vineyards producing well-known export brands and bodegas with their vine's well-established roots deep in the Mendoza soil. Our brief sampling can't begin to cover the possibilities Mendoza holds for travelers seeking to sample Argentine wine. We first visited wineries in Luján de Cuyo, near Mendoza, where the oldest wineries are found, and then proceeded to vineyards in the Uco valley. 
Handicraft fairs abound -- the lamp bases (above)
are made of local grape vines
The irrigation system now consists of dams, reservoirs and canals and a management system that maintains it. Trees have been imported from around the world and Mendoza's shady streets are waiting to be explored. There are more than 40 neighborhood parks in the city and its huge San Martín civic park to the west of town is almost as large as the city itself. Here you'll find the zoological gardens, the rowing and golf clubs, the soccer stadium in which the 1978 World Cup playoffs were held, a rose garden, playgrounds, natural forested areas, historical statues and much more.
