A new year is the perfect time for celebrating life, passion for wine, good food, nature, relaxation, and love. For this newsletter, we’ll explore the premier winery estates you can visit and experience in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is now Summer.
The appeal of each of these hotels is their exquisite locations, outstanding views, and exceptional cuisine to go with some world-renowned wines. Add to those spectacular suites and cottages, some pampering spas and epic excursions, and you have an ideal getaway, whether you are a true oenophile or not.
1. The Vines Resort & Spa, Mendoza, Argentina
2. Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza, Argentina
3. VIK Chile, San Vincente de Tagua Tagua, Chile
4. Narbona Wine Lodge, Carmelo, Uruguay
5. The Louise, Barossa Valley, Australia
6. Cape Lodge, Margaret River, Australia
7. Spicers Vineyards Estate, Australia
8. The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand
9. Mont Rochelle, Franschhoek, South Africa
10. Delaire Graff Estate, South Africa
1. The Vines Resort & Spa, Mendoza, Argentina
Cooking classes are available here, but those are not the only hands-on experiences. Realize your vintner fantasies by crafting your own wines on a 1-to-10-acre plot available for purchase on this 1,500-acre private estate. The Estate features acclaimed red and white varietals, like Malbec, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
More active travelers will enjoy horseback riding with gauchos, fly fishing, and a variety of outdoor experiences in a region with an average of 300 days of sunshine. Each of the 22 luxury villas features private patios and spa-like baths to complete the perfect retreat.
2. Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza, Argentina
Cavas Wine Lodge is a magical, wine-focused hotel unto itself. One of the closest hotels to Mendoza airport (at only 26 miles), it is a world away in sheer magic, mood, imagination, and service.
The main house is of traditional colonial style and features original, commissioned artwork, a large library, and grand piano. The 18 “rooms” are intimate adobe villas interspersed amid the vines of the 55-acre vineyard, keeping guests in close connection to the grapes.
Each villa boasts a private ground-floor patio with plunge pools and rain showers and a rooftop terrace from which to take in the 360-degree views of the majestic snow-capped Andes or stargaze in the glow of the firepit. Within, romance abounds, with a fireplace, alpaca throws, free-standing bathtubs, and wine-infused, well…everything.
The spa, located off the main building, features luxurious vinotherapy treatments, including wine baths and grape seed exfoliation. Mendoza itself averages 330 days of sunshine, but the best time to enjoy the region’s grape harvest is February-April. There is so much to see and taste, with over 900 vineyards in a relatively small area.
3. VIK Chile, San Vincente de Tagua Tagua, Chile
This amazingly undulating modern design resort rests in Chile’s Cachapoal Valley, about 2 hours from Santiago. The hotel features 22 suites and several glass villas, all featuring exclusive art and design. Here guests will be tempted by three restaurants — supplied by an onsite organic kitchen garden — and a wine spa.
The vineyard retreat is perched on a hilltop above a lake, boasting panoramic 360-degree views and, in the distance, the majestic Andes. The 11,000-acre estate’s winery produces world-class red blends and one rosé. This is all the creation of a Norwegian businessman and his wife, Alexander and Carrie Vik.
Guest enjoyment is key here, with cuisine focusing on typical Chilean dishes with fresh local produce, all specially prepared to complement their own wine list. Experience Concierges arrange for authentic, personalized local Chilean activities, including horseback rides throughout the vineyards or along ancient Andean trails led by gauchos or on mountain bikes.
An indulgent spa with treatments inspired by the VIK’s grapes infusing unique massage, scrub, and facial treatments provides the perfect welcome after such outings.
4. Narbona Wine Lodge, Carmelo, Uruguay
Take a step back in time at Narbona Wine in the historic Uruguayan wine region of Carmelo. Narbona produces varietals, including an increasingly popular Tannat, as well as Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, and Syrah on its 123-acre estate, which was first started in the early 1900s.
The Lodge, which had once been a general store, is now a rustic-chic boutique hotel with just five antique-furnished yet fully modernized rooms, three of which overlook the winery, while the remaining two overlook the vineyards.
All rooms feature a balcony and private terrace, ideal for relaxation while enjoying a glass of wine and a cheese and charcuterie board from the estate’s own creamery. Perched riverside, the estate features its own private beach, ideal for diversions like canoeing, kayaking, and sailing. Its excellent restaurant makes this Relais & Chateaux member a culinary destination.
In fact, Narbona is actually the reason many oenophiles visit Carmelo. In the traditional harvest months of February and March, the vineyard comes alive with those assisting in picking and crushing the grapes.
Narbona also maintains a small vineyard near Punta del Este in La Barra, which takes advantage of the cooler maritime climate for fresh Sauvignon Blanc. There are plenty of excursions for active guests, including horse-and-carriage rides and helicopter tours over the region.
5. The Louise, Barossa Valley, Australia
The famed Barossa Valley is a 75-minute drive from Adelaide Airport in South Australia and is known for producing warm-weather reds like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. And here, The Louise has been a go-to haven of privacy and luxury for touring amid Seppeltsfield, Hentley Farm, and the charming towns of Tanunda and Angaston.
The hotel is about elegance, exclusivity, and luxury with just 19 spacious suites, designed for privacy and outfitted in contemporary — but plush — furnishings. Each suite features a king bed, a fireplace, a spa bath, an outdoor rain shower, and a private courtyard perfect for relaxation.
The hotel’s restaurant, Appellation, has long been one of the dining icons of South Australia. The friendly, welcoming staff here are also legendary, and concierges can craft unforgettable signature experiences like breakfasting with the ‘roos, guided walks through the Valley’s farmers markets, and vintage car rides too, or private touring of the region’s legendary wineries.
Of course, guests can also enjoy doing nothing here, like swimming in the infinity pool that overlooks the vineyards and olive groves or unwinding in the cedar sauna.
6. Cape Lodge, Margaret River, Australia
In the magnificent Margaret River wine region of Western Australia lies Cape Lodge, a private, sophisticated retreat with the features of a world-class boutique hotel packed into a country estate a three-hour drive from Perth.
Here on its 40 acres of parklands and lakes, is a petite vineyard producing fine Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz just for its guests. The hotel itself features 22 spacious, modern king-bedded rooms — ideal for just two adults — along with a luxury private residence a short walk away on its own threeacres and featuring five bedrooms.
The hotel’s restaurant overlooks the beautiful main lake. It offers a daily-changing menu that reflects the best of what the season and the area’s local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen can offer. Each meal can be paired with selections of the best of the region’s premier wine estates, such as Moss Wood, Pierro, Cullen, and Vasse Felix.
In addition to the world-renowned wineries, artisan breweries, distilleries, and local producers of chocolate, olive oil, and venison are also worth a visit. The excellent team at Cape Lodge is primed to help guests enjoy the beauty and diversity of the area’s incredible coastline and beaches, breathtaking Karri forests, and limestone caves on lands that have been inhabited for more than 60,000 years, one of the longest unbroken chains of human occupation in the world.
7. Spicers Vineyards Estate, Australia
Numbers you can’t help but love: 8 acres of vines, 12 plush rooms, and suites, and a 2 hours drive from Sydney. Spicer’s Vineyards Estates is a petite, romantic haven in peaceful Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest wine region, known for varietals like Semillon and Shiraz, and home to 150 wineries, including Piggs Peake, and the Roche and Tintilla Estates.
The region is also famed for its culinary highlights, although it’s not necessary to venture too far, as Spicers Restaurant Botanica features seasonal dishes, locally sourced and effortlessly matched with wines from the region, including the estates’ own Chardonnay, making it popular with locals as well as guests.
Each room features blissful spa baths, and the suites have a private courtyard or balcony for views of the vineyards and, occasionally, romping ‘roos. Families and friends traveling together can stay at the four-bedroom Vineyard’s House with 2,153 square feet of private space, its own pool, and, of course, a barbie.
The surrounding area has much natural beauty, so energetic guests can explore the Belford or Werakata National Parks. Closer to home, Spicers Spa Anise features indulgent vino-therapies to help guests relax and rejuvenate, although the spa menu — with treatments like “Champagne sorbet exfoliation” — reads more like a dessert menu.
8. The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand
Come for the wine, stay for the epic scenery, the championship golf, the 6,000-acre working ranch, and the country’s largest (at 2,500 acres) privately-funded wildlife preserve, The Cape Sanctuary. Perched high on the edge of the Pacific Ocean on New Zealand’s North Island, Cape Kidnappers is a getaway like no other.
Hawke’s Bay wine country is a diverse region with a maritime climate ideal for red blends and Chardonnay, although aromatic whites are always good, and the Syrah is impressive. With its 22 spacious but cozy cottage suites (and an impressive four-bedroom Owner’s Cottage), Cape Kidnappers consistently channels farmhouse luxe for its guests.
On site, there’s a par 71 golf course designed by Tom Doak, a cossetting spa facility, and a full range of active adventures in the area, like horseback riding, ATV drives, and heli-fishing, as well as gentler pursuits like guided walks, stargazing and shepherding. Although the hotel overlooks ranchlands, Cape Kidnapper has its own vineyard in the Gimblett Gravels region of Hawke’s Bay.
9. Mont Rochelle, Franschhoek, South Africa
Just an hour by car from Cape Town takes you to the Cape Winelands, known for their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Syrah varietals. Viniculture has been practiced here since the 1600s and Mont Rochelle vineyards have gone through many incarnations and owners, the last of which was Rwandan telecom billionaire Miko Rwayitare, a distinction that made the winery the first black-owned wine estate in South Africa.
Richard Branson later purchased the estate and hotel, renovating and indoctrinating it into the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio of exclusive retreats. Mont Rochelle reopened in 2014 and paid tribute to its former owner with its Miko restaurant and with the estate’s most premium wine.
Mont Rochelle is definitely worth a stop on any oenophile’s pilgrimage and welcomes guests to 22 private, luxurious rooms with patios or balconies tucked away on its 90 acres. Guests staying put will enjoy the gardens, tennis court, and swimming pool.
For those who wish to venture off the estate, there’s a short trip to the picturesque town of Franschhoek, or hikes along nature trails, or visits to any of the over 100 wineries in the area. The wine-infused treatments at the hotel’s Africology Spa make for a welcome return.
10. Delaire Graff Estate, South Africa
Graff…Graff….now where have you heard that name before? Oh, that’s the British jeweler and founder of Graff Diamonds, Laurence Graff, OBE, who debuted this opulent retreat in 2009 after six years of intense development.
Beyond the highly advanced gravity-fed winery known for an outstanding collection of cool-climate wines like Bordeaux blends and single varietal whites, there is the series of luxe lodges, each with its own plunge pool and terrace boasting stellar views from the Stellenbosch vineyards out to Table Mountain and beyond to the Indian Ocean at False Bay.
Add to that an outstanding collection of more than 400 pieces of art and sculpture from Graff’s own collection, three sparkling (literally) shops, as well as two restaurants, and a pampering spa, making the Delaire Graff Estate an enchantingly glamorous retreat ideal for a perfect few nights before or after an epic Africa exploration.
VIP Contact
Contact Jack Bloch of JB’s World Travel Consultants at jackb@jbsworld.com.
