Bodega El Esteco

Bodega El Esteco

Bodega El Esteco sits at the heart of Cafayate's wine district, its whitewashed colonial building set among the vineyards that supply one of the region's most established operations. The winery was founded at the end of the 19th century by French immigrants who recognised the altitude and thermal amplitude of the Calchaquí Valleys as conditions suited to viticulture of a particular character — intense sun, cold nights, dry air, and the slow ripening that produces concentrated aromatics in the grape. The signature varietal is Torrontés: Argentina's only truly native white grape, producing a wine of intensely floral aromatics — orange blossom, lychee, apricot — with an acidity that keeps it from sweetness. At 1,700 metres, the Cafayate Torrontés is a different animal from lowland whites.

The tour is guided and runs on a fixed schedule — the Spanish-language visit departs at 17:00 and lasts one hour, covering the production process from fermentation through barrel ageing and ending in a tasting of the house wines. Arrive with a few minutes to spare; the tour does not wait. Afterward, the estate's restaurant, La Rosa, serves regional salteña cooking on a terrace overlooking the pool and vineyards — this is the main meal of the day, a late lunch stretched into an early dinner, taken with the same wines just tasted. The entraña and regional empanadas are both well-regarded, and the setting in the last of the afternoon light, with the quebrada country visible beyond the vine rows, is the right moment to be sitting still after a day of canyon walking.

Arrival: Cafayate

Cafayate is a small, well-proportioned town of around 12,000 people, its colonial grid centred on a broad plaza shaded by mature trees. The Catedral Nuestra Señora del Rosario, completed in 1886, occupies the northeast corner of the plaza — one of the few churches in South America to retain all five of its original naves. Collect the laundry on the way in and settle for the night — the canyon, the bodega, and a clean change of clothes. A good day's work.