Argentina Wine Awards is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Mendoza calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Mendoza in Argentina, in the heart of one of Argentina's most distinctive wine areas. It is an annual event with an established local audience and a consistent place in the regional calendar.
The Argentina Wine Awards is the country's most prestigious wine competition, judged by an international panel of Masters of Wine, sommeliers and wine journalists. The awards programme runs alongside trade tastings and masterclasses on Argentine Malbec, regional terroir, and emerging zones, drawing buyers and journalists from around the world. The awards ceremony is one of the key fixtures of the Argentine wine year. Wine trade fairs are the most efficient way to taste a broad cross-section of producers in a short time. Attendees can expect organised tasting halls grouped by appellation, masterclass programmes with guest speakers, sommelier-led sessions on individual grape varieties, and structured opportunities to meet producers. Most major events are reserved for trade visitors — buyers, importers, sommeliers, journalists, restaurateurs — but include public-facing days or evenings during the run of the event. The events have grown into key fixtures of the international wine industry calendar, with several drawing buyers from over 60 countries. The event is organised by Wines of Argentina, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year.
Mendoza is the heart of Argentine wine, accounting for around 70% of all Argentine wine production, and the home of the Malbec grape's modern global success story. The region's high-altitude vineyards (mostly between 800-1,500m, some reaching 1,700m+) at the foot of the Andes combine intense sunlight, low humidity and a wide diurnal temperature range — conditions that produce Malbecs of remarkable colour, structure and depth. The region divides into three main zones: Maipú and Luján de Cuyo (the historic premium areas with old-vine Malbec), the Uco Valley (the highest-altitude zone, increasingly producing Argentina's most-acclaimed wines, with sub-zones Tupungato, Vista Flores, La Consulta, Paraje Altamira and Gualtallary), and the Eastern Mendoza zone (volume-focused). Producers like Catena Zapata, Achaval-Ferrer, Susana Balbo, Bodega Norton, Bodegas Salentein and Zuccardi set the international quality reference.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for September 2026. Cost details: Trade access. Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://winesofargentina.com/. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date.
Mendoza is reached via El Plumerillo airport (MDZ), with daily flights from Buenos Aires (90 minutes) and connections from Santiago (Chile). The city of Mendoza is a wine-tourism centre in its own right, with strong restaurant and accommodation infrastructure. Maipú sits 20 minutes south of the city, Luján de Cuyo 30-45 minutes southwest, and the Uco Valley 90 minutes-2 hours southwest. Argentine cuisine pairs the wines with asado (the country's national grilling tradition with prime Argentine beef), empanadas mendocinas, locro stew, the area's famous olive oils, and the strong Italian and Spanish heritage of the wider Argentine food culture. Beyond wine, the Aconcagua Provincial Park and the Andean ski resorts add to the regional travel offer.
