Patios de Cafayate

The main farmhouse dates back to 1892, and a historic atmosphere pervades the place, from its thick walls to its domed ceilings and wrought iron gates. Service is fantastic and all about the attention to detail; you even get a free glass of sparkling wine each afternoon.

The hotel’s 32 rooms, spread across colonial-style patios, are decorated in a traditional style, with plush rugs covering stone-tiled floors, carved wooden beds and furnishings, and bright splashes of colour in the curtains and bedspreads. The Gallery Rooms overlook a patio dotted with jasmine plants, while Vineyard Rooms feature stone fireplaces and promise stunning views over the vineyard-covered hills.

Dining at Patios de Cafayate is a sophisticated affair, with owner and chef Martin Gamarron presenting an ever-changing menu of lovingly presented gourmet cuisine. Catalan, Italian and French styles are combined with local ingredients to create unique dishes such as llama carpaccio with capers and rib-eye steak with Andean potatoes and chimichurri sauce.

The hotel has a lovely outdoor pool and a massage room, where reflexology and reiki treatments are also available – just the thing after a tough day’s wine tasting.

Wine is very much the star of the show at Patios de Cafayate, and a range of tastings and activities are on offer. These include blind tastings and ‘make your own wine’ activities, as well as more traditional tastings of the region’s acclaimed wines. Another (occasional) activity is photography workshops, where groups of 12 to 16 head out into the valley with trained professionals to learn how to take fantastic landscape shots.