All tours include visits to wineries, wine-tasting, gourmet meals and a chance to experience the vibrant culture and European lifestyle of Mendoza. Most also include an excursion into the majestic Andes mountains just outside the city.
Ellen Hoffman, company president, says: “To make sure our guests get the best, Amazing Mendoza Tours (http://www.amazingmendoza.com) carefully plans and arranges winery appointments, special tastings, meals, visits to artists’ studios, tango demonstrations, and every other detail in advance. Our packages feature private transportation and always include a bilingual escort for all scheduled excursions and events.” In addition to the scheduled tours and workshops, Amazing Mendoza Tours can arrange similar packages for small groups on request.
The Posada de Rosas (http://www.posadaderosas.com ) boutique inn, located in the center of Mendoza, serves as the base for the tours and workshops.The inn has a garden, terrace, swimming pool and Agentine barbeque and is walking distance from restaurants, shops, parks, plazas and other local attractions in Mendoza.
Tours scheduled for 2008 and early 2009 include:
Women’s Week in the Wine Country: A Pampering Package: Pampering par excellence sums up this exclusive, luxurious week in Mendoza with a small group of women. Relaxing spa treatments—some using Mendoza wines and grapes--plus wine-tastings, gourmet meals, tips on buying Argentina’s fashionable leather goods, and a chance to meet local women will make this an unforgettable week. It’s the perfect excuse for a getaway with your best friend or friends, your mom or sister or daughter. August 23- 30, 2008 or custom scheduling.
A Taste of Mendoza: This luxury trip offers a sampling of the best that Mendoza has to offer, providing a well-rounded introduction to the region. The itinerary encompasses four themes: wine, food, art and culture, and the scenic landscapes of the Andes mountains. September 6- 13, 2008.
Mendoza Real Estate Investing: Since Argentina devalued the peso and set the exchange at about three pesos to the U.S. dollar, investors from all over the world have come to Mendoza to buy real estate—including vineyards-- for personal or business reasons. This workshop-tour combo features objective presentations on the local real estate scene, with opportnities to learn from experts and expat property owners about the pleasures and pitfalls of real estate investing in "the land of sun and good wine.” September 20-29, 2008 and February 7-14, 2009.
Mendoza Retirement Planning Workshop: This workshop combines the business of planning for your retirement with the pleasures of fine wine, food, a vibrant artistic and cultural scene and spectacular mountain scenery in the eighth "Great Wine Capital of the World." Retirement planning sessions will be led by Ellen Hoffman, author of two retirement books and a long-time columnist and reporter on retirement and personal finance issues for Business Week and other national publications. (See http://www.retirementcatchup.com .) The schedule alternates between focused, stimulating sessions on retirement planning issues that are important regardless of where you retire; and relaxing, fun immersion in Mendoza’s European lifestyle. October 25- November 1, 2008.
Owners of Amazing Mendoza Tours are Ellen Hoffman, a free-lance writer, and Riccardo Accurso, an artist. Ellen has been a cultural tour guide for trips sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Trust for HIstoric Preservation, is the author of two travel books and has contributed to several travel guidebooks. Formerly she wrote "The Resourceful Traveler," a column for city and regional magazines, and served as a contributing editor to Frequent Flyer magazine. Riccardo and Ellen have lived in Spain. They are both fluent in Spanish and as part-time residents of Mendoza, they are constantly researching and updating their knowledge of Mendoza's wines, wineries, restaurants, and off-the-beaten-
