DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 101
WHY GO NOW
Drink a mighty Malbec and delve into
the roots of its flavorHOW TO GO
Visit wineries in two Mendoza regions on the day-long “Taste of
Lujan and Maipú” small-group experience with Ampora Wine Tours.
mendozawinetours.comWith bodegas (wine cellars) backed by the snowcapped Andes and the world’s best Malbec, Argentina’s
Mendoza province is a spectacularly scenic place to tour vineyards and satisfy the palate. Copious sunshine,
bone-dry climate, and a high altitude (nearing 4,000 feet at some vineyards) nourish Mendoza’s award-winning
Malbec and other varietals, such as Torrontés, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
The province’s three main wine regions—Maipú, Lujan de Cuyo, and Uco Valley—are strung along Argentina’s
epic Ruta 40 (one of the longest highways in the world), within 75 miles of Mendoza’s eponymous capital city.
The Spanish introduced grapes here in the 16th century, and some wineries are more than a century old. Yet it’s
the locals’ warmth and their passion for winemaking that set Mendoza apart from other global wine capitals,
says Kai Reinke, founder and director of Ampora Wine Tours. The area’s vineyard owners, winemakers, and
agronomists ”just have a way of making you feel like an old friend in a very short time,” Reinke says. “Through
our connections, we are able to include experiences like sitting at the tasting table with a winery owner, talking
about wine and life, while he pulls out yet another amazing bottle he would like you to taste.”VISITCULTURE33.^16
38°^ S,^68.
9198°^ WPAC.
OCEANPAC.
OCEANSOUTH
AMERICAIF YOU LIKE
STELLAR VINTAGESWHEN TO GOMAR-APR
26.^15
01°^ S,^20.
256 °EIF YOU LIKEWHY GO NOW
Look up to see one of the darkest skies
on the planetOne of only a few International Dark
Sky Sanctuaries, the vast 120,000-acre
!Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park is among
the world’s darkest places. Distances in
this remote border region between South
Africa and Botswana are measured in
dunes. Year-round stable temperatures,
extremely low humidity, virtually zero
light- or sound-pollution, and lack of
cloud cover make the park—which scored
an almost perfect 21.9 on the SQM (sky
quality meter) scale of darkness—one of
the planet’s best stargazing destinations.
Stay inside the park at the 12-chalet
!Xaus Lodge, staffed and co-owned by
the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities.
Use the telescope on the open deck to
observe the Southern Cross and other
night-sky sights unique to the Southern
Hemisphere.
“On moonless nights, Bushmen will
teach you how to navigate by the stars,
like Kalahari’s ancestral hunter-gatherers
still do,” says Corné, a local ranger. “Just
walk across the heart-shaped pan and
trust the Milky Way and the Large and
Small Magellanic Cloud dwarf galaxies
to guide your path home.”
STARRY NIGHTS
VISITKALAHARI
DESERT
NATUREHOW TO GO
Spend two nights
at !Xaus Lodge on
Imagine Africa’s
14-night “Off the
Beaten Track
South Africa” trip.
imaginetravel.comWHEN
TO GOAFRICAOCEAN
OCEAN
INDIA
N
INDIA
NAUG-
SEP
PROVINCE,
ARGENTINA
SOUTHERN
AFRICA
MENDOZA
The Andes form a
backdrop for grape
vines in Mendoza’s
Uco Valley.