Maipú is the oldest of Mendoza's wine districts, a flat, tree-lined expanse of vineyards and olive groves just south-east of the city, and it is where many visitors have their first taste of Argentine Malbec. The land lies on the plain beside the Mendoza River, irrigated by a network of channels, called acequias, that were first dug by the indigenous Huarpe people and later expanded by the Spanish. Without them, this would be desert, as the rainfall is tiny, but with them, the plain is green with vines, poplars and fruit trees, and rows of tall poplars stand like windbreaks along the lanes.
Behind it all, on a clear day, the Andes rise in a white wall, with the highest peak in the Americas, Aconcagua, just out of sight over the horizon but part of the same range. The air is dry and bright, and the evening light on the snow is something to remember. In spring, the vines burst into leaf, and in March, the harvest begins, with a sweet smell of crushed grapes in the air.
Maipú's wineries range from family cellars, some more than a century old, to big modern estates, and many offer tours and tastings. The tradition goes back to the nineteenth century, when Italian and Spanish immigrants brought skills and vines, and the area also produces olive oil, which you can taste in several places. A lunch of grilled beef, empanadas and a glass of Malbec, in the shade of a vine pergola, is the classic way to enjoy it. Many visitors hire bicycles to tour the wineries, which is a pleasant idea in the cool of the day but less so at noon in the summer heat.
For a rider, the roads here are flat and straight, with many junctions, irrigation ditches and bicycles, and the pace is slow. Watch out for the ditches that run beside the road, which can be deep and steep-sided, and for cars pulling out of side lanes. Weekends see heavy traffic, particularly at lunchtime, when visitors move between wineries. The wine, of course, and the heat, advise a sensible pace and a sober choice at the end of the day.
Mendoza, about ten kilometres away, has fuel, banks and everything else, and Maipú itself has stations on the main roads. Come in autumn or spring for the best weather.