MENDOZA, Argentina -- You can get from Chile's wine country around the capital, Santiago, to Argentina's, centered on Mendoza, by plane or by road. I chose the road trip, six hours and $20 by bus. The views were breathtaking, the bus ultra-comfy. There was even an attendant who served complimentary refreshments throughout the journey.

Mt. Aconcagua, at 22,841 feet, is the highest point in the Americas and second only to Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. Our route circled that majestic peak, which was alternately shrouded in clouds or jutting out into the sunlight looking like a queen wearing a brilliant white fur cape. The west side of the Andes, facing the Pacific Ocean, consists of sheer faces of gray granite. The eastern face is entirely different. It's a landscape of red rocks that looks much like the Rockies in Utah and Colorado. Mendoza, Argentina's second largest city, is a green oasis at the base of these colorful mountains.

All of Argentina's grape-producing regions are in the rain shadow of these mountains. The land was unsuitable for agriculture until construction in the late 19th century of waterways that brought melted snow for irrigation. Today, Argentina is the fifth-largest wine producer in the world after France, Italy, Spain and the United States. Until recently, their wines were almost entirely for domestic consumption. Argentines drink 45 bottles per person each year (Americans drink 10).

		Learn more A class on "Argentina -- Reds and Whites" will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 at the Wilkins School Community Center. Cost is $20. To reserve and get more information, call 412-244-8458.

There are four major Argentinian wine-producing regions but Mendoza is the most important, with 70 percent of the total production. Argentina grows a wider range of grape varieties than any other South American country. This is likely due to the diversity of the immigrants who arrived there with grapes from Italy, Spain and France in the 1800s.

There are a half million acres of vineyards in Mendoza, producing 90 percent of the country's wine exports. Virtually all of the wines we find in our wine shops come from Central Mendoza. Vines are planted up to 5,000 feet in the Andes foothills where nights are cool and growing conditions are ideal.

Malbec is the star red grape variety. While it originally was part of the red grape mix that went into the blended red wines from Bordeaux, there is little malbec growing in that French region now. This grape thrives in Mendoza, producing wines that are deep purple with aromas of black cherry, plums and black currants laced with licorice and violets. Soft tannins mean that even when young, it is a fruit-forward wine.

Award-winning wines from Argentina are a relatively new phenomenon. One of the pioneers in the movement to elevate the quality is Nicolas Catena. His grandfather founded the family wine business when he immigrated to Argentina from Italy in the 19th century. The wines were sold in bulk. In 1982, Dr. Catena, a respected agricultural economist at the University of Buenos Aires, was invited to spend a year lecturing at the University of California in Berkeley. Seeing (and tasting) firsthand the investment and research taking place inspired him to drastically change his own winery. With Robert Mondavi as his model, he transformed his bulk wine business into a winery producing boutique-quality wines in a broad price range. His wines are labeled Alamos, Catena, Catena Alta and Catena Zapata. Luca and Tikal wineries are owned by his daughter Laura and son Ernesto.

The handsome new winery in Lujan de Cuyo, outside the city of Mendoza, is designed to resemble a Mayan temple, in tribute to the culture that once populated Central America (much as Mondavi's iconic winery structure was inspired by the Spanish missions built in early California). Taking another page from the Mondavi primer, Dr. Catena has formed a partnership with a Bordeaux Rothschild, Chateau Lafitte, to produce a top red wine blended from malbec and cabernet sauvignon.

Today, the region is booming. With drastic changes in vineyard management, drip irrigation, fermentation technology and lots of French and American oak barrels, Mendoza is solidly on the world map as a top-class wine region.

• Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon 2000, PLCB #28689, $33.99. Color of black cherries with purple highlights. The nose is ripe black fruit with vanilla and smoky flavors. Good structure and balance.

• Catena Malbec 2005, PLCB #28923, $21.99. Inky purple color with concentrated blackberry and cassis aromas laced with tobacco and chocolate. Friendly tannins.

• Luca Syrah 2004, PLCB #29124, $25.49. This wine, 85 percent syrah and 15 percent malbec, received 91 points from the Wine Spectator panel. The aromas are of figs, plums and blackberries with mocha and pepper notes.

• Nieto Senetiner Don Nicanor 2004, PLCB #28913, $15.99. This Bordeaux blend is 33 percent cabernet sauvignon, 34 percent malbec and 33 percent merlot. Aged for one year in oak, the nose is plummy and chocolatey.

• Bodega Lurton Malbec Reserva 2005, PLCB #28972, $13.99. The Lurton brothers are part of a prestigious wine family in Bordeaux. This malbec is a dark purple with a nose of black fruit, clove and mocha. With lively acidity and integrated tannins, it is a fine example of Argentine malbec.

• Bodega Lurton Torrontes 2006, PLCB #28768, $9.99. Torrontes is Argentina's most planted white grape. It is the progeny of a crossing between muscat of Alexandria and criolla chica, an indigenous grape of North and South America. It produces a fragrant wine with good acidity. Here you will find grapefruit and floral aromas.

• Santa Julia Viognier 2006, PLCB #29039, $8.99. This label from the Zuccardi family vineyards is organic and has strong floral notes and lovely acidity.

• Trapiche Malbec Pedro Gonzalez 2003, PLCB #28647, $23.99. This is a reasonable price for a wine that received 90 points in Wine Spectator. Deep purple with plums and spice on the nose and cherry jam and chocolate in the mouth.

There are two very limited production Argentine wines for sale in our state wine stores. The price of each was beyond my budget so I have not tasted them but for those who want to try the ultimate:

• Archaval Ferrer Malbec Altamira 2003, PLCB #28721, $77.99, a wine that scored 96 points in the Wine Spectator. Only 715 cases made.

• Cobos Malbec Marchiori 2004, PLCB #28800, $134.99. This is a bargain since the wine sells for $160 elsewhere. There were 1,252 cases made.