New estancia in the heart of the Salta wine region

Banda Grande lodge

Many years ago, while squiring guests around the Valles Calchaquies wine region, I met a larger than life Dutchman who instantly recognized a fellow gringo (there weren’t as many of us around in those days).  

With a wide sweep of his arm which suggested he had quite a bit of land, he told me he had a farm on the other side of the river.

I met the venerable Jan van Limburg Stirum at the Hacienda de Molinos, the former home of the last Royalist governor of northwest Argentina before the War of Independence, now an excellent hotel.

Molinos is en route from Cachi to Cafayate, so a regular stopover on our Classic Wine route.

At the time, Jan was living in the Hacienda while he renovated his finca across the river, which he’d bought in 2003.

When I say farmhouse, that’s a bit like describing Balmoral as a country cottage: Jan’s place is a 30,000 hectare estancia producing everything from alfalfa to onions, peas to peppers, maize to cumin, grazed by herds of cattle, sheep and goats.

He was also producing a vast amount of quinoa, the Peruvian superfood once a staple of the Inca diet, but was hit hard by the price crash of 2016.

So he has now decided to diversify into tourism, and is opening the doors of his magnificent estancia,  Banda Grande lodge.

Since the 18th century, Banda Grande has been the bread basket of the Valles Calchaquies and beyond into the Valle de Lerma, where the capital city of Salta lies.

The Spanish founded San Pedro de Nolasco de Molinos on the west side of the river Calchaqui in 1659: molinos means “mills”, and Banda Grande produced all the wheat for those mills.

As those of you who have joined us for private tours in Salta will already know, Molinos was the first major colonial encomienda established in the Valles Calchaquies, two centuries before Cafayate, as the Spanish struggled to find a foothold in the face of fierce indigenous resistance.

Jan’s family connection with Argentina dates back to the 16th century, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II of Spain gave land in the “New World” to one of his ancestors in reward for his loyalty (and military service) during the Eighty Years war, in which the Netherlands secured independence.

His family, Limburg-Stirum, used to own a huge chunk of land (effectively a separate kingdom) in what is now Holland and Germany.

Jan first came to Argentina in 1997 to work with an uncle who lived on an estancia in Santa Fé. Like me, he fell in love with the country, and has been splitting his time between Germany, Holland and Argentina ever since.

In 2003 he bought Banda Grande farm and began years of painstaking renovations, the fruits of which can be seen in a sumptuous, luxurious but unpretentious and welcoming estancia.   

As you will see on Instagram, during our visits to Jan’s place with family and friends, we have been hiking and horseriding through some of the amazing scenery, but there is so much more to explore.

We ate superbly: visitors with Poncho Tours will soon be able to wash down Jan’s excellent barbecue with a bottle of his home-grown Malbec or Bonarda, and sit on the terrace to watch the evening sky with a glass of chilled Torrontes from his vineyards.

I’m looking forward to returning soon with some of our lucky guests

·         See our Instagram page for more photos of Banda Grande lodge.

 

Vineyard La Rioja
Duration
5 days
Group Size
1 to 4

Wine and History: Mendoza to Salta

Take the long and winding road from Mendoza to Salta, visiting lesser known boutique wineries in San Juan, La Rioja, and Catamarca along the way.

This deep immersion into the wine and culture of Argentina is perfect for those who want to combine an exploration of the rich history of the region with some of its best off the beaten track wineries, while driving through some breathtaking scenery close to the Andes.

Our journey begins in the hub of Argentine wine production, Mendoza, taking the iconic Route 40 north through the emerging wine regions of La Rioja, Catamarca, and Tucuman.

Click here to view map route.

pimiento CU
Duration
3 days
Group Size
1 to 4

Classic Wine Route

Explore the varied landscape of the Valles Calchaquies and its excellent boutique wineries in this Argentine wine tour par excellence.

Our Classic wine route combines Salta's superb boutique wineries in the highest altitude wine region in the world with the breathtaking landscape of north west Argentina.

Apart from the ubiquitous Malbec, this area is known for its fine Torrontes and Tannat.

Click here to view map route.

RED VINE
Duration
6 days
Group Size
1 to 4

Wine and History: Salta to Mendoza

Take the long and winding road from Salta to Mendoza, visiting lesser-known boutique wineries in Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan along the way.

This deep immersion into the wine and culture of Argentina is perfect for those who want to combine an exploration of the rich history of the region with some of its best off-the-beaten-track wineries, through some breathtaking scenery close to the Andes. Apart from Argentina’s classic red Malbec, we’ll be sampling lesser-known varieties like Tannat, and discovering the Argentine take on classics like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Pinot Grigio.

Our journey begins in the highest altitude wine region in the world, the Valles Calchaquies in Salta, famous for its production of Torrontes, a white grape variety that is unique to Argentina. From Salta’s principal wine town of Cafayate, we take the iconic Route 40 south, through the emerging wine regions of Tucuman, Catamarca, and La Rioja, before arriving in the provinces of San Juan and Mendoza, producers of 93% of the nation’s wine.

Click here to view map route.