Uco Valley Webcam – Mendoza’s High Andes Vineyards

The Uco Valley Webcam looks out from The Vines Resort and Spa in Los Chacayes, across a wide floor of trellised vineyards to the snow line of the Andes in Mendoza Province, Argentina. The framing is deliberately horizontal. A lawn and an irrigation reservoir sit closest to the lens, rows of vines run away from them toward the middle distance, and the front range of the cordillera closes the horizon from edge to edge. Low winery buildings break the flat ground further out. Because this is high desert, the air is often clear enough to show the ridges in detail, and the camera records how the snow line climbs and falls through the year. The resort refreshes the frame every few minutes, around the clock.

About the Uco Valley

The valley runs southwest of Mendoza city along the Tunuyan River, which drains it, at altitudes of 900 to 1,200 meters (3,000 to 3,900 feet). The camera sits in the Los Chacayes district of Tunuyan Department, at kilometer 11 of Ruta Provincial 94, close to 33.60 degrees south and 69.23 degrees west. Los Chacayes was granted its own geographical indication in 2017, recognizing ground that growers had already singled out: a mix of alluvial and colluvial material, granite, sand, clay, boulders and fragments of metamorphic and volcanic rock, all of it washed down from the range the lens is pointed at.

The Vines Resort and Spa, which runs the camera, occupies an estate of roughly 607 hectares (1,500 acres) with 22 villas, and keeps 3.2 hectares (7.9 acres) of Malbec planted immediately around the buildings. Its best known feature is Siete Fuegos, the restaurant the Argentine chef Francis Mallmann built around open fire cooking. The drive in from Mendoza’s airport takes about ninety minutes.

Plantings across the Los Chacayes appellation run from 1,000 to 1,700 meters (3,281 to 5,577 feet), with most of the fruit grown between 1,100 and 1,300 meters (3,609 to 4,265 feet). Altitude is the point of the place: it buys cold nights at a latitude that would otherwise be too warm for the kind of Malbec Mendoza is known for. The highest ground in this stretch of the Andes is Tupungato, a Pleistocene lava dome reaching 6,570 meters (21,555 feet), which stands north of the valley.

Weather and Climate in the Uco Valley

Rainfall averages about 466 millimeters (18.4 inches) a year, dry enough that every row in the frame depends on Andean meltwater rather than weather. The annual mean temperature is 14 C (57 F). January sits at the height of the southern summer, with a mean daily maximum of 28.8 C (83.8 F), and the camera then shows full canopies, solid green rows and a snow line that has retreated to the highest ridges. July reverses it: the mean daily minimum falls to minus 0.3 C (31.5 F), the vines stand as bare wood on their wires, and snow comes well down the front range.

Spring and autumn produce the transitional views. Through September and October the rows are still skeletal while the peaks are at their whitest, the sharpest contrast the camera manages all year. By March and April the canopy has turned color and work traffic appears on the dirt tracks between blocks. The swing from day to night is large in every season because of the altitude and the dry air, so early frames often carry haze on the valley floor that has cleared by midday. Near the September equinox the camera’s own clock puts sunrise at 07:35 and sunset at 19:32 local time.

Things to Do Near the Uco Valley

Los Chacayes alone holds Casa de Uco, SuperUco, Piedra Negra, Corazon del Sol, Gimenez Riili and Ver Sacrum, most within a short drive of the camera. Further north in the valley, Bodega Salentein keeps an art museum, a restaurant with a wine bar, and an amphitheater used for concerts. Zuccardi Valle de Uco goes back to 1963, when Alberto Zuccardi planted the family’s first vineyard to demonstrate an irrigation system he had designed. By 2022 it was the only Argentine producer with three wines rated 100 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and Wine Enthusiast had named it New World Winery of the Year.

Ruta Provincial 94, the road the camera sits on, carries on southwest to Manzano Historico, the site commemorating General Jose de San Martin and the crossing of the Andes. The surrounding Cordon del Portillo is a provincial reserve for multiple use and natural recreation, with riding and walking routes climbing into the front range that fills the top of the frame. Tunuyan town, the departmental seat, is the nearest full service stop. Tupungato itself is a multi day mountaineering objective rather than a day walk.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Three more cameras covering the same mountains and the same wine country.

• Mendoza Webcam
• Valle Nevado Webcam
• Cerro Catedral Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Uco Valley located?

It lies in Mendoza Province, Argentina, southwest of Mendoza city and along the Tunuyan River. The camera is in the Los Chacayes district of Tunuyan Department, at kilometer 11 of Ruta Provincial 94, roughly ninety minutes by road from Mendoza’s airport.

What can you see on the Uco Valley Webcam?

A lawn and an irrigation reservoir in the foreground, trellised vineyard rows running back across the valley floor, low winery buildings in the middle distance, and the snow covered front range of the Andes across the full width of the horizon.

What is the weather like in the Uco Valley?

Dry and continental. Rainfall is about 466 millimeters (18.4 inches) a year and the annual mean is 14 C (57 F), with a January mean daily maximum of 28.8 C (83.8 F) and a July mean daily minimum of minus 0.3 C (31.5 F). Days and nights differ sharply in every season.

How high are the Uco Valley vineyards?

The valley floor sits between 900 and 1,200 meters (3,000 to 3,900 feet). Within the Los Chacayes appellation, plantings reach from 1,000 to 1,700 meters (3,281 to 5,577 feet), and most fruit comes from between 1,100 and 1,300 meters (3,609 to 4,265 feet).

Who operates the camera?

The Vines Resort and Spa, a 607 hectare (1,500 acre) estate at Los Chacayes with 22 villas and the Siete Fuegos restaurant. The resort publishes the feed on its own website.

When is the best time to watch the Uco Valley Webcam?

Late morning to early afternoon Argentine time, once the valley haze has cleared and the peaks are lit. September and October give the strongest contrast, with bare vines below a fresh snow line.

What grapes are grown in the Uco Valley?

Malbec above all, alongside Semillon, with Bonarda and Barbera grown in smaller quantities. The block immediately around the camera is planted to Malbec.

What mountains are visible from the camera?

The Andean front range that walls in the western side of the valley, including the Cordon del Portillo. Tupungato, a lava dome of 6,570 meters (21,555 feet), is the highest summit in this part of the cordillera and stands to the north.

Source: The Vines Resort and Spa