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Corridor Cuyo > Province: Mendoza > Mendoza

Wine Museum – Bodega La Rural

Marcelo Sola

Respect for the Rutini family viniculture tradition enables us to learn the ways of producing wine in the late XIX century.

In the district of Maipú, 16 km from the capital city of Mendoza, lies the Wine Museum, property of the Bodega La Rural, unique in South America due to its characteristics and the elements exposed there.

A short guided visit around its facilities is enough to learn about the ways of making wine, from remote times to these days. Furthermore, exquisite wine tasting of a special varietal may be experienced, only by tourists, at the winebar.

When going around the various rooms that are part of the museum, the guide tells the epic history of don Felipe Rutini, born in Italy, who resolved to settle down in Maipú –Mendoza– at the end of 1885, planting the first vines of what later became La Rural.

“As time went by, Don Felipe's offspring continued with the family undertaking. They spread and devoted themselves to the cultivation of diverse varieties of white and red grapes, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. Later, they incorporated the Chenin stock, from the Loira Valley”.

Present Technology

After going through the museum, where we saw objects from colonial times, the immigration days, until the present and where we learnt about the way of collecting and fermenting grapes, we passed onto the facilities rooms to learn about the latest advances La Rural has nowadays as regards technological matters.

“The facilities have a vat capacity of ten million liters and latest generation equipment, apt for the fermentation and conservation of red and white wines, unique in the country”.

Ten years ago, La Rural started a technification and remodelling process. During the last few years, it has doubled its storage capacity, acquiring stainless-steel tanks of various shapes an sizes, and incorporating cold-storage equipment, pneumatic presses, destemmers, fiters and pumps, everything with the latest technology. Besides, it acquired a new bottling line, totally automatized, that permits to fill six thousand bottles an hour.

Once the visit is over, we are invited to the winebar to taste a special varietal called Línea Museo, and acquire the various products elaborated in the facilities.

We recommend that you buy:
• Felipe Rutini
• Colección Rutini
• Trumpeter