Mendoza’s reputation has long rested on its vineyards, mountain landscapes and world-class Malbec. Increasingly, however, travelers are discovering that Argentina’s leading wine region deserves equal attention for its food. The 2026 Michelin Guide offers fresh evidence of that evolution, recognizing two restaurants connected to pioneering winemaker Susana Balbo and her daughter, Ana Lovaglio.
La VidA, the signature restaurant at Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites, has earned its first Michelin Star. Nearby, Osadía de Crear at Susana Balbo Winery retained its Michelin Green Star and place in the guide’s recommended selection.
The honors strengthen Mendoza’s position as a destination where wine, dining and hospitality are no longer separate experiences. They also mark the latest chapter in a four-decade family story that began in the vineyard and now extends to restaurants, an intimate hotel and immersive travel experiences.
A Michelin Star for La VidA
Opened in 2022, La VidA takes its name from a play on the Spanish words vida, meaning life, and vid, meaning vine. That connection between life and wine shapes the restaurant’s approach, from its art-filled dining room and garden setting to a tasting menu inspired by the stages of winemaking.
Rather than treating wine as an accompaniment added after a dish is created, La VidA places it at the center of the experience. Its “Winemaker Driven” menu progresses through themes drawn from terroir, harvest, fermentation, extraction, aging, blending and expression. Each stage becomes a framework for Executive Chef Flavia Amad to explore seasonal Argentine ingredients through contemporary technique.
Recent dishes have included beetroot with goat, corn, kabocha squash with fennel and hazelnuts, and duck with shio koji and Jerusalem artichoke. A tableside presentation of cheese, artisanal sweets and petits fours brings the experience to a close.
Wine pairings naturally play an important role. One option draws from Susana Balbo’s personal cellar, giving guests the opportunity to taste historical vintages that are no longer commercially available. At the private Chef’s Table beside the kitchen, the meal becomes more interactive as members of the culinary team introduce the courses and explain the ideas connecting the food and wine.
The new star arrives just a few years after the Michelin Guide made its debut in Argentina, initially focusing on Buenos Aires and Mendoza. Its presence has helped draw international attention to the regional ingredients, chefs and wine culture that have made Mendoza one of South America’s most compelling culinary destinations.
Osadía de Crear Puts Sustainability on the Menu
While La VidA interprets the winemaking process inside an intimate hotel, Osadía de Crear is rooted directly in the landscape of Susana Balbo Winery. Gardens, vineyards and unobstructed views toward the Andes establish a strong sense of place before the first course arrives.
The restaurant’s seasonal menu changes throughout the year, allowing the kitchen to work closely with produce from its expanded garden and ingredients supplied by local producers. Recent dishes have included freshly baked flatbread with koji butter, goat cheese with preserves, zucchini tempura with yogurt, sweetbreads with rösti potato, beef with aged rice and tomato, and ricotta-filled pasta with asparagus.
Its Michelin Green Star recognizes more than what appears on the plate. Sustainability practices extend across the restaurant and winery, including composting organic waste, treating greywater for irrigation, recycling, upcycling and developing closer relationships with nearby growers and suppliers.
The result is a dining experience that connects environmental responsibility with the rhythms of the vineyard. It is polished without feeling disconnected from the land, and ambitious without losing sight of Mendoza’s agricultural identity.
Visitors looking for something more informal can also experience Crios, a seasonal outdoor concept centered on Argentine open-fire cooking and vineyard picnics. It offers a different expression of the same landscape, with the Andes and surrounding vines providing the setting.
Chef Flavia Amad’s Contemporary Mendoza Cuisine
Both restaurants are led by Mendoza-born Executive Chef Flavia Amad, whose cooking combines local ingredients, fermentation, wine and modern technique. After training in Argentina and at Le Cordon Bleu in Miami, she worked in New York restaurants including Minetta Tavern before returning home.
Her food reflects that international experience, but it remains grounded in Mendoza. Italian and Arab family influences appear alongside Argentine produce and methods associated with wine country. The goal is not to reproduce a European fine-dining model in the Andes, but to express the region with precision and creativity.
La VidA’s distinction is the first Michelin Star awarded to a restaurant under Amad’s leadership as executive chef. Together with the continued recognition of Osadía de Crear, it establishes her as an important voice in Mendoza’s growing culinary scene.
From Argentina’s First Female Winemaker to Luxury Hospitality
The restaurants are part of a much larger story. Susana Balbo became Argentina’s first female winemaker and built a career spanning more than 40 years. Often called the “Queen of Torrontés,” she played a prominent role in elevating Argentina’s white wines while developing a portfolio that now includes the Nosotros, Susana Balbo Signature, BenMarco and Crios collections.
The family remains closely involved. Susana’s son, José Lovaglio Balbo, serves as director of winemaking, while her daughter, Ana Lovaglio Balbo, leads marketing and hospitality. Ana has been central to the expansion from a celebrated winery into restaurants, guest experiences and luxury accommodations.
That vision is most visible at Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites, a historic residence in Chacras de Coria transformed into a seven-suite retreat. Each suite is designed as a private wellness space with features such as a steam room, sensory shower and massage area. Local art, gardens, wine experiences and personalized programming connect the property to Mendoza rather than making it feel like a conventional resort.
The hotel is a member of Relais & Châteaux, a development previously covered in our story about Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House joining the international hospitality association. It has also received Two Michelin Keys, the hotel guide’s distinction for exceptional stays.
A New Reason to Plan a Culinary Trip to Mendoza
For travelers, the new recognition makes a strong argument for experiencing Mendoza through more than winery tastings alone. A stay in Chacras de Coria can now combine intimate hospitality at the Winemaker’s House, a wine-inspired dinner at La VidA and a garden-led meal at Osadía de Crear, all within the orbit of one family’s work.
The family’s hospitality portfolio is also set to expand with Susana Balbo Mountain Lodge Villas & Spa, a retreat under development on a vineyard estate in San Pablo in the high-altitude Uco Valley. The project is expected to bring the same combination of wine, food, landscape and wellness to another of Mendoza’s most celebrated growing regions.
What makes the Susana Balbo story particularly relevant is the way each element reinforces the others. The wines provide history and identity. The restaurants translate the vineyards and seasons onto the plate. The hotel gives travelers time and space to experience both more deeply.
Mendoza will always be wine country, but the 2026 Michelin distinctions show how much the destination now offers beyond the tasting room. For travelers motivated by food, thoughtful hospitality and a strong connection to place, Susana Balbo’s restaurants provide another compelling reason to look toward the Andes.
