San Juan, La Rioja, and San Luis: a Journey from the Andes to the San Luis Mountains

Grapes and wine are one of the region’s hallmarks. Mendoza, home to 70.4% of its vineyards, is its main wine-producing province. This is followed by San Juan, with 21.1%, and then by La Rioja, with 3.6%.

Restaurants, wine-tastings, and wineries offering accommodation are the pillars of domestic tourism, and the whole region has numerous wine routes. San Luis, which has produced wine since the early 20th century, has a greater presence every year on Argentina’s wine scene.

Thanks to the area’s exceptional climatic conditions, and an industry that blossomed despite the wishes of the Spanish Crown, La Rioja’s olive groves have made a name for the province as the country’s main producer and exporter of excellent quality olives and olive oil.

Highlights of La Rioja’s cuisine include flame-cooked goat kid, a stew known as chanfaina, La Rioja-style pork chops, dates in syrup, and Arab-style empanadas. And, of course, the traditional empanadas: succulent savory pies whose potato filling makes them unique to this region.

One-pot dishes such as carbonada (beef stew), tomaticán (beef and tomato stew), and locro (a stew made with squash) have their own identity in San Juan, as do humita (a dish served in a corn husk) and pastel de choclo (a beef and corn pie). Machacado is another delicious, hearty stew that is typical of San Juan, and perfect for winter. Kid goat is another unmissable specialty.

Punta de espalda is a cut of beef from just above the ribs, which is traditionally eaten in San Juan—not because it is specific to the area, but, interestingly, because it is shaped like the map of the province. It is delicious and succulent, whether barbecued or flame-cooked.

Punta de espalda ready to eat: succulent and eaten with coal-roasted vegetables. A true San Juan delicacy.

San Juan’s cuisine is also known for its baked goods, quince jelly, and grape syrup.  There are few dishes as closely associated with San Juan as the bread known as semitas, made with pork crackling, fried pastries known as sopaipillas, and tortitas jachalleras (little cakes from the district of Jáchal), all of which go perfectly with maté.

Roasted or flame-cooked kid goat is one of the main dishes of San Luis’ richly varied cuisine, and every town in the province puts its own distinctive stamp on this traditional dish.

Usually associated with the north, the sweetcorn-based dish known as humita is a source of culinary pride in San Luis, influenced by the prevalence of sweetcorn across the whole of Cuyo. It is made in all its forms: as a pie, in a stew, or wrapped in a corn husk.