In Mendoza, wine can provide the reason for a journey. At La VidA, it also shapes the way dinner unfolds.

Located in Chacras de Coria, within Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites, La VidA brings together contemporary Argentine cuisine and the perspective of one of the country’s most influential winemakers. In July 2026, the restaurant received a Michelin Star, placing it among the newly recognised dining destinations in the official Michelin Guide Buenos Aires & Mendoza selection. The award gives travellers a compelling reason to take a closer look. The restaurant’s identity, however, begins with the family and the winemaking philosophy behind it.

Chacras de Coria lies in Luján de Cuyo, a wine-producing area in Mendoza province, a short drive from Mendoza City. The district’s older houses, tree-lined streets and established residential character offer a different setting from the city centre. La VidA occupies a place within that environment at Viamonte 5022, inside Susana Balbo Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites. The hotel combines accommodation, wellness and wine experiences in a property shaped by the interests of Susana Balbo and her family.

The restaurant’s arrival experience is part of its design. Guests enter along a path framed by trees before being welcomed into the hotel bar for a cocktail. From there, the evening moves into a contemporary dining room, where the kitchen remains visible. These details establish the pace of the meal before the first course arrives. The setting is intimate, but the more revealing feature is the idea guiding the kitchen: Wine and food are treated as connected expressions of place.

To understand La VidA, it helps to know something about Susana Balbo’s career. In 1981, Balbo graduated in oenology, becoming Argentina’s first female winemaker. Early in her career, she worked in Cafayate, Salta, where she took on the challenge of developing Torrontés into a more internationally competitive wine. Her work with the variety earned her the nickname “Queen of Torrontés”.

She returned to Mendoza in 1991 and eventually established her own winery in 1999. The business, now known as Susana Balbo Wines, grew from a personal ambition into a family enterprise focused on high-quality wines, exploration and innovation. Her children, José Lovaglio and Ana Lovaglio, later joined the business. Its portfolio includes Susana Balbo Signature, Nosotros, Crios and BenMarco, each offering a different expression of the winery’s approach.

That history matters to La VidA because the restaurant shares the family’s interest in how a sense of origin can be communicated through an experience. At the winery, the work involves grape varieties, soils, harvests and decisions made during vinification. At the restaurant, the language changes, but the underlying question remains: How can a product express the place and thinking behind it?

Chef Flavia Amad Di Leo leads La VidA’s culinary proposal. The restaurant’s seven-course tasting menu draws on the stages and ideas associated with winemaking, including terroir, harvest, fermentation, extraction and ageing. It is a considered framework for a restaurant operating within a winemaker’s hotel. Rather than treating wine as an accompaniment selected after the menu has been decided, La VidA places the relationship between the kitchen and the cellar at the centre of the experience.

The Michelin Guide’s 2026 coverage highlights the connection between the restaurant’s menu and the process of vinification. Its description also notes the contemporary dining room and open kitchen, where the preparation of the food remains part of the evening’s experience. The menu is paired with a choice of wine experiences.

The signature pairing draws on the Susana Balbo Signature range. The Nosotros option introduces limited-edition wines, while the 25 Años Susana Balbo pairing offers historic vintages that are no longer commercially available. The latter is associated with a private Chef’s Table experience. Each option offers a different way to explore the family’s wines alongside the cooking. For guests with a particular interest in Argentine wine, the pairings provide an opportunity to consider how the selection in the glass changes the experience of a dish.

To be continued…

Chef Flavia’s reimagined humita, a dish rooted in northern Argentina and brought to life with a contemporary twist. (Photo by La Vida Restaurant)

La VidA brings fine dining to the tranquil surroundings of Chacras de Coria. (Photo by La Vida Restaurant)

Susana Balbo Signature Blanco de Gualtallary, a gold medallist of the 2026 DWWA scoring 95 points, is one of the first Torrontés from this region. (Photos by La Vida Restaurant & Susana Balbo Wines)

The Nosotros by Susana Balbo Wines features (from left) the Single Vineyard Nómade Malbec, Corcel Malbec and Sofita red blend. (Photo by Susana Balbo Wines)