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Mendoza Mendoza - malbecs, desert, food and cheese. This is such a chilled out town - I feel so relaxed that I wouldn´t know if I was missing a spine. We got there by the night bus after 16 hours from Buenos Aires. After El Calafate, it was hot, hot, hot, at least the first day was... Unfortunately TJ was a bit under the weather at the beginning and it was my turn at the end, so we didn´t go all out crazy, well, kind of...
We were there for four nights, and the night was spent in Hostel Alamo. My advice would be never to use a guy´s advice as recommendation. It was dark and dingy, and we had to share a bathroom with other people. Ewww... For those who know us, this was paramount of roughing it! Anyway, the next day, we checked ourselves into a nice boutique hotel called the Villagio, central and highly recommended if you are ever there down that way.
Wine tasting 1
The first wine tasting event was the typical backpackers´event - wine tasting around a few vineyards on a bike. The whole trail was about 18 kms in total, of
which we did about 10. The backside part of our anatomy was quite sore after a few kilometres, but the wine did help to relax the muscles! It was a good intro to wine tasting, although unsurprisingly the wine was not that great, with a couple of exceptions. The highlight of the day was visiting a small chocolate/liqueur making place. The chocolates were so delicious and we got a shot of whatever they were making for free. I chose the green chili liqueur and I believe that TJ had the dulce de leche one. Nice, hmmm.
Wine tasting 2
The second day was more of a wine tasting "pro" one. We booked a tour at the excellent Ampora Wine Tour in the Lujan de Cuyo region. The tour started at 9 a.m. and it was an amazing treat- we were the only ones on the tour (guess that is one of the advantages of going in low season) and we had our own guide and chauffeur. Now that is more like it ;-) The first stop was Clos de Chacras, a very traditional vineyard, where they make few bottles a year. Their reserve wine in Gran Estirpe and
we tried the Cavas de Crianza. I preferred the Cabernet Sauvignon to the Malbec and TJ the Malbec. The cheese was great and by the time we had our three glasses, we found out that our guide had a great crush on Ricky Martin and he proved to be a great topic of conversation!
We then continued to Bodegas Renacer where we had the opportunity to sample some grapes as well as mix our own blend of wine. I think we must have had about six small glasses there. The Bodega was in an amazing garden, and it was a great shame that the clouds hid our view of the Andes. The wine we tried where Punto Final Reserva, Punto Final Clasico and Enamore. Lovely, all of it.
For lunch we then visited Bodega Ruca Malen, very stylish winery with again, allegedly a great view of the Andes. It was a five-course lunch with, guess what, five different types of wine to try. We did have the chance to sample their top Kinien wine, which sells at around A$150, which is at the top end.
Then, the fourth vineyard is a bit of a blur. It was
Bodega Benegas, a winery "which has played a fundamental role in the introduction of European grapes to Argentina". It is one of Mendoza’s most historic wineries, and the owner still lives in the Bodega. The living room/dining area is part of the converted winery and it is the biggest I have ever seen!
We went back to the hotel, very happy after a fantastic day!
Wine tasting 3
The third event was less extreme. Vines of Mendoza was our next port of call where we tried a flight of five wines, with really good bread and cheese. By then TJ and I were experts in smelling the wine and swirling our glasses. Again, if you are in that part of the world, it´s something you´´ve got to do!
Now, we are heading back to Buenos Aires for a day on the bus (this time executive cama, with full reclining seats, hot meals and wine) and then off to Iguazu, yay!
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