Wine glorious wine

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The flight up from Patagonia was rather longer than expected and was particularly turbulent given the winds which add an extra level of tension to the day. The connection in BA was rescheduled 90mins later, then it was delayed 30mins and the flight out of Patagonia was 1hr delayed. It was bliss arriving in Mendoza (aside from having the fruit we had bought in El Calafete confiscated - weird not to be able to take fruit from one part of a country to another we thought). We had a driver waiting and it was around 28 degrees at 8pm. We were soon racing along the motorway heading for our lovely Christmas Day hotel in Maipu called El Aguamiel. It was nestled in a small vineyard, all architecturally designed and had a quaint little lap pool. This is exactly what we needed after all the hiking and to prepare for more in the Andes. Christmas Eve is the big ‘event’ in South America so we went out to a restaurant as arranged by the hotel. But it turned into a bit of a nightmare, it was 30mins away the food was fairly average for the extortionate price paid and then the taxi’s didn’t come back to pick us up until 1.30am. After all the fireworks went off, we nearly fell asleep at the table waiting for those cabs. But enough sai¬¬d about the bad night, and on to our delightful Christmas Day. It was hot, hot, hot! After some patio yoga and a quick dip we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and lazed around by the pool; both managing to get out pasty London skin a little pink. The hotel had arranged a BBQ lunch and it was excellent. Scott had a platter full of meat (for 2), grilled cheese and vegetables. They were super generous with me. Starter was grilled prawns, followed by ceviche and then an amazing piece of tuna. Of course all washed down with some of their own vino. That afternoon we lounged around watching movies as it was too hot to venture outside. All in all a brilliant Christmas Day.

After an annoying mix up with the cab driver we made it a little late to the offices of the company that was taking us hiking in Aconcagua Provincial Park. We were going on a 3 day hike up the valley (4200m) to see the south face of the highest peak in the Americas, reaching 6962m. It was a bit of a palaver to get the permits to enter the park and hike. First off we went to what looked like a little TAB shop to pay a huge amount, USD105 each, ouch! Then we went to a touristic office to get all the forms completed, passport verified and forms stamped. The entire process took nearly 90mins or so. We then drove around 3hrs into the Andes, Scott and I mainly snoozed. The drive itself we found out on the way back was very pretty through a rather dramatic valley with colourful mountains on either side. There was also an old unused rail line snaking its way through the valley near the road. It would have made a great train journey, from Mendoza to Santiago over the other side of the Andes through the dramatic landscape. We arrived at a basic ranger station and checked in, then drove a little further before setting off on foot. Our backpacks were a little heavier than Patagonia as we needed to carry sleeping bags and 6litres of water up to our camp for the next two nights; Confluencia 3400m. The hike was slow and steady, ensuring we adjusted to the altitude. On our way back down the mountain we realised the views we lacked on the way up. Had it been clear we would have been walking towards the mighty sight of Aconcagua. However, even though the sun was out there was a low cloud covering hiding the mountain. The landscape was dry, dusty and there were a myriad of colours (reds, browns, yellow’s) pressed into the mountain in an array of different sweeping patterns. Base camp itself was rather basic and our accommodation was in a large white dome with three layers of bunks around the inner wall. There were also other permanent tents used by other companies, plus space for campers. Of the people that head out to summit only around 50%!m(MISSING)ake it, so it is a real challenge, nothing to be sniffed at. I meet an American chap about to start the trail to the summit; interestingly he didn’t have a tent but an industrial strength sleeping bag. It looked pretty odd him lying there on a mat, he got a few odd looks. We enjoyed another amazing three course meal high up in the Andes; I especially liked the orange glazed chicken presented to Scott with a slice of orange and olive on top. After dinner we had to have a medical check, somehow I ended up getting an oxygen reading 2 points below the acceptable range. So ended up having to drink lots of water and juice, thus the night was disrupted not only by loud snorers but trips to the toilet housed in a tin shed. The facilities were really not that bad considering where we were in the world. But to be honest, we were both happy this was the last of the hostel / camping environments.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast (pancakes with the classic ‘dulce de leche’, yumbo!) outside in the sunshine and watched the mule packs heading up the mountain with supplies. I had to first go back to the medical tent and luckily on the second attempted made a great score on the oxygen front. Sadly the top of Aconcagua was still very much covered with cloud, as we set off we were hopeful that it may clear. It was not to be. The hike up another 800m to Plaza Francia at 4200m followed the dirty Glacier Horcones Inferior on the left. It was covered with brown dirt and rocks until you neared the top and started to see waves of white ice, you wouldn’t know the mass of dirt was in fact a Glacier. On the right were rugged, pointy mountains in an array of colours. Once we reached the moonscape like plateau it started to snow. Thankfully it was more of a dry snow, but it was pretty much horizontal right into the face. When our guide, back in Mendoza, said ‘are you prepared for snow’ I smiled thinking no chance ... was I wrong. The snow continued pretty much right up the valley and blocked the entire view as we reached the mirador point of the South face. After a waiting some time, the decision was made to head back as it was starting to get pretty cold. As we descended the valley behind us started to vanish, so the visibility for the people behind us was even worse. That evening was very cold in the camp, however the cloud and snow disappeared around 9pm and we saw a lovely sunset over the mountain and could see the top of the south face. But it would have been better to have the altitude hike pay some dividends with a view, oh well, the weather gods have been a little unkind on this holiday. The night was very cold and very loud with a few more snorers joining the dome. The morning, however, was spectacular; bright blue skies and barely a cloud in sight. We enjoyed excellent views on our walk out of base camp. Sadly, that morning, we also learnt during the bad weather the previous day a lady had died on the mountain and some else rescued with server frost bite of the foot. You could now understand why they take the medical checks so seriously, I think you do forget the altitude given it is such a short distance from Mendoza. Plus we have so causally run up some high mountains in both Bhutan and Guatemala.

Back in Mendoza we arrived at our base in the Maipu valley, TikayKilla lodge, a very basic room with an exceptionally friendly owner right next door to one of the oldest vineyards in Mendoza. To be honest we both felt very dirty (covered in the light dry dust from Aconcagua) and tired; the walk although not that far at that altitude does suck your energy. But we soon scrubbed up and were whizzing past the vast vineyards along tree line roads towards another major wine area Lujan De Cuyo. This was where, at Finca Adalgisa, we would have our best evening in Argentina thus far at a cooking class. The Finca itself was something out of a design magazine, absolutely gorgeous. We were lead to the small vineyard production room (produce 3000 bottles a year), passed an outdoor kitchen and eating bar area (meeting Cristina Brino, our chief and teacher), then out that back to a lovely and extremely calm patio. This is when we sample the first glass of their Malbec that we had, it was followed by MANY more of the course of the evening. We were joined on the cooking class by a very similar couple from San Francisco (Phil and Emma) who were great fun, they also enjoyed many glasses of the Malbec with us during the evening. Cristina was a lovely women and excellent teacher. We learnt and watched her make empanadas (very traditional food in Argentina and like small Cornish pastries), an amazing fresh herb sauce called Chimichurri to accompany the huge piece of steak (in my case salmon) and then finally baked fruit including figs which she plucked right off the tree! We have now decided that when we move somewhere with a backyard the first thing on the agenda, and an absolute must, will be to build a large outdoor kitchen for entertaining, including a clay oven. As Christina said ‘empanadas are better made with friends’.

We got home around 2am, only getting around 5hrs sleep before we were up and out the door heading for Valle De Uco; the newest wine area. It was around a 2hr drive south along the famous Route 40 (stretches top to bottom of Argentina). Given it was so early, and no cloud had formed, we were able to get the clear and iconic view of the snow capped Andes with wines in the foreground. Also in the foreground were large pumping machines, and what we learnt was the area is rich in oil – wine & oil, so rather a rich state. We visited two vineyards and the first was the most stunning I have ever been to and may ever go to. O.Fournier was architecturally designed (it has won an award), extremely high tech and the approach was via a dusty unpaved road. The production building looked like a spaceship, as did the large vats inside and it is all based on gravity so the trucks carrying the grapes go up a ramp and tipped into the vats. The temperature in the vats could all be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world. Thus the winemaker who resides over this vineyard, one in Chile and Spain can change the temperature via her Blackberry. Our private guide was an enthusiastic Argentinean who had spent a number of seasons down in central Otago area and Napa. The greater Mendoza region lies within the latitude sweet spot of 32 to 38 degrees and because it is a desert that they irrigate manually they have fantastic control over how and what they grow. Inside was beautifully created, the walls were covered with modern art, and the highlight was the cellar with a light filled indigenous representation of the Southern Cross. They used the astrology of the Southern Cross to name all their wines. The owner was a very wealthy Spaniard who due to being an economist ended up building the vineyard at the best possible time, just after the massive currency devaluation in 2001. The wine tasting room was again very modern and we sampled some of their Urban range (table wine) and then the Alfa (premium) which was divine, so we have a bottle of that to take home and keep for ten years, come on 2017! The drive around Uco Valley provided some perspective of the scale of the production of the region. There were gigantic field upon field of vines; I have never seen anything so big in the other wine regions I have visited. It is mind blowing how large the area is and production. Incredibly the entire vintage throughout Argentina is handpicked (by Bolivian labour we were told). The next vineyard we visited, Salentein, was owned by a man from Holland, and included a modern art gallery free to enter; goodness knows where all the money is coming from to run that. The production is around the 5 million litre mark, and consists of three areas in the Valley, one being at the highest point. The wine itself was a little disappointing, but given it was a large tour we joined, we didn’t get to taste the good stuff. We arrived back in reasonble time so relaxed in the garden and played with the hotel dog, lovely golden lab. That evening we chilled at the hotel, drinking the Urban wine purchased from O.Fournier and planning the next day’s biking tour of Maipu. Can we visit 7 vineyards and still make it back in one piece?

The day was bright and warm and we set off on a slightly different course than the one plotted over night. Francesco the Tikka Lodge owner recommended we visited the largest vineyard in Maipu (Trapiche). We had discounted it after visiting Salentein, which was pretty large, the previous day. We were very glad to have taken the recommendation. We did a short tour around the newly restored production building, the building itself was left vacant for nearly 30ys but since 2006 it has been used for their premium wine production, which we sampled during the tasting with a couple from New York (one who was the former head of the American Bar Association and very interesting) and a brash pair from Brazil. The tour had an interesting twist as it provided some information on the start of the wine trade in Mendoza. Initially the wine was taken in barrels by mules and horses to Buenos Aires, as there was no bottling capabilities, by the time it arrived the wine had to be ‘resurrected’. The wine was not good. The introduction of the railway by the Brits helped with the journey. So many of the older vineyards are built very close to the old railway line, all now in disrepair after being sold off during a scandalous period of politics in the 90’s. Trapiche produce wine from over 300 vineyards, mainly in and around Mendoza but some of the white wine grapes coming from up north, around 5m litres. Their sparkling wine was excellent, as were the two strong reds the surprise was the Malbec desert wine, given it is a smaller bottle we bought one to take home. We were able to get the UK distributers name, so hopefully we can track down some of the reds in London. It was then a long ride, around 7.5km to the farthest point of the trail; a small French owned vineyard called Carinae, only producing 80k litres per year. It was a very pretty ride along tree lined roads, in most cases flanked by vines or olive trees. The only mishap was when we I rode through some barbwire and I cut my toes up a bit. This is when we started to run into the crowds, there was around 20 or so bikes parked up when we arrived. Rather than doing another tour we took the premium wine tasting option. They named all their wines after the star constellations and had some lovely Syrah and Malbec bends. We purchased a bottle of prestige blend and now we have 3 bottles to take home ... I think four is the upper limit without a serious spillage situation greeting us at Heathrow. Damn those terrorist’s for the liquid ban. We decided to skip an older vineyard as there were around 40 bikes parked up front and head straight to the modern Tempus Alba, owned by an Italian. We enjoyed a break on their rooftop terrace, sampled some of their reds and had a lovely lunch. We left a little late, around 4.30 so we had to ride like the wind to get to La Rural before it closed at 5pm. On arrival at 4.50pm we managed to taste a lovely small production Malbec and poked around the museum of old wine making equipment. At this stage things were getting a little shambolic and we struggled to park our bikes properly when we visited A La Antigua a delicatessen. We went on to taste olive oil, a divinely sweet balsamic, jams and liqueurs, in Scott’s case absinthe (ouch!). Our final stop was a little place called Vina Maria and just up the road from our hotel, we managed to sneak in a final tasting of two of their Malbec’s before closing and given the good taste and the reasonable price, we bought two for the road. So the telly was 5 vineyards, 4 bottles of wine purchased and 1 well deserved nap.

The following morning we set off for the 12 million strong capital; Buenos Aires. By early afternoon we had checked into the lovely Mine Hotel in the heart of BA’s Palermo district. The area itself was great and buzzing with shops, bars and restaurants. Scott had managed to rip his jeans so we had to go on a quick shopping mission to find some new ones before the celebrations that evening. Lucky there were tonnes of men’s clothing stores literally right outside the door. We enjoyed a long lunch (nothing is ever done in a hurry in this city) and a few vinos before relaxing back at the hotel. New Years Eve was a lot more low key they we had anticipated, the advertised ‘live DJ’ was sitting in the corner playing hypnotic CD’s. However the food and champagne for the toast was excellent. The funniest thing was the led up to the countdown. The DJ told us we had 20secs to go then proceeded to play jingle bells!?!

With our underwhelming new years eve over we had a very relaxing time in BA. On the first day of the year we had lunch in San Temo, taking in the Tango going on in the local square (for the tourists). Then in the blazing sun did a little site seeing via a bike tour, which was made more interesting as the Dakar motorcar rally was parading through the city to start the race on the 2nd Jan. The following day we visited a very pretty cemetery with majestic tomes then strolled the pretty tree lined boulevards taking in the modern art museum. The city definitely had a European feel about it with the lovely parks and architecture. Generally we did a lot of long lunches, strolling, shopping, sunbathing (hotel had a lovely plunge pool) and experiencing the late night restaurant scene. We managed to dine at many of the fabulous parrilla’s (Argentinean steak houses) and downed some of Mendoza’s finest wines, many of them vineyards we had visited. Thank goodness they also make great pasta! I ate like I was in Italy, pasta for lunch and dinner. The one hic-up we had was our flight back to the UK was cancelled, later we found out because of problems with the plane. We were lucky enough to get the final seats on the flight the following day, but had to change hotels. It was just down the road in another lovely boutique residence. So we embarked on an extra day of the usual ... long lunch, shop and a late dinner. On our final night we stumbled across an excellent fusion restaurant and a barman that made superb cocktails. The following morning we embarked on a long and very packed flight home to the rain in London.

PHOTOS

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