biking under the influence

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I had imagined gently riding a bike through the vineyards, surrounded by rolling hills - the kind of thing you would find in the south of France. Passing friendly locals, maybe seeing a horse and cart and of course I am wearing a bellowing white dress and large hat while the sun dapples around.

What we had were bikes with thin racing seats - does anyone find them comfortable? As for the rolling hills it was more like cycling down the A3 with cars passing at 70 MPH and trucks shaking every bone in your body. By the time you arrive at the first Bodego you are in need of the wine that they provide.

Mendoza is the heart of Argentina´s wine producing country. The Bodegos range from small scale family run operations to large multinational companies that provide wine for the tables of Europeans. You can visit for a spot of lunch, a tour and the obligatory wine tasting.

Touring the vineyards gives you the opportunity to learn more about wine production. I now know that from a red grape such as Malbec you can get white wine by removing the skin and pips, rose by leaving the skin on for a week or red wine by keeping it the skin on.

Each Bodago provides you with four or five glasses of wine making the journey home a little more wobbly but a lot more pleasurable.

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