Bikes & Wine

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The bus ride to Mendoza is a daunting 14 hours. Overnight busses have been a true blessing on this trip. Leaving at 10pm, we arrived Friday around 1pm. We treated ourselves to a tasty lunch and then checked it at our hostel, Damajuana. We bunked with two girls from Liverpool. (I must say, after hanging out with my pal Flo in Cusco, she's from Cambridge, my English-UK accent d vocabulary is fabulous.)

Next we set off to wander around and explore the city of Mendoza. It was really nice. It's still a larger city, I'd guess a similar size to Minneapolis/Twin Cities, but much more relaxed then Buenos Aires. Mendoza has a large Rasta community and the main plaza, Plaza Indepencia, has an art fair on the weekends that we were able to check out.

As the evening rolled around we headed to a BBQ, hosted by our hostel and another, Itaka. It was all you can eat/drink meat & wine. It was so delicious. Here we met a couple more Americans and some Australians.

After a tasty meal we decided to head out to some bars. Mendoza has an fun strip of bars right next to our hostel. It was an enjoyable night. Australians sure can dance.

Saturday we woke up early and caught a bus to Maipu, a town outside of the city of Mendoza, and home to many of the vineyards in the area. We rented bikes and started our tour off at the Mendoza Wine Museum.

The museum was an awesome first stop because we were able to learn more about the different varieties in the region as well as the process and the transformation of the process throughout history.

Mendoza has a wide variety of grapes in the area. The reds consist of: Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo and most notably, Malbec. The whites consist of: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Torrontes and Viognier.

It was awesome to see the differences between the grapes and to learn more about the harvest process.

Next we headed to a Chocolateria-La Antigua. Here we were able to try olive oils, jams, sweet spreads and liqueurs. The olive oils were so delicious. My favorites were the eggplant, the sweet pepper and the black olive with spicy peppers. The sweet Malbec jam was by far my favorite of the sweets. Finally we tried the liqueurs. The chocolate-banana was awesome. We were able to try the absinthe they make there as well. It was awful. It was like drinking fire. I completely understand why it's illegal in the States.

After a treacherous bike ride through construction sites we finally made it to a paved road, lined with trees and vineyards on both sides. It was so pretty.

Our next stop was Bodega di Tomasso. A family owned vineyard & bistro. It was a beautiful view, past the farm & vineyard were the Andes. We agreed that lunch wouldn't be such a bad idea. We enjoyed a young Malbec next to the vineyard over a hearty lunch. It was truly a wonderful experience.

We made it to Bodega Tempus Alba and Bodega Vina El Cerno. At Vina El Cerno I was able to see the work in action. The used both oak barrels and brass barrels to age the wine. They had a wide variety of young, medium and aged wines. Their oldest wine was a 2002 Tempranillo. The grapes were picked from vines that were between 80-100 years old. They aged the wine first for a year in wood barrels and then for 3 more years in steel barrels. After, it is bottled and kept in the cellar for a year before sale. It was one of the best wines I've ever tasted. One thing I really can't get over was how great it smelled. I wish there was a way to keep the smells like there is pictures. At Vina El Cerno I also tried a 2004 Malbec, a 2008 Malbec, a 2010 Malbec, and their champagne. After learning about the different processes for the different wines it was easier to smell, see & taste the differences. On my way out a worker snuck me a vine of grapes. As cliche as I'm sure it sounds, they were honestly the best grapes I've ever had in my whole life. They were mouth-watering. If I could take anything home with me it'd be those grapes.

Next we made our way to the Trapiche winery. It's one of the most famous bodegas in Argentina. They have four different lines of wines. The property itself is breathtaking. Since arriving in Buenos Aires I had indulged in a few different Trapiche wines so it was really cool to see where they are made. It was a very elegant and modern winery compared to some of the others.

Surprisingly, I thought the biking got easier with the more I consumed. It was so nice to be able to bike again in the sun.

Post bike & wine, we were able to relax before we needed to catch a bus back to Buenos Aires. I spent majority of that time in a hammock. A wonderful ending to a perfect day.


*I´ll add pictures when I get back to the States.

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