Mendoza

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We arrived in Mendoza after an 18 hour bus ride from Bariloche. That night we joined the free wine tasting at the hostel, we tasted four different wines from the Mendoza region including one white & three red. It was a great opportunity to meet other people staying at the hostel as well as taste some different wines. Mendoza is well known around the world for their Melbec wines which goes perfectly with a good steak.

The next day we caught a bus to Lujan de Cuyo with a couple of backpackers we met at the wine tasting. We hired bikes for the day to explore some of the vineyards in the area.

We first visited Carmelo Patti a very small winery where Carmelo (the owner) has a very hands on role in the business including wine tastings & tours. Carmelo was very passionate about wine & proud of the wine he produces, which have won many awards in both South America and Europe.

The second vineyard was Pulmary where we also enjoyed lunch. It was slightly bigger than Carmelo Patti, but organic & also family run. We had a tour of the winery with the head wine maker and owner. He was fantastic & able answer all our questions. We even tried two wines direct from the barrels.

The third & final vineyard was Alta Vista, a very large & commercial operation - especially compared to the first two we visited. We had to be there at 3pm for the tour & we joined a group of about 20 others. The group was too big, and despite the enthusiasm of the guide, the tour itself was disappointing. However we eventually made it to the wine tasting & all was forgiven. We tried several really good wines from their selection, some of which retail for over US$80. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us taste the premium vintages (US$400 a bottle).

I have wanted to go horse riding since we arrived in Argentina so while in Mendoza we did a short tour. No one else had booked on the trip so we had a private tour. We were picked up from our hostel & driven to the estancia (ranch), about half an hour from the city. It was a working estancia where they provide opportunities for disabled young people to meet & ride the horses, as well as rehabilitating abused horses.

We spent two hours riding in the hills near the estancia. We had a great view of the Andes mounain range & Mendoza. The horses were very well trained & easy to control. Our ride was followed by an asado (Argentine BBQ) & wine, we chatted with our guide & practiced our spanish a little. It was great to have someone fluent in both English & Spanish to correct our mistakes & provide advice.

Mendoza felt like a very livable city with five lovely plazas & large parks.

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