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Published: April 18th 2007
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The Vines of Mendoza
The vines are irrigated by the collected glacier melt-waters from the mountain range behind. Very few things go better with steak than a strong red wine, so with the Argentineans lust for steak we weren’t surprised to find a thriving wine industry - what did surprise us was how modern it was and the high standard of the wonderful wines it produced. Argentina probably produces the best Malbec in the world and the area around Mendoza produces Malbec to its highest quality, so after an overnight journey from Bariloche to Medoza our first stop on the Argentine wine trail was looking good.
The Mendoza Province sits in the middle of the high plains, under the shadow of the snow capped Andes. Due to the elevated altitude and low humidity of the main wine producing regions, Argentine vineyards rarely face the problems of insects, fungi, moulds and other diseases that affect grapes in other countries. Not unlike Australia, there are many different varieties of grapes cultivated in Argentina reflecting the many immigrant groups that have come and settled in the country. In the Mendoza Province the French brought Auxerrois, which became known as Malbec and the Bonarda was brought by the Italians and now Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay and other international wines are being
Tree-lined Streets of Mendoza
The trees have been planted in irrigation channels that ru each side of the street. widely planted.
Like most cities in Argentina, Mendoza looks like a European city. The city centre has tree-lined roads and many small parks, known as plazas, spread around it. The city is centered around the large Plaza Independencia where the people come to gather to chat. Around most of these plazas there are plenty of great cafes and restaurants that spill their tables onto the footways. At one of these cafes we joined the hip, young things in their latest fashion sunglasses mingling with older refined gentlemen in hats for lunch and did as the locals did. We enjoyed the dappled sunlight as we sipped at our huge glasses of wine while we ate and watched the world pass us by.
Later that evening (after siesta of course!) we joined the other travellers from our hostel for an Argentinean asado (Aussie translation: BBQ) put on by the owners for 20 pesos for all you can eat and were taught first hand the three rules for a good asado:
1. Plenty of meat - typically the Argentineans cater 1kg of meat per person, and serve it with chimichurri (a tasty, slightly hot sauce served as an accompaniment to steak)
Plaza España in Mendoza
The colourful tiles of Plaza España. One of the four small plazas that satellite the Main Plaza Indepencia in the town centre. 2. Plenty of salt - apparently rock salt is the best,
3. Plenty of patience - by the time the grill was fired up and the meat cooked we didn’t start eating until 11pm.
All the while we were sharing stories and carafes of red wine with our fellow travellers before acoustic guitars appeared and were played into the wee hours.
Mendoza has five principal wine regions, so together with Lizzy, one of our fellow Patagonia companions, we decided to explore one of the closest regions, Maipu, and try the wines and local produce on a cycling tour. Armed with a map and a mountain bike we visited the wine making museum at La Rural Bodega (or winery), before riding for 10km to visit the Carinae vineyard (named after a constellation only seen in Mendoza during the wine harvest). We tried some wonderful wines here before being shown some of the plots of vines (named after different constellations) and walking through the wine making process. Here historical and modern practices are used side by side: hand picking and the use of a 100-year old pressing machine with modern lab testing and temperature controlled rooms.
Our last stop in
Roll Out the Barrells
The wine barrells of Mendoza. To drink on-site only. Mendoza was at “The Vines”, an independent cellar door that represents a number of selected vineyards from the region whilst being conveniently located in the middle of town. It has a wine bar feel where you can try a “flight” of wine (5 tastings) at the bar with explanations by well educated wine experts or you could just sit in the courtyard enjoying your selected wine by the glass. Tim and I both had a different flight so we could try ten wines in total, and thanks to our wine expert we tasted an additional wine on the house. He had been told that one of his Syrahs was like an Australian style Syrah (in Australia we call it Shiraz) and he wanted some Aussie guineapigs to try it on, we were only too happy to oblige.
For wine buffs out there a hot tip from our wine expert - 2006 Malbecs from Mendoza are the best yet, buy a few and lay them down for two-three years. Some recommendations are at the bottom of this blog. Heading further north in Argentina, but still on the eastern side of the Andes, lies the city of Salta. It was
The Cowhide Press
This is the cowhide grape press that was onced used in this winery. The Argentinians know that there is more than one to skin our cow ... and grapes for that matter. another overnight bus journey for us from Mendoza to Salta but the cama buses in Argentina are the best we’ve ever seen. The seats are like leather recliners and there is a full dinner service, including wine, on board. Salta is famous for its old, Spanish-style colonial architecture and is surrounded by magnificent scenery - it is one of Argentina's most beautiful cities.
In Salta we met up with our Irish mates Andy and Michelle again and had companions to tour the town and nearby Calchaquíes valley vineyards. Route 69 from Salta to Cafayate is one of the most scenic roads in the world to travel along. It winds its way through the Calchaquíes valley, past canyons, cactus landscapes and then lush vineyards to the small town of Cafayate. Bodegas from several different vineyards surround the town and we got to try the local specialty, Torrontés, here.
The Torrontés is the most typically grown grape in Argentina and it is made into a sweet style white wine - similar to the Australian Moselle style. Not to our taste but the Argentinean tourists were loving it and buying up big. The wine industry here also caters more to the
Grapes From the Harvest
The bunches at this small vinyard are still hand picked at harvest time. table wine market so most of the wine is sold in 5L bottles to restaurants in the area. We got to taste some of this wine when we stopped for lunch in Cafayate, but not in the expected way. After a steak and cold beer, what better dessert than wine gelato? There were two flavours to choose from: Torrontés and Malbec. Guess which one we liked best?
L
Additional Wine Information The Vines of Mendoza:
www.vinesofmendoza.com
check out their insiders guide (downloadable 4-page pdf)
Carinae Bodega - www.carinaevinos.com we highly recommend their Malbec
Wine bike tour - www.bikesandwines.com shows the other bodegas with tastings available on route
More info to be added soon…
Chimichurri Recipe 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
1 small bunch flat leaf-parsley; chopped (should equal about 1/2 cup)
1 medium onion; finely chopped
2 cloves garlic; finely minced
1/2 of a red bell pepper; seeded and finely diced
1 tomato; peeled, seeded, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Teaspoon bay leaf (laurel); very small flakes
1 Tablespoon coarse salt
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
hot chili flakes to taste
Make
The Road to Cafayate
The colourful landscape between Salta and Cafayate. sure all of the fresh ingredients are well washed and clean before preparing.
Add all of the ingredients except the oil and vinegar into a large bowl and toss well to make sure that the salt is spread evenly around the ingredients. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Next add the vinegar and water. Mix well. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Finally add the oil and mix well. Make sure that the liquids cover the rest of the ingredients. If not add equal parts of oil, water, and vinegar until they are covered at least by a quarter of an inch. Transfer to a non-reactive clean bowl or jar that can be covered. Make sure to cover well. Place in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend overnight. For better results prepare at least 2 or 3 days ahead of time.
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