Mendoza, it's relax and wine time!

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Back to Mendoza! This time, we arrived from Santiago in Chile. The 8 hours drive from the Chilean capital is an impressive one, specially the moment you drive through the Andes. Purely magic. We were on a very comfortable "cama" bus from Andersmar. The only think we actually missed was some wine and a hot meal, but beside this, very nice drive in the middle of the day.



We actually stay twice two nights in Mendoza, as we went to Malargue and Las Lenas in the middle.



There is not to visit in Mendoza itself. The city is a very pleasant one, and we actually did not much during our stay behind taking some relax "couple time"! There are obviously the bodegas to visit all around Mendoza. On one morning, we made our way to Trapiche. In the past, I had visited DV Catena, Trapiche and Luis Bosca. Trapiche was an amazing visit few years ago. Most Bodega do a little tasting and a visit of the grounds. Trapiche tend to open more "premium wines" even with their basic visit and their guides was way more impressive last time. So we went back, and I was not disappointed by the visit.



Funny facts for the visit today. First, they had only a visit in Spanish at the time of the day we wanted to visit. This is already low season, they have smaller groups, but also less number of visits. I wasn't sure if my Spanish was decent enough to experience such a visit. Verdict...I can do it, and we even had some solid wine talk with the guide that did speak any English. Happy me!



Trapiche has also started to experience with vineyards around Mar del Plata. This means wine next to the Atlantic...should be great to develop some Sauvignon Blanc or other Pinot Noir. I didn't ask to try the Pinot Noir as obviously the vines are a little too young, but our guide open the Sauvignon Blanc. The only thing I can say is I was disappointed. You don't find anything of interest that you could find in any Sauvignon Blanc in either New Zealand or South Africa. Let be honest and give them 5 years, but at the current price tag, which is not low, it's clearly not a "buy" for me!



I have to admit, if you give me the choice, I prefer the wine of the region of Salta. Yes, I was looking for a bottle of the iconic El Porvenir for more than a while, and I finally found it at the Winery shop in Mendoza! That shop and its staff is something pretty stunning...will have to come back!



Bought a bottle of El Porvenir and went to eat and drink it next door! Actually, I bought more than one! Next door restaurant was Fuerte & Fonda....just the place for a to milanesa napolitana. It was a first for Tanya, and she loved it. They even have a solid sommelier! When he saw the bottle, I can't tell you the smile he had on his smile. Obviously we share some with him...and weren't therefore charged any corkage fee! I love this way, you please the sommelier, and he is happy to indulge in removing the corkage fee...great deal!



We stay at the Sheraton and were treated very nicely. Nice breakfast with a stunning view...and a nice warm swimming pool....to do not much. We also spent some lunches at the Mercado Central for Tanya to learn all the beautiful food this country has to offer.



Interesting point to note. In the past, I would always rave about the steak in Argentina. Well, having lived in Asia, it was easy to enjoy that meat. But today, let put it simply, we have better steaks and cheaper ones at that back at home in South Africa. So we moved pretty fast from steaks to milanesas on this few days!



Next entry will be the last one about Argentina, I call Buenos Aires. We stay a total of 7 days, over 2 stays in the Capital. You will have to be patient for it, as I'm getting off the grid for a while first!

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