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Published: July 22nd 2009
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Bodega Weinert
Wine barrels, underground By the time I got to Mendoza, I was completely and utterly exhausted. At this point, the area around my eyelashes was a crimson red and there was a deep wrinkle under each of my eyes. I had seemingly managed to age several years in only a week. Argentina will do that to you. But there was no time to relax because there was still more to explore. I had already seen most of Mendoza´s main sights, including the spectacular surrounding Andes mountains, so I wanted to familiarize myself more with its famous vineyards.
The next day I took a tour of two local wineries. There are over 1000 wineries in the region so choosing which ones to visit is not easy. On this organized tour we first visited Bodega Weinert. Following standard procedure, the tour started with a walk around the facility, the guide explaining how they make their wine. It can only hold your interest for so long because pretty soon you´re just itching for the tasting session. We had three different wines to try, including a Carrascal, which is a unique blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet. I enjoyed it enough to purchase a bottle. Next the
tour took us to an olive oil factory which made some truly fantastic products. The last stop on the tour was a small winery called Cavas de Don Arturo. It is so small that they have little to no distrbution; you can only buy their wines at their bodega. The wines were truly excellent, and the bottle I purchased and drank a few days later with friends was one of the better wines I´ve had in my time here. That night I hung out with Hernan in our hostel with some newfound friends, including a French guy who worked at the hostel, a Chilean who had been living at the hostel for months, a few locals, and a few other travelers from Buenos Aires. I was one of the only gringos staying at the hostel but honestly I prefer it that way. I can hang out with gringos at home all the time, but hanging out with Latinos until late is not something I can do everyday. It was a motley crue of characters, including the French guy, Nikolas. He had come to Argentina a few months ago and never left. He eventually became an employee at the hostel. He
was nice enough but did lead a sad existence. I would see him at the reception desk, drinking Stella Artois and smoking cigarettes at 10 in the morning. This was pretty much a daily thing for him. I hoped that for his sake he would go back to France soon and do something a little more productive.
The next day was Saturday. There was one bodega, Familia Zuccardi, which I really wanted to visit. One of their product lines, Santa Julia, is one of my favorite wines and it is so cheap to boot (about $4-5 a bottle). After convincing Hernan and a girl from Buenos Aires named Guadalupe to go with me, we took a taxi out to the bodega. Little did I know that this would be one of the most memorable gastronomical experience of my entire life.
We arrived at Familia Zuccardi in the early afternoon and immediately joined a tour. The winery was truly impressive and the vats in which the wine was fermented were massive. They have several different product lines, including their Reserva (Reserve) line where the wine is aged in wood barrels for nearly a year. The tour itself was top-notch
and I was glad to visit such a world-class winery after visiting several mediocre ones. This winery has won numerous international awards and it did not disappoint. At the end of the tour came the tasting session. This winery was one of the few where you had to pay for the tasting session, but it was definitely worth it. We were able to try five different wines, and the two red wines were from their Reserva line. In other words, not the cheap stuff. Our guide explained each of the wines in detail and showed everyone exactly how to hold the glass and take a proper sip.
After my taste buds were already in heaven, they were catapulted into the stratosphere as we made our way to the Famila Zuccardi restaurant for lunch. It was a culinary experience unlike any other, a five course meal with three different wines. In the US I would never be able to afford something like this, but for only $35 all inclusive I had it all. They know how to live here. The meal started out with a cauliflower soup with a white wine. Then came empanadas (a popular snack here, basically fried
Familia Zuccardi Tour
Yes these vats are full of wine dough filled with meat, cheese and vegetables) of several different kinds and a hearty salad. This was just the beginning. The main course was a parrilla menu (grilled meat) paired with Santa Julia´s Reserva Malbec wine. Malbec is Argentina´s famous type of wine and goes especially well with its equally famous beef. We received endless portions of steak, sausage and chicken and ate and drank until we couldn´t move, and then ate and drank some more until dessert and more wine came.
After the meal we went back to the winery´s store and I bought two bottles, including one that you´re supposed to hold in your wine cellar for 5-10 years before drinking. Let´s see if it makes it that long. Our tour guide from earlier was also there and, even after the wine tasting and the wine from lunch, he served us some more wine and champagne. When we got back to the hostel I took a nap to sleep everything off. I had to get some rest because I knew we would be going out later. The H1N1 issue is pretty severe here and all of the nightclubs in Mendoza were closed; only a few bars were
open.
Although I had little interest in staying out late that night, when in Rome.........A big group of us went to a local bar and even after a long day of eating and drinking we still stayed out until 5am. Yep, another typical night in Argentina.
That day at the bodega will be ingrained into my memory for quite some time. Everything was so delicious and the wine so excellent that it was complete sensory overload, too much for my taste buds to handle. I had to apologize to Hernan and Guadalupe several times during our meal for sighing in pure delight so much. It was an experience I will not soon forget.
Part III coming soon
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dorothee Herlyn
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Du Saeufer!!
Mensch Bernie, warst Du nicht total besoffen? Ich meine bewustlos, im Koma? So wie Antje frueher? Mama