Chapter two - Wine wine and more wine


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South America » Argentina » Mendoza
March 18th 2016
Published: March 18th 2016
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The bus from Valparaiso stopped in the centre of Mendoza so it was only a short taxi ride to the hotel. The hotel was in a fantastic spot and I was immediately impressed by the intuitive hotel staff who upon showing me a map of the city firstly pointed out where the pharmacy was.

Needing to stretch my legs I took a walk to get my bearings and was comforted by the wide tree lined streets. They are almost European in style but not quite... They maintain a sense of uniqueness that I can't quite put my finger on. As a tourist it's easy to navigate as all of the streets run parallel / perpendicular to one another. I was later to discover that Menodza is a planned city.

My hotel was just off one of the main boulevards and 200m from the main town square, plaza independence. I didn't wander too far as there was free wine and tapas in the hotel from 7-8 and after a few days of pisco sours I was looking forward to some reds (such a hard life). There was only white wine on offer that evening but surely enough after explaining that I only drink red, a glass of red mysteriously appeared along with some sort of mousse on toast. I still have no idea what the mouse was... It was so divine I couldn't work out if the main ingredient was chocolate or red meat.

There were several of the cities best restaurants within walking distance of the hotel and I ate at one that evening - Azafran. I know when I'm on holidays when I am eating bread and pasta at 9pm in the evening!

The next day I was free until midday when my driver would be meeting me at the hotel to take me on my half day private wine tour. After a swim and some breakfast I set out to explore the city a little further. Temperatures are as high as 34 degrees at the moment but because the streets are so heavily lined with trees there is constant shade and you don't notice it and I enjoyed wandering without a particular destination in mind.

Some would say I am too cautious when travel but I would prefer to be safe than sorry and before my driver came to pick me up at the hotel I asked Martin from the concierge to take all of his contact details and credentials down in case I wasn't back by 6.30. He obliged but thankfully it was completely unnecessary and I had a fabulous afternoon with George who grew up in Mendoza and raised three kids there, the oldest who is the same age as me.

We visited three vineyards that afternoon (I spent too much time talking to people to make it to four) and the first one, Mendel, was by far the highlight. I had the full attention of Silvina who not only guided me through the tastings but showed me the full production line their wines go through. I especially loved watching the women sort through the grapes and appreciated Silvina telling me that only women can perform this task because men do not have enough attention to detail to do it. They also apply all of the labels by hand according to discreet indents in the bottles.

She and I bonded over the realisation that we were both introverts (although you wouldn't think so when we are at work and in our comfort zone) and I appreciated her sharing details about her life with me from her son, the education system in Argentina and of course, the wine industry. I could have spent all afternoon there not just due to the company but also the quality of the wines. Mendel sell in Australia through one supplier but I will be paying close to 6 times the price for a bottle in Sydney than I would at the cellar door. Thanks to Australian customs the cost to ship a dozen to Australia is equally as prohibitive. I had to settle with purchasing one bottle only which will be saved for a special occasion.

The second stop was a larger vineyard with a beautifully shaded courtyard overlooking the vineyards which is where I sat with a glass of sparkling after the tasting. My head was spinning a little bit and I made a mental note to do more 'tasting' and less drinking from this point onwards.

The third stop was also spectacular but quite large and I whilst I preferred the more intimate setting of Mendel, the company at Alta Vista was well worth the stop. I was taken through my tasting by Rosie, a 20yr old exchange student from London who was just delightful. Half way into my tasting I was joined by a Canadian backpacker who had arrived on his bike. Early on in our conversation he asked if I was a model which immediately suggested to me that he was full of shit. Apparently he spends half of the year as a firefighter in Canada and the other half working on a hemp farm in Uruguay. It's ok ... Both Rosie and I knew exactly what we were dealing with. We didn't however expect for him to ask where the bathrooms were and then jump on his bike without paying for his tasting!

I ate dinner on Monday night at another one of the cities best restaurants which was also close to the hotel - Maria Antoinette. I went to bed that night vowing that the next day would be a bread and alcohol free day (well, maximum one glass).

I spent most of Tuesday walking the city. I contemplated a tour or a taking a bus but the city is so easy to navigate that I decided to do it myself which was a wise choice. It's easy to get your bearings from the central square (Independence Plaza) and then there are four smaller squares forming a big square all equidistance of the main square. The Virgo in me was delighted! I took my time walking around to all four squares and Placa Espana was my favourite. Not just because of the abundance of shade and the traditional Spanish design complete with tiles, but because it is home to 'plaza lectora' an outdoor place allowing visitors to enjoy reading seven days a week.

I spent the afternoon by the pool and had a massage and ate dinner at Marie Antionette again (it was that good). Sitting outside on the sidewalk was great people watching and I stayed there over my (just one) glass of wine, for hours.

Wednesday morning before my second half day tour with George I had to go to the supermarket to buy cereal and then the bank... Travel is not all swimming pools and massages. Both of these excursions took approx three times as long as I anticipated but gave me an insight into everyday life in Mendoza. Some of my observations (not limited to supermarkets and banks) include:

- women appear to give birth at quite a young age (compared to Australia)

- breast feeding in public is apparently not as taboo (compared to Australia) and I observed a woman crossing the road, engorged boob out, feeding her 6 month old baby. No one looked twice.

- they are not a terribly fit group of people, perhaps due to the amount of bread they eat and wine they consume (they also don't list the sugar content in their food ... Trying to choose a yoghurt for breakfast in the supermarket was a nightmare)

- an exception to the above are the police force who get around by bike. The women wear little shorty shorts which even I found to be incredibly distracting.

- wine is big business and as it's currently harvest season there are police lining the roads of the streets in the valleys randomly pulling over trucks to check the conditions and paperwork of the workers. About 70% are Argentinian and the bulk of the rest are Bolivians, who are apparently the hardest workers.

- wine is not the biggest business in Mendoza though... Oil is. And not the olive kind but petrol! There are two large refineries outside of the city and had George not told me this I would have never guessed

- Mendoza aren't really into online banking. In a 200m stretch on one of the main streets there would be 6 banks... All of which have queues of people lining out the door all day. Most appear to be exchanging money.

Similar to my previous day with George the first stop on Wednesday was my favourite. The winemaker is Lebanese, the grapes they have are Italian, the business partner is Swiss and they are making Argentinian wines. Apart from the cacophony of cultures the hostess was beautiful, the grounds were stunning and the wines were delicious. I did my private tasting outside in the shaded courtyard and again had one of those moments where I thought to myself 'this is why I do this'. (I am aware that these realisations tend to be alcohol induced). I ate lunch their also in a small but very highly regarded restaurant. George had told them I would have a five course lunch and I felt dreadful explaining I just wanted one.

Another two vineyards after that and then I called it an afternoon. Having George was an extravagance but totally worth it. We discussed everything from South American politics to the health system, maternity leave, climate change, soda consumption and Argentinian authors.

I was back at the hotel by 6 and took advantage of the cooler evening weather and did a last reconnaissance around the town. I was back at the hotel before the sun went down completely, still not used to being (back) in a place where people really stare at you. A lot also speak to me but fortunately (or unfortunately) I have no idea what they're saying.

That night I got my things ready for the flight to BA on Thursday. Chapter two was finished and I was looking forward to chapter three, BA

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