Mendoza

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Our departure from BA on the 11 Dec brought us to the city of Mendoza in central western Argentina. Predominantly known for it's Malbec wines, we also realized that the area has a lot more to offer than just visiting the 5,000 local bodegas (wineries). But we decided to dedicate this entry solely to our visits to local wineries as it was one of the highlights of our visit.

Quickly realizing that visiting bodegas in Argentina is nothing like visiting wineries in Niagara - poor roads, few street signs, reservations required, distances farther than expected - the end result was highly educational, personal tours and free samplings. The majority of wineries visited were surprisingly sophisticated and modern, which was quite a contrast to the surrounding area.

After visiting six bodegas over the course of three afternoons - La Rural, Zuccardi, Septima, Achaval Ferrer, CarinaE, and Ruca Malen - we concluded that Mendoza wines have many unique characteristics, but that Tempranillo is definitely our favourite Argentinian grape.

Salud!

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Photos

Educating ourselves on the wines of Mendoza
Septima - Sampling a Chardonnay amidst the incredible background of the Andes

Sampling the Malbec
Familia Zuccardi- With our own personal tour guide, Francois, Steph and Adam were able to sample wines directly from the tanks.

Historical Wines
La Rural - Examining their private collection of Mendoza wines.

Our first sampling of many...
La Rural - Enjoying free Malbec tastings

Directement de la barrique
Achaval Ferrer - Degustation avec notre guide de Bordeaux, 5 vins extraordinaires dont un qui a decroche la cote de 96 dans le Wine Spectator. On pourrait faire pire!

Les belles jambes...
Ruca Malen - Une autre super degustation devant un paysage memorable

French Oak
Ruca Malen - an exquisite storage room for precious barrels

Comments

[tnt mnemz]

you bring the wine and
we'll bring the cheezes