Wine,wine, and perhaps a glass of wine

Mendoza is the wine capital of not only Argentina but South America as a whole. Producing 70% of all wine exported out of the continent. In South Africa last year we experienced our first blush of wine tasting and for those that know us it may not come as a surprise that we took to it very well. So much so that when planning this trip we decided to give ourselves plenty of time to drink our way through Mendoza’s offerings.

Arriving at the bus terminal we had another 20 minute journey to reach our hotel in Lujan de Cuyo, one of the 3 major wine regions in Mendoza and the first we would be sampling. We arrived to a very warm welcome and shown to our room.

After feeling rather well rested from our ride we hopped in the shower and went to reception to find out how to get to our first winery. Differently to what we had previously experienced all wineries here require an appointment. We booked in for a 3pm slot and decided to walk the short “15-20 minute” distance. Almost an hour later we found our destination, Alta Vista. We were in a group of 6 and were told about the background of the Alta estate.

Currently owned by a French couple, they utilize French techniques with Argentinian grapes. The French owner is also the ambassador for his nation, his office within the grounds makes the land truly a mix of the 2 countries. The guide talked us through the diffrent wines produced at the vineyard. The premium bottle being the Alto, aged for 18 months in first cask French Oak. The wine is so acclaimed that if the grapes aren’t up to their full potential due to a poor harvest the winery will forego making the Alto altogether, this has only occurred 3 times in the past 15 years but it goes to show how highly they consider this wine. Only 10,000 bottles are produced annually and they are only sold through the winery itself.

Our tour included a visit to the cellars, viewing of the different fermentation tanks and concluded with the bit we’d both been waiting for…the tasting. We tasted 4 different wines including a white only produced in Argentina, Torrentes.

After the tasting concluded we were offered to try a glass of the sacred Alto for $8 which was a steal when the bottle would set you back over $100. The pour was more than generous and was enough to share before our walk back to the hotel. On the walk we decided Alto was our new favorite wine, now we just had to find a way to fund such tastes!

For dinner we were recommended a place in town so after sampling a bottle from our hotels own wine cellar we showered, changed and headed out. Tonight Dave was left in control of all ordering. We had a feast and enjoyed a little more wine accompanied with a little more steak, a theme was definitely developing. We retired to bed immediately after dinner, full and tired from the first of many a hectic day in Mendoza!

Day 2
Today we had booked a driver to take us around some of the wineries. The Lajun de Cuyo region is spread out a little so when we were told that our driver would drive, make all reservations and provide a bit of help in winery choices, it was clearly the best option.

A 9am start after lining our tummies with breakfast and we were on our way for our first tasting at 10.30. The first stop was Achaval Ferrer. The backdrop for this boutique winery was breathtaking. From the tasting room you could see the snow topped Andes.

We sampled 4 wines here 2 of which were taken directly from the barrel before even reaching maturity. Our guide told us that tasting them like this was like tasting the batter of a cake mix. Just because it wasn’t the end product didn’t mean you couldn’t distinguish by taste that it was a quality product.

A bottle of each of those taken from the barrel would set you back $120 and again was only sold from the vineyard. All vineyards often also grow olive trees to produce olive oil as a sideline and to help fund bad grape crop years. We also got to try some of the house oil which was as delicious as the wine.

Next stop was to include a 5 course lunch in addition with the wine pairing. This winery was also unique in that it housed one of only 2 smelling rooms in the world, the other is in France.

We were shown to the room and left to play a game of guess the smell. Whether or not this was the correct way to handle the situation we do not know but we had fun. Each glass jar held a different smell which can be found in all wines. We made our way around the room, smelling and guessing, and then led upstairs for lunch. The restaurant was on the second floor was floor to ceiling glass and once again looked out towards the mountains. The view was picture perfect.

Each course was accompanied with one of the vineyards wines. Everything was delicious.
Sadly, we couldn’t purchase as many bottles as we did in South Africa on account of our backpacks already bursting at the seams, however this stop warranted a bottle of our favorite from our lunch selection.

We left a little sleepy but no rest for the wicked and we had one more winery to get to before we were homeward bound. We had requested a visit to this one, Mendel, after a recommendation again from our German mates from Iguazu. This was another very small vineyard producing a limited number of bottles every year. We were once again given a short tour and a brief insight in to the process employed to produce the wines.

We then sampled 4 different varieties as well as a little more olive oil before getting back in the car to be driven back to the hotel. We sat by the pool with the sun shining on us. I as always had a nap and Dave got to work uploading photos. When I awoke the sun had set so we went back to our room and cracked open our purchase from earlier in the day. Not really hungry post our enormous lunch we picked up some meats, cheeses and bread and washed it down with a little more wine.

Day 3
Today we moved to our next sampling region Maipu. We took a cab to our hotel and were instantly greeted by a very friendly Francisco (owner) and and even friendlier Sooki (golden retriever).

We were shown to our room to drop off our bags and then given the run down of the area. Maipu differed to Lujan de Cayo in that the way to explore here was by bike. It sounded dangerous to me but after having the tourist police roll explained to us it all seemed to be completely a-ok to do some DUI. The police are notified of every bike rented out and advised where those individuals are staying. The bikes are then checked in by a register type system at the end of the day to make sure everyone is accounted for. We were also told not to be concerned if they escort you side by side on their motorbike/car for some distance, they just want to make sure the wine hadn’t taken over too much! Francisco already had bikes available so after being given a map of the wineries with his take on the best we were off.

First stop the wine museum. We entered on or own, explored and found ourselves amongst a tour bus given a tour. We snuck into the group and managed a few free samples.

Then the oldest winery in Maipu, Familia Di Tomosso.

Then on to our final winery of the day Mevi. The view was amazing. With belles full of wine and empty of food we decided to grab a couple delicious homemade empanadas and a meat and cheese board.

Here we met a nice couple who were horrified when I asked them if they were from Essex “oh god no, we’re from Crystal Palace”. Overlooking this minor misdemeanor and after suitably embarrassing them when I told them where I am from, we settled in to enjoying a glass or two with them. They too were traveling for a few months but had just began their route. The winery was closing for the day so we made a quick purchase and jumped back on our bikes. I was leading the way and managed to turn the wrong way down the street. Dave tried to call me but I was halfway down the road, it took a couple of attempts before I heard him. This winery closed a little later than others so the tourist police were on hand to see our exit. My going the wrong way seemed to spark some interest from them and as a result he accompanied us to our door, a full 7km ride.

Back at the hotel we sat outside in the dying rays of the sun and played with Sooki.

There was only one other couple stating at Tikay Killa whilst we were there and this was the first time we had seen them since arriving. I went over and said hello, made polite conversation and mentioned that we had plans to grill tomorrow evening. They said that they were thinking about it too and suggested joining forces. We asked Francisco for some restaurant recommendations for tonight and were told of a perilla which was only opened on the weekend just at the end of the road. Francisco kindly dropped us off and told us the name of the manager, his friend. Name dropping on arrival we were treated like old friends. We picked our wine and then the food began to come…and come…and come. Dave’s favorite the goat. After a couple of hours the manager ushered us out in to his car and drove us back to our hotel. We crawled in to our bed and fell immediately to sleep.

Today was Sunday and as such only a few of the wineries were open. We made a booking for Trapiche winery at 1pm and had a leisurely start to the day. We rode in the sunshine to our destination and were greeted by our host who told us we would first be watching a short film before the tour commenced. We settled in to the comfy seats of the small movie room and were given an introduction to the wines and processes used at Trapiche. Once the movie was over we walked around the grounds of the vineyard.

They also make their own olive oil.

Then it was tasting time. Brut was our first tasting. As we drank our guide told us this bubbly was a new addition to the Trapiche family and was in fact the first bottle ever to be tasted by the general public. Next were 3 more tastings, all red, all delicious. The tour finished and we made a quick purchase to accompany dinner this evening.

We got back on our bikes and headed for the only other open winery, Carinae. This was the furthest winery away from our hotel in Maipu, more than 15km away. When we finally made it we were shown briefly around the small winery and tucked in to a 5 glass tasting. The owners of the vineyard, Brigette and Phillipe, moved from France several years ago to fulfill their dreams through their passion for wine. Neither were involved in the wine making industry in France but were given the opportunity to buy the estate in Argentina to try their hand at it. Both were wandering around the vineyard on the day of our visit talking and welcoming customers. This quickly became my favorite of all of the wineries. We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed a bottle of their wine accompanied with homemade chorizo, flavored goats cheese, bread and olive oil from the trees grown on site.

After wasting away a couple of hours we decided to get back on the bikes and brave the 15km ride back to our hotel.

Earlier in the day Fransisco had said he would go to the butchers to pick up some meat for our BBQ this evening. When we saw what he had come back with we realized we were in for a feast. We found our cooking companions and sparked up the grill the old fashioned way, starting a fire and using the flaming wood embers to sear the meat. By 10.30 we were ready to eat. We got to learn that our new friends were newlyweds from Vienna and actually here on their honeymoon. We learnt about their trip and told them of ours until we had drunk all of our wine, eaten all of the steak and were fit for nothing but bed.

Today we were due to check out and head to our next hotel in downtown Mendoza. When we booked this the plan was to visit wineries there, however since our arrival we had learnt that downtown was simply a base to head out to Maipu, Uca Valley or Lujan de Cayo to taste. As such we decided to get another day of bikes and wines in Maipu before heading to our next hotel later in the day. We had 2 wineries which we had not visited thus far so made a beeline for them. The first gave us 2 options in tasting, we went for the 6 glasses. The lady looked at us and asked if we both wanted 6 or 6 to share…”Each of course.” we responded. When we saw the pours that were provided it seemed we may have been a little too enthusiastic at 11am to be drinking the equivalent of a bottle and a half each! We were the only people tasting in the old barn room attached to the winery and after a good taste of each I began to feel the effects, knowing I would never make the rest of thd day unless I got some food in me. Dave being the trouper that he is finished his and mine…that’s my boy!

We made a quick exit and made it to our next stop. The vibe here was completely different, we sat outside on a deck overlooking the vineyard and ordered our tastings while Dave’s fave, Sade, was played over the speakers. We also got a snack to help soak up the booze and enjoyed the sunshine.

After an hour we had one more stop we wanted to make, the beer house. We had been recommended this place for lunch so thought we’d give it a go. We arrived to another very chilled out set up. Music played as we lounged in the sofa drank some of the houses best wine and dined on the finest chicken and beef empanadas we have ever had.

Knowing time was ticking we biked back to pick up our bags and head on to our next stop in downtown Mendoza.

We said our goodbyes to Fransisco when we announced he had just got back from the doctors with his wife and she was expecting a little boy, Benjamin. He was clearly over the moon and excitedly showed us pics of the scan. The nicest guy, and most fantastic host.

We arrived at our next stop only 40 minutes later and were greeted by the owners son and shown around the beautiful old house, now B&B. We relaxed in the courtyard with a glass of wine before venturing 10ft across the road to a sushi place we spotted on the way in.

2 apple martinis (Dave often gets masculine with his beverage choice) 2 kir royale’s and plenty of sushi later and we called it a day.