Needless to say I was pretty excited to arrive in Mendoza, Argentina’s primary wine-growing region, known for its delicious big red, Malbec!
I was also excited because I’d arranged to meet one of my old work friends, Miranda, in Mendoza. It had been four months since I’d seen anyone I knew, so I was really looking forward to seeing a familiar face and being able to catch up on all the news from home.
I had one day on my own before she arrived, and so after a longer-than-planned afternoon siesta (it had been another night bus to get here, and not a very luxurious one this time!), I decided to head along to a wine-tasting event, run by a company called Wine Connection. Most of the wine-based tourism here is aimed at backpackers with suitably cheap, crap wine, and I was looking for a chance to taste some of the good stuff! This event was a great start. We were a small group of six people, all with an interest in wine, and we had a tasting of one white and five 5 reds, including a chance to compare Malbecs from the different Mendoza regions (e.g. high vs. low altitude). The wines were excellent and we had some cheese to accompany them so I was very content! We were also given full glasses rather than tasting measures, so we all got warmed up pretty quickly and were chatting away like old friends within an hour. We even went out for dinner and another drink together afterwards!
Miranda arrived on Monday morning and after a good catch-up, a coffee and a wander around the town we set to work putting together a wine-tasting itinerary for the following day. I’d heard that the best wineries where in the Lujan de Cuyo region, and typically you can’t just turn up for a tasting there, but need to book appointments in advance. Fortunately Miranda speaks fluent Spanish so was able to call around a few places and get us booked in! That night she treated me to a delicious meal at a really nice restaurant called Florentino. It was also (sob) my last steak in Argentina!
The next day we hired a car and driver for the whole day, to take us to our three winery appointments. I've been on quite a few wine tours over the last few years and I have to say that these were probably the best I have experienced: having to book an appointment meant that we were often the only visitors on site and were given a really personal and often private tour. And of course the Malbecs were amazing!
The first stop was Alta Vista winery, which was quite a grand place. We had a really interesting private tour of the winery: it had French owners and used a lot of old-world techniques, including fermenting the wine in cement baths, where you’d usually see stainless steel containers. We then had a tasting of one Torrontés and four Malbecs (including their top-of-the-line range which started at $100/bottle) and each one was absolutely incredible. I may have made a couple of sneaky purchases... look, I did admit that I haven’t fully embraced the backpacker experience! :)
Feeling nicely warmed up, our next stop was at Clos de Chacras, a boutique winery originally founded by one of the pioneers of the wine industry in Argentina. We had another interesting tour here and another good tasting and also sat outside in the sun to enjoy our picnic lunch. I really can’t think of many more pleasant ways to spend a day!
Our final stop of the day was at Bonfanti, the smallest of the three and probably the best wine experience of the day. We were given a private tour by the winemaker himself, starting out in the vineyards, passing through the winery and cellars and finishing up with a guided tasting of one rosé and three Malbecs. Amazing!
That night there was a big football match in Mendoza: a superclásico between the two big Buenos Aires teams, Boca Juniors and River Plate. We’d been hoping to go along - Tori, Mike and Kat from Christmas were also in town so we’d got a little group together - but tickets were sold out and going for 5x the price from the touts, and after a day of wine I don’t think any of us had the energy! So after a small nap and a quiet dinner it was time for an early night!
I was also excited because I’d arranged to meet one of my old work friends, Miranda, in Mendoza. It had been four months since I’d seen anyone I knew, so I was really looking forward to seeing a familiar face and being able to catch up on all the news from home.
I had one day on my own before she arrived, and so after a longer-than-planned afternoon siesta (it had been another night bus to get here, and not a very luxurious one this time!), I decided to head along to a wine-tasting event, run by a company called Wine Connection. Most of the wine-based tourism here is aimed at backpackers with suitably cheap, crap wine, and I was looking for a chance to taste some of the good stuff! This event was a great start. We were a small group of six people, all with an interest in wine, and we had a tasting of one white and five 5 reds, including a chance to compare Malbecs from the different Mendoza regions (e.g. high vs. low altitude). The wines were excellent and we had some cheese to accompany them so I was very content! We were also given full glasses rather than tasting measures, so we all got warmed up pretty quickly and were chatting away like old friends within an hour. We even went out for dinner and another drink together afterwards!
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| The Wine Connection! |
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| Double thumbs up for the final steak |
The first stop was Alta Vista winery, which was quite a grand place. We had a really interesting private tour of the winery: it had French owners and used a lot of old-world techniques, including fermenting the wine in cement baths, where you’d usually see stainless steel containers. We then had a tasting of one Torrontés and four Malbecs (including their top-of-the-line range which started at $100/bottle) and each one was absolutely incredible. I may have made a couple of sneaky purchases... look, I did admit that I haven’t fully embraced the backpacker experience! :)
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| Alta Vista vineyard with snowy peaks in the background |
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| The Alta Vista Cellars |
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| Trying out a Rosé at Clos de Chacras |
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| Bonfanti Vineyard |
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| Bonfanti winemaker |
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| Almost ready for harvest! |
So what happened to the purchased wine? You didn't drink it? Did you? You're not travelling with it? Are you? Just concerned that's all........ :-)
ReplyDeleteHow good of you to be so concerned! Miranda decided to ship 4 bottles home so it seemed only right that I add 2 bottles to help fill up the box. She has assured me that she will keep them very safe, and I can collect in August.
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