We arrived into Mendoza on a Sunday afternoon. It was only a 6 hour bus ride from Santiago, our last bus ride (thank goodness), and the scenery was very pretty as we winded up and then back down the Andes. Mendoza is the cutest little town. Everyday we were there the sun was shining and the weather was nice and hot. Tall and green trees lined the streets as well as cafes and Mr. Dog resturants, apparently a very popular hot dog resturant here.
On Sunday there was hardly anyone in town. For the most part, in South America, everyone stays inside with the family on Sundays. The grocery store was open though so after exploring our hostel we went and bought groceries. That night we made dinner, correction Dana made dinner. I´m the onion chopper and salad preparer. Although I think I´ve perfected the onion petal cut. After dinner we sat outside on the patio underneath a grapevine and talked with some other guests of the hostel over our free glass of wine. The hostel offered a free glass of wine for all their guest every night. This may or may not have been a deciding factor in our choosing it.
Mendoza is wine country. They produce over 70% of the country´s wine. Surrounding the town that we were staying, in there were over 100 winieres and vineyards. We only had about two and half days here so we got started right away. The next day we woke up and had a nice breakfast that was provided, also a deciding factor in choosing the hostel-free cereal and coffee. The day before we called a booked a wine tasting course at the winery Familia Zuccardi. We rushed from one bus stop to the next and made it to the main terminal right in time to catch the bus that would take us into the countryside. We arrived at a bus stop in the middle of no where and asked a local if there were taxis that drove by because the winery was still about 5 miles away. Luckily there was a gentleman who worked for the bus company that helped us flag down a ¨taxi¨ to take us the the winery. The taxi was a pickup truck with a large wooden box on the back. He said that in the country people need to haul things with them so they all used this kind of public transportation. Anyway, we made it.
We could see the vineyard and the property was beautiful as we drove up. The vines spread out for acres and were all in neat rows. The staff was very nice and welcoming as we approached. The hostess showed us around their main entrance and entertaining room and the shop. Upon arrival they gave us a sample, also know as two full glasses, of their sparkeling Rosé. It was the best champagne I´ve ever had. Afterward we were greeted by our guide and teacher. We first did a tour of the winery. They had several wineries on the property and the one we were at in paticular was their Santa Julia winery named after the founder´s granddaughter. This wine, we learned, is a young wine and is the most popular among Argentinians. Young wine just means that it doesn´t take long to make so its not aged in oak barrels at all, and that once you buy it you should drink it then. Young wines are popular because they are cheaper and are easy to drink. Now for the good part.
After the tour we went back to the main hall upstairs to the tasting room. Inside there was a bar on one side and long dining room table on the other. The table was set for three, two place mats on one side and one on the other. In the middle of the table, inbetween the place settings were about 20 - 30 wine glasses, all full of fun stuff. On one end, the glasses were full of fruit like pineapple, apple, lemon, and plum. Other glasses were filled with a range of different things like flowery tea, yeast, cinnomen, milk chocolate, white chocolate, olives, raisens, and coffee. She sat up 6 glasses in from of us. We were going to sample one sparkling, one white, three reds, and one port. One by one she poured the different wine and we discussed in depth the color, the smell and the taste. The glasses that were set up before us were all there for us to pick out the different aromas in each wine. The younger wines are much more fruity and less layered. The older, much more expensive, wines could have as many as 7 different aromas and several different tastes, and this is why they are so expensive. Everything she gave us to try was amazing, of course. We ended with port, which is a dessert wine that is very sweet and more alcoholic than the rest. We drank this with some chocolate from one of the glasses in the middle. We were so incredibly pleased with our tasting and we learned a lot as well.
That night we went out to dinner at a restaruant that our teacher had suggested. She had worked there when she was in high school. Now I don´t know if you know or not,but Argentina is not only known for its wine but also for its steak. We had a mushroom covered steak with potatos and it was very nice. We probably plan on having at least 3 more steaks while we are here, and you´ll here later Dana´s account of the steak we had the next night.
On Sunday there was hardly anyone in town. For the most part, in South America, everyone stays inside with the family on Sundays. The grocery store was open though so after exploring our hostel we went and bought groceries. That night we made dinner, correction Dana made dinner. I´m the onion chopper and salad preparer. Although I think I´ve perfected the onion petal cut. After dinner we sat outside on the patio underneath a grapevine and talked with some other guests of the hostel over our free glass of wine. The hostel offered a free glass of wine for all their guest every night. This may or may not have been a deciding factor in our choosing it.
Mendoza is wine country. They produce over 70% of the country´s wine. Surrounding the town that we were staying, in there were over 100 winieres and vineyards. We only had about two and half days here so we got started right away. The next day we woke up and had a nice breakfast that was provided, also a deciding factor in choosing the hostel-free cereal and coffee. The day before we called a booked a wine tasting course at the winery Familia Zuccardi. We rushed from one bus stop to the next and made it to the main terminal right in time to catch the bus that would take us into the countryside. We arrived at a bus stop in the middle of no where and asked a local if there were taxis that drove by because the winery was still about 5 miles away. Luckily there was a gentleman who worked for the bus company that helped us flag down a ¨taxi¨ to take us the the winery. The taxi was a pickup truck with a large wooden box on the back. He said that in the country people need to haul things with them so they all used this kind of public transportation. Anyway, we made it.
We could see the vineyard and the property was beautiful as we drove up. The vines spread out for acres and were all in neat rows. The staff was very nice and welcoming as we approached. The hostess showed us around their main entrance and entertaining room and the shop. Upon arrival they gave us a sample, also know as two full glasses, of their sparkeling Rosé. It was the best champagne I´ve ever had. Afterward we were greeted by our guide and teacher. We first did a tour of the winery. They had several wineries on the property and the one we were at in paticular was their Santa Julia winery named after the founder´s granddaughter. This wine, we learned, is a young wine and is the most popular among Argentinians. Young wine just means that it doesn´t take long to make so its not aged in oak barrels at all, and that once you buy it you should drink it then. Young wines are popular because they are cheaper and are easy to drink. Now for the good part.
After the tour we went back to the main hall upstairs to the tasting room. Inside there was a bar on one side and long dining room table on the other. The table was set for three, two place mats on one side and one on the other. In the middle of the table, inbetween the place settings were about 20 - 30 wine glasses, all full of fun stuff. On one end, the glasses were full of fruit like pineapple, apple, lemon, and plum. Other glasses were filled with a range of different things like flowery tea, yeast, cinnomen, milk chocolate, white chocolate, olives, raisens, and coffee. She sat up 6 glasses in from of us. We were going to sample one sparkling, one white, three reds, and one port. One by one she poured the different wine and we discussed in depth the color, the smell and the taste. The glasses that were set up before us were all there for us to pick out the different aromas in each wine. The younger wines are much more fruity and less layered. The older, much more expensive, wines could have as many as 7 different aromas and several different tastes, and this is why they are so expensive. Everything she gave us to try was amazing, of course. We ended with port, which is a dessert wine that is very sweet and more alcoholic than the rest. We drank this with some chocolate from one of the glasses in the middle. We were so incredibly pleased with our tasting and we learned a lot as well.
That night we went out to dinner at a restaruant that our teacher had suggested. She had worked there when she was in high school. Now I don´t know if you know or not,but Argentina is not only known for its wine but also for its steak. We had a mushroom covered steak with potatos and it was very nice. We probably plan on having at least 3 more steaks while we are here, and you´ll here later Dana´s account of the steak we had the next night.
Hi Allison, I've been Mendoza last month and I found the city and the people amazing. I rented a flat with Apartments Buenos Aires and it has been an extremely pleasant experience which I can recommend to everyone who plans to go to there.
ReplyDeleteI spent there a month in an apartment, the location was what I expected and the feeling the neighborhood was amazing.