Monday Madness in Mendoza

At ten to seven yesterday morning, we made a mad dash from the club back to our hotel to pack up for our minibus picking us up at 8 a.m. It was another mad night in Punta del Este although this time we did throw in a disco nap from 12-1 or so knowing the rules of the game. Again, what happens in Punta stays in Punta.

We flew from Montevideo to Buenos Aires, and then on to Mendoza finally arriving in the late afternoon to our very bohemian hostel. It has a gorgeous garden with a mini-pool and hammocks here and there. There is a huge, friendly and playful German Shepherd named Austin who is great. We met several Canadians and eventually went out to dinner as a group of 14 or so nearby - great food, tons of wine. Sleeping quarters are a bit tight - seven of us in a room for six (the twins cuddle), but hey, it's not like we're not tough enough ;)

Today was truly fabulous. The Rough Guide suggested taking local busses to the winery areas, but once Punky and I went to the bus station last night and figured out how it all worked, we established it would not be even close to fabulous. We're tough but not quite that rough! That adventure itself we named Tour de Sketchy - Mendoza Edition, featuring Punky and Bling. Basically, we would have arrived out in the middle of... Mendoza region, far too early, and had no hope of getting from winery to winery, miles apart. So we hired a mini-bus with a driver! Definitely the way to go.

We visited first Catena Zapata, a beautiful winery honouring the indigenous traditions of the land, inspired by the Mayan pyramids in Mexico. (the owner, 3rd of 4 generations who have run the company) actually went on a trip to Mexico and brought along the architect. It is made entirely of materials (stone, marble, rosewood) from different areas of Argentina. Their wines are actually my favourite of what is easily available in Canada. The integrity of the wine and wine process is very high and traditional but modern at the same time. Essentially, they use a very high-tech approach to make sure the product is very high quality in a traditional sense, with as little interference of the grapes as possible. They also were the first in the area to do microvarietals, I believe is the term. Meaning, they make blends of e.g. malbec, from malbec grapes planted at 1200 ft, 940 ft, and 840 ft above sea level. (unless it's metres!). The difference in altitude makes a significant difference in the grapes grown.

After, we went to Ruca Malen, a much more modern facility. Beautiful structure with a stunning lunch and tasting room, overlooking the fields with a view of the Andes which is amazing. Modern facily, moderm company, modern and experimental practices. We had a bite to eat and tried several of their wines, but this would certainly be one to return for their full lunch. Sitting on the terrasse with the view reminded me of being at an incredible elegant cottage... although much, much different of course!

Then, to Chandon for a tour... in Spanish. It was interesting however not nearly as memorable as the others so that's all I'll say on it!

Last, and the favourite for everyone else (mine just had to be Catena, simply because I was so looking forward to it), was Septima. Beautiful facility once again, the views were probably the best of the mountains, and a really interesting tour. We saw a little more of the lab, the bottling process, and the inside of the winery. Perhaps because it was smaller than the others we got more of a feel for the process and the winery. It is recommended for visiting at sunset but at any hour it is gorgeous.

Now, we are just relaxing and trying to work out some logistics for Wednesday. Seeing the mountains all day, so impressive, we decided we are going to try and get ourselves to them on Wednesday! Et c'est tout! It is REALLY hot here. It has to be over 32 degrees and the sun is incredibly intense. Looking forward to exploring more of Mendoza City later on and tonight! Oyo and Ole!