Malbec!

Mendoza has two main attractions - wine and mountains, an excellent combination in my view! I was surprised to discover just how old the wine industry is in Mendoza. Wine has been produced in the area for hundreds of years. However, it has only been during the last 15 - 18 years that the fine wines and export market has developed. We were told this was due to the decrease in domestic demand as a result of diversification in the drinks industry and an increase in foreign investment to create quality wine.

On the Wednesday we headed off on a tour to visit four different wineries and found ourselves tasting our first wines at 10am, it was going to be a long day!

The first bodega (the direct translation is cellar), Vistalba started with a tour and then, getting down to the real business, a tasting which included a sparkling, a malbec rose, a malbec blend and a delicious full bodied malbec the 2013 Tomero Gran Reserva. There was the unusual addition of a delicious fresh cut grass smelling shot of olive oil that was produced from olive trees dotted amongst the vines.

Mountains & wine

The Vistalba sampler

Our next stop was Dominio del Plata, a winery started by Argentina's first female winemaker. It had the additional excitement that the lawn was being circled by a number of hawks who were on the look out for small guinea pigs for their lunch. We were told not to be concerned if they swooped down and pecked our heads! Here we had the challenge of trying a white, a malbec blend, a malbec and a late harvest malbec, with cream cheese, rocket, dulche de leche and salted crisps to determine the best food pairings. 

Wine and food pairings at Domino del Plata

The third, and most importantly the lunch stop, was Casarena, an old winery that the current owners took over just 10 years ago. 

The mountain view through the vineyards

Malbec grapes on the vine

I think it is fair to say that the delicious food was a bit of a distraction from the wines!

Just a sample of the lunch plates

The final stop of the day was Matervini, the latest project of an experienced and successful Mendoza winemaker who started life as an accountant (to all accountants reading this, there is hope for you yet!) and now wants to answer the question "what's next after Malbec" by focusing on each stage of the growing process to make even better wines. The founder, Santiago Achaval, happened to be on site that day and came and talked to us passionately about the importance of the personal connection with wine and his story, before returning to his spreadsheets.

Super modern winery

The Matervini tasting

By this point, having swallowed more than we spat, we had reached the limits of our wine consumption for the day! However, the next morning feeling refreshed we visited our final winery for a private tour of Bodega CARO a joint project between two great wine making families - the Rothschilds and the Catenas. This project is focused on making elegant wines the drinker wants to drink again and again. I always find it a relief when having tasted a wine the words you use to describe it are those that the winemaker was expecting you to say! I'm pleased to say that in the presence of the technical director my mutterings of "smooth" flavours were greeted with approval. I would be happy to drink these wines on a regular basis!

Beautiful cellars dating back to 1895 which has survived a number of earthquakes and tremors  

Overall the stand out wines for me were the Tomero Gran Reserva, the late harvest malbec and the CARO, unfortunately, most of these seemed to be at the upper end of the price range!

To recover from all the wines we spent the afternoon exploring the huge park in Mendoza which includes a boating lake, formal gardens, outdoor & indoor swimming pools, cycling and skating circuits and lots of green space shaded by old trees. 

We had one final culinary experience we wanted to try, asado (Argentinian BBQ). So, feeling refreshed, we headed off to La Barra (which had been recommended by a Mendozan native) for an early 9pm dinner. The kitchen consisted of an open fire place in the restaurant's back garden surrounded by a make shift looking work area. We sat on a table nearby watching the chef sweat over the fire place cooking delicious ribs and steak seasoned with nothing more than a hefty hand of salt. The meat, accompanied by a glass of malbec, was delicious!

We ambled back to our Airbnb which was located on a street full of bars and restaurants that came to life at night. Just to prove he hasn't been fully converted to a wine drinker Nick managed to fit in a quick flight at the brew pub next to our apartment.

After all this eating and drinking our next post will show we have since been a bit more active! 

Jess