Wine tour – Friday 09.02.2024
In order to find out a little more about wine growing in the region, I booked a half-day wine tour for today. Since this wasn’t supposed to start until 2 p.m., I still had half a day to relax.
So I treated myself to a hearty breakfast and chatted with one of my room partners from today. Then I found out about the current weather forecasts so that I could possibly go on a longer hike in the mountains.
Around midday I walked through the streets of the city for a while and ate delicious panchos in a snack bar so that I didn’t start the wine tour on an empty stomach. Afterwards I returned to the hostel and waited there for the tour to start. I was picked up around half past three and drove with a few other people to the first winery. Most of the people on the bus were from Argentina or Chile and were therefore classified in the Spanish-speaking group. The English-speaking group, on the other hand, consisted of 5 people from Canada and me.
On the trip we were given general information about viticulture here in the region. In the first winery there were further details about cultivation and production. However, since I have already made wine myself and am familiar with the work in the vineyard, the information mentioned was less interesting for me. At least we were able to taste wines afterwards, which was much more exciting for me.
The shuttle bus then continued to the second company. This was a smaller production that specialized in organic wine, which was also immediately visible. In addition to the vines, there were also many fruit trees and flowers on the cultivated areas. We were told that these plants were intended to distract pests and thus protect the precious grapes.
When it started to rain, we quickly moved indoors and were then allowed to taste some of the wines again.
Since not only wine but also other products are produced in the area, the next stop was an olive oil factory. Here we were shown how olive oil is produced and what the differences are between each type of oil. Afterwards there was a tasting here where we were able to try the different oils.
Finally, we went again to a winery, which is the oldest in the region and produces very sweet wine. In addition to a short tour of the museum, there was also wine to try and we were served alfajores. First we were allowed to eat the sweet pieces and then we were asked to pay attention to how the heavy red wine displaced the sweetness and thus had an influence on the food.
Afterwards, our tour ended again and we took the bus back to the city. Unlike some of the other people, I didn’t buy anything in any of the shops on the trip because I didn’t want to carry around several bottles of wine in my backpack.
In the evening, I went to a restaurant to eat a delicious Bife de Chorizo and then went to bed.
Further into the mountains – Saturday 10.02.2024
Since I had planned another somewhat longer hike in the next few days, I wanted to get closer to the mountains again today. I bought a ticket for the bus yesterday, but it wasn’t supposed to leave until the evening. So I still had half a day and had a hearty breakfast.
Afterwards, I stayed in the hostel for some time and found out about the planned route and the weather conditions. Since the weather forecast for the next few days was unfortunately not optimal, I had to take a closer look at where I could sleep, when and what the weather should be like at different altitudes. So this undertaking turned out to be a bit more difficult and also cost me some time.
At lunchtime, I walked through the streets of the city and looked at a museum about the history of Mendoza. Since the air conditioning was broken today, I was able to visit the museum for free. What was particularly striking was the importance of water supply for the people in the area. The museum showed how the people here use the abundant water in the mountains to make the very dry landscape fertile and to practice agriculture.
After looking at it for a while, I left the museum and went to have lunch at a restaurant. Afterwards I returned to the hostel and rested a bit before making my way to the bus station and from there I took the bus to Las Vegas, a small town just before the mountains.
I got there shortly before midnight and walked to a hostel where I had reserved a place for tonight. Since I had previously coordinated my late arrival with the staff, I was able to check in even at this late hour and therefore soon go to sleep in my bed.
P.s.: I put the hike in its own post, otherwise it would have been a bit long 😉
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