Argentina Trip 2008 - Day 5: A Tale of Two Tours

First, thanks to everyone who's reading and sticking with this. It's kind of like we've cornered you all into watching our family vacation videos, but you're being nice enough to stick around, long after dessert, to watch. Kind of you!

So we woke up on Monday morning having scheduled a couple of wine tours for the day. Postales actually did the planning (they were amazing - so thorough). We had breakfast - made by Diego and waited on by Italia (poor thing had to come to Postales just to wait on us for breakfast). Our driver picked us up at 10am and took us first to Salentine winery.

Salentine is one of the largest wineries in Valle de Uco (and Mendoza). They have a couple of art galleries that we were able to peruse while we waited for our tour to begin...

This shot below is standing at the visitors center/shop/gallery looking at the actual bodega. Our tour consisted of 4 couples: 2 from Germany, 1 from France, and Sarah and I. The tour guide took us along the vines and explained why different types of grapes are planted in certain locations and at certain altitudes.

The Bodega is two floors. The top floor is where all of the steel tank mixing and fermenting is done. There is a large, circular opening the center of the room that looks down on the lower level underground.

This is looking through that opening at all the oak barrels underground (it keeps them naturally cool).

This is a close up photo of their extra large oak barrels, which are HUGE. Almost 2 stories high. I'm trying to remember exactly, but we're pretty sure the guy said each one costs around $40,000 USD. They use them for three years and then switch them out for new ones.

Standing in the room we saw from above earlier.

Back at the visitors center Sarah snapped this of me with the fish-eye lens still on. I guess there's a reason wide angle lenses aren't used for portraiture.

We purchased an Iphone right before the trip and just didn't put the sim card in (so we wouldn't get charged international rates). That way we were able to use the internet anywhere we got WiFi - and in Argentina, it's EVERYWHERE. They're a lot better about letting you use it for free at cafes, bars, restaurants, etc.

After our tour and tasting at Salentine, we went to lunch at a place called Tupungato Divino. I had read online that a number of people really enjoyed it.

It was a long, slow ride down a bumpy, dusty road to a small restaurant/lodge stuck between two vineyards looking straight up at the mountains. Without question, this was the best meal we had on the trip.

For 75 pesos each (around $22 USD) we had a 5 course meal that took about 2 hours. We ate outside, had an incredible view of the mountains, and consumed the most carefully prepared food I've had in a long time. The chef was so sweet - she came out and explained each dish thoroughly in Spanish even though we didn't understand everything she said.

Sarah chose their chicken - I went with a salmon ravioli that was the best pasta of the whole vacation.

We also had our favorite wine of the whole trip here: La Azul Reserve. We haven't been able to find it in the states yet, so if anyone ever comes across it, please buy a bottle and send one to us! It's a very, very small bodega in the Uco Valley. Great wine.

Pablo (different Pablo than our chef at Postales), one of the two owners of Tupungato Divino, came to our table during dessert and expressed his thanks to us for driving out of the way to come to TD. He was a really sweet guy who told us that he and a childhood friend had moved their families from Buenos Aires to Mendoza to build TD. They left their steady jobs in the city, designed this restaurant and lodge, and came out to try something brand new. Well, it may take them a while to get it off the ground, but I HIGHLY recommend going here to anyone who is ever in the area. And their rooms are very nice too!

Next we headed to another winery called Andeluna. It is a smaller producer than Salentein. On weekdays they offer a cooking class taught by Pablo (not TD this time, Pablo who cooked dinner at Postales). This is the kitchen were he teaches and you get to eat what you cooked.

I really enjoyed this tour. The guide was very knowledgeable - it was just Sarah and I. He took us out to the vines and taught us how you can use the leaves to determine what kind of grape a vine is (by the shape of the leaf). He also explained how vines are pruned in order to achieve the sweetest or most potent grape you can get (the more grapes that are pruned, the higher the quality of the grapes that are left. But it also results in a lower yield, which is why those grapes go to the nicer, reserve wines.) There's an amazing amount of care and science and finesse that goes into winemaking.

And now the important part.

This wine region of Argentina is most known for the Malbec grape. It produces a very easy to drink red wine (below).

The view behind us at the tasting:

Andeluna vines below the mountains.

Sarah picking out a wine for us to buy.

Back at Postales we took a short nap and then I got up and took some sunset photos. These vines are brand new. Vines don't produce grapes until they are at least 3 years old - and most vines can't really be used for production until 4-5 years. Which is why it is not easy or cheap to have a vineyard!

While we were away Diego had started the meat for dinner that night. Hours and hours of careful roasting:

Again, rough life. The summary of our day: Wake, eat, wine, eat, wine, sleep, read, eat, wine, sleep.

So after we went on our evening walk, Laura (Postales receptionist) asked us where we'd like to eat. I said, "Oh, it's nice out again... I think outside." She said, "No, I'm sorry. I mean, where do you want your table to be." I said, "I'm sorry, I don't understand." She said, "Do you want to eat by the vines, by the pool? Where?"

So they moved the table wherever we wanted. We chose under the lamp, near the vines.

Yep.

There's something a little Narnia about this, no?

When I hand someone my SLR to take a photo of us, this is typically the type of shot I get back.

And finally, Postales before bed.