Bienvenidos al tierra del Malbec - or in English, Welcome
to the land of Malbec! This is Malbec country and here it is a straight
varietal compared to other wine regions where this varietal is often
used as a blend in other wines. Many wineries make this wine and you will commonly find
it served in local restaurants. Another varietal you may not find in all
wine growing regions is the Bonarda - and there are several wineries in
the area which make an excellent wine from this grape.
Within an hour's drive of the city of Mendoza you have several hundred
wineries at your disposal. This is one of the largest viticultural areas
in all of Argentina, and you can easily spend several days in Mendoza
just for the wineries. As in other large wine regions you have the
larger corporate more commercial wineries and the smaller boutique
wineries. Unlike some areas where there are many walk in wineries, the
Mendoza wineries are typically not walk in - rather you need to make an
appointment.
There are five main wine areas within several hours drive of Mendoza.
They are: the Lujan de Cuyo area, Uco Valley, parts of Lavalle and Las
Heras, parts of San Martin and Rivadavia, and the southern area of
San
Rafael and General Alvear. We focus on the Lujan de Cuyo area as this is
merely a 20 minute drive from the main part of Mendoza and is where we
visited during our stay here.
Wineries in Argentina are heavily regulated such as the legal last day
of harvest, limits on what the wines can be fortified with and other
specific rules. The Mendoza area is a desert and as a result has a very
dry climate. Due to this, the wineries here typically do not have as
many disease and pest problems as you would find at wineries in wetter
climates. One of the major weather problems wineries have here is during
certain times of the year (typically in March) storms will bring large
hail stones to the area which can really wreck havoc with the ripe
grapes.
Land is quite affordable compared to other wine growing regions in
France and in California (one winery said land on average is 1/40th of
the cost of comparable acreage in the Napa Valley, California. The cost
of equipment and oak barrels is still the same, but with the cost of
labor cheaper than other prominent wine growing regions, wine can be
found for 25% to 50% less than typical California grown wines.
We recommend seeing no more than 3-4 wineries per day, and either
bringing lunch or choosing a winery that serves lunch and eating there.
There are typically four options for visiting the wineries from Mendoza.
1. If you have a car, you can call the wineries and setup the tours
yourself. Some of the wineries offer English speaking tours and guides.
2. If you find yourself without a car you can hire a taxi (at press time
is about 25 pesos/hour), 3. go with a private wine company or 4. use the
Vines of Mendoza's trip arrangement services.
There are many wine shops within the city of Mendoza - visit the two
websites listed below for more information.
For high end custom tours, we highly recommend the following private
wine tour company: Wine Republic. Charlie O'Malley runs the tour
company, the website and he also prints in English a locally well known
wine and food guide. As with any of the local high end wine tour
companies it is best if you can give Charlie at least a 24 hour notice.
His shop is located upstairs off of the popular Peatonal Sarmiento
street at 133 Sarmiento in the Galería San Marcos walk in shops area.
For more information visit:
www.vinesofmendoza.com
The Vines of Mendoza was the first collective wine shop in
Mendoza and what a shop it is! They have two locations right next to
each other - a well dressed gentleman in a suit will typically be
standing outside. The first location is where they hold their wine
tasting, classes, seminars, events and special vintner gatherings. They
offer several flights at a spacious well lighted counter which contains
light boxes so that you can view the coloration of the wine. Side rooms
are for more intimate one one one tastings with your wine guide. They
also offer an excellent class on how to describe and determine aromas of
wines.
Next door is their tour service - which they offer free of charge.
Here's how it works: you tell the person at the counter (English or
Spanish spoken) what types of wines or wineries you are looking for and
in what area. They have a large map of the major local wine districts
and they are a wealth of information about wines and the wineries. Give
them at least 1 day's advance notice. They will setup the appointments
for you at each winery and secure a driver. As of press time, to rent a
private driver costs about $200 pesos. They can also make lunch
appointments at select wineries. They have free detailed wine maps
highlighting the main Mendoza wine regions and other wine & restaurant
guides on site. Once your reservations have been secured they will print
out a nice itinerary for you to keep of your day's scheduled events and
times. For more information about this very useful company visit:
www.vinesofmendoza.com
One driver who we had a very good experience with was Daniel Agnello. He
used to drive a Hagen Dahz Ice cream delivery truck in New York City but
is originally from Mendoza. His English is passable and he is very
professional. His daughter's English is very good so you may end up
talking to her if you want to schedule an appointment. You may call him
at Cell 1555 39953 or Home 154-154674
We visited the following wineries
Catena Zapata - this family has been making wine in the Mendoza
area for well over 100 years. The owner is a doctor who attended UC
Berkeley in California and visited the Napa Valley area many times and
and brought several of the Napa winery techniques to use at this winery.
The main winery was built in the large stone pyramidal style of Opus One
in the Napa Valley. The owner's daughter is also a doctor and she lives
in San Francisco. Be sure to walk up to their second level - there are
excellent views of the entire Andean snow capped panorama spread out in
180 degrees above the valley. Another highlight is their tasting room
enclosed by glass overlooking their barrel room. Tasting is upstairs
next to the counter - several flights of wine are available. Good
Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Bonarda. Their Alamos
Cabernet Sauvignon was crisp and light with a delicate mouth feel. It
had a fast finish and was a little fruity. You can't go wrong with their
wines! Visit:
www.catenawines.com
Ruca Malen was founded in the late 1990´s and has limited
international distribution. The main attraction here is their 5 course
lunch of which each course is paired with a glass of wine! When we
visited the food was prepared by a 28 year old chef who has also trained
in Napa
Valley, California. Samples of what we enjoyed included cream Cheese and
wild thyme custard, lentil salad - Bruschetta with thin slices of
eggplant, ricotta cheese and lemon zest, Roasted beef tenderloin served
with black pepper butter, olive oil and roasted capers. Everything was
delicate and deliciously prepared. This is an excellent highly
recommended lunch stop. Their wines start at merely several dollars a
bottle and go well over $100 a bottle for their higher end bottles.
Visit:
www.bodegarucamalen.com/2006/index.htm
Tapiz Winery was originally owned by Kendall Jackson the huge
wine company which owns several Napa Valley, California wineries. Now it
is under private Argentine ownership. One of the real highlights of a
visit here is the tour. The tour is typically one on one with the guide
and is one of the more informative wintery tours we´ve been on. The tour
starts in the vineyards and if there is juice in the tanks you get to
tank taste! One of the highlights of the tour is the tasting of the same
varietals which are grown in different "terra noirs" or locations. There
is a huge difference in the taste and structure of these wines even
though they are the same varietals (the same species of grape). Tour
ends in their barrel room with additional final product tasting. Visit
www.tapiz.com
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Mendoza Wine Shops - there are many wine shops within the city of Mendoza. Parts
of town have what seems like a wine shop on every block! One wine shop
we've been to is Cava Sastre Burgos located at Mitre 1538 in Mendoza.
They have a wide selection of local Mendoza wines. Also ask around for
recommendations for additional wine shops.
Photo to Left: Tapiz Winery Entrance |
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