Vietnam

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Mendoza

Wine country is certainly the correct name for this area.  The land is arid and nothing would grow here if they did not have an extensive irrigation system.  The Mendoza river is dry below the two dams as all the water is diverted for human use or irrigation.  They never get flash floods so all you see in the river near town is mounds of rock.

Our tour of the wineries included three different wineries.  I picked to visit Norton and Lugi Bosco because they are wines sold in Canada.  Both of these wineries only allow visits by booking a time and there is a cost involved.  At the Norton winery we started with a sparkling wine at 9:30 in the morning.

The Norton Bodega was very interesting we saw the new stainless steel fermenting tanks and got to taste the wine at this stage.  This wine was very green and not a lot of body.  Then we saw the older tanks made of tile and located underground.  Next we moved to the oak barrels that can only be used three time (French and American Oak).  The first use is for the best wine, second use is for the reserve and the last time the barrel is used is for their cheapest line of wine.  At this stage our guide syphoned out some wine that was barrel aged. This wine had more character but was still not the best.  The wine is then bottled and stored in the caves.  Our last tasting was the finished product and it was the Norton Malbec Reserva and was much better.  The price for this bottle was $100 peso's ($10 US).

Here we are tasting wine aged in French oak barrels.


At Lugi Bosco the tour was more formal with less access to the actual working winery.  Again there was a brief history about the founding of the winery and the current owners.  We sampled a few different wines.  What we tasted were new wines just released a dry Riesling, red blend and a very good Malbec from their ICON line.  Will have to check to see if we have this high end wine.  I have tried the reserve at home.

 Due to the daily earthquake tremors in Mendoza at this winery the barrels not stored directly on top of each other but supported with metal racks.

Storage of Wine Barrels Five High


The last winery we would have lunch.  This is a new winery called Bodega Ruca Malen and is well know for their chef: Lucas Busto.  After a brief tour we had lunch.  Lunch was a set menu that included a wine paring with each course.
Appetizer - was a quinoa salad with green apple and fresh herbs the wine was a Yauquen Chardonhay 2012.

Second Course - Cured Tupugato trout with crunchy sweet potatoes paired with a Yauquen Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon 2012.  This was an excellent pairing as the smokiness of the fish and wine were excellent together.

Third Course - wheat porridge and pine mushroom truffles. Roasted beetroot cream and grilled vegetables with goats cheese.  Paired with the Ruca Melan Merlot 2011.  Bill really enjoyed the Merlot.

Fourth Course - Grilled tenderloin steak served with potatoes, pumpkin, and eggplant.  The steak was wonderful and they served two wines with this course.  The Ruca Malen Reserva de Bodga and Kinien Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.  Bill was starting to feel the wine and drank the Cabernet Sauvignon as he was finished.  Not bad for someone who prefers a beer.  Maybe he is starting to appreciate wine.

Our fifth course - desert was not serve with wine.  What a great way to end our wine tour in Mendoza!


We had a free day so decided to take a tour to see Mount Aconcagua the tallest peak outside of the Himalayas.  This tour took us through the town of Uspallata on the way to the boarder between Chile and Argentina.  Parque Provincial Aconcagua is within a few Km of the boarder.  Here we walked a 2 Km route to see Lake Horcones and Mount Aconcagua.  What a spectacular day as the weather allowed us to see the top of the peak.


Laguna Los Horcones and Cerro Aconcagua



After seeing the mountain we stopped at the Inca Bridge.  This is a naturally formed bridge over a ravine.  At one time the area had a hotel and hot springs pool.  Now only the indigenous people are allowed to use the hot springs.

Puente Del Inca

What a great day.

What an awesome adventure through Argentina!







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