When you blink your eyes...

Thursday was to be all about touring the wineries. We had hired a driver to take as around to a few. Kevin had a contact who had recommended the drivers, they had some places they were going to take us. We ended up making it to 3 different ones that day. The first 2 were larger and a bit more commercial. The first one wasn't so memorable to me, but the second we spent more time in.

It was called Belasco De Baquedano. It was in many ways an extension of a Spanish winery into Argentina. They had I think 3 spots in Spain and had added this location in the past 10 years. The tour was ok, ended a bit abruptly and started late. But it had an interesting "smelling room". The perimeter of the room had probably 30-40 smelling stations of different kind of scents to help describe smells from your palette. It was pretty unique I thought, the closest thing I'd experienced to it was going into yankee candle store in the mall and smelling different kinds of candles until I get queazy. This started to happen here as well, but I knew I'd feel better once I got something to eat.

The driver said they had a good lunch here and we were ready for it. It took some time waiting but we finally got to go up. It turned out to be something like a 5 course meal with full wine pairings. The meal took more time and money than we had anticipated, but in hindsight I think it was fully worth it.

Here is a look at the menu of pairings. Click on it for a closer look.

Everyone in our group's favorite stop of the day, however, was the last one. We went to visit a small winemaker called Carmelo Patti. I believe they said he had come to Argentina from Italy as a baby at 1 year old. He had been a successful winemaker at some other companies but was now on his own for awhile. The driver kept saying how he was somewhat of a celebrity. Carmelo seemed to very much enjoy the spotlight. He kept showing newspaper clippings or reviews from wine spectator how he got many wines in the upper 90's. It was interesting that he didn't grow his grapes at all, he bought them from the same place every time and would often go and check on them but just purchased them and had them delivered to his small winery.

The wine he let us taste was quite good, however, a bit to heavy for my tastes at the time. It reminded me of the wine I'd had at the end of the lunch that day that went with the steak. It was complex and mature, with a lot going on. Just not one I'd choose to drink on its own.

Here are a few images of the inside of his winery.

Mendoza is famous for their wineries or "bodegas" so we had to spend a day doing some tours. Mendoza is most famous for the Malbec wines. I heard they have somewhere between 900-1200 wineries in the area. On Wednesday night we went to a place in the city called "The Vines" which allows you to do tasting of different wineries. We happened to be there on a special night where they had an actual winemaker there doing a tasting of her wines. It was in half Spanish and half English. The winery was called Morgot, which they pronounced as "mar-gaught" instead of silent "t". She was rather beautiful and charming. It turned it that it was a very small winery and the wines she brought were all quite good.

I'm just about to leave a hotel for the airport right now which is right around the corner from The Vines, originally we had to walk some distance to get to it from our apartment. Will finish the rest of the journal when I get back as I need to check out of my hotel. In the meantime the full photoset from the trip can be viewed here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrussell/sets/72157627846522418/

For now about a 20 hour trip back to JFK since I'm flying out of the small airport in Mendoza.

Kevin and I flew from Buenos Aires to Mendoza Tuesday evening and stayed in a cheap hostel for $100 pesos which is about $12 USD per person. It wasn't fancy at all, but at least a private room with a bathroom and we didn't get bed bugs. So, it did the job. We weren't quite sure what to think of Mendoza that first evening, but it turns out we just didn't know where to go yet.

On Wednesday morning, we hired a driver to take us to do zip lining which was about 1.5 hours away, towards the Andes and Chile. The driver was very helpful and answered any question we could think of. He started off playing Led Zeppelin IV then once that finished he switched to some classic tango music. He said he didn't personally do it. But he just enjoyed listening to it.

Neither Kevin or I had done zip like before but it turned out to be everything we expected and better. They seemed to call it "canopy" there. The guide spoke english just enough to explain to us the hand signals and techniques of what we were supposed to do to be safe. I was glad we weren't doing something more dangerous like parachuting or hang gliding because I think I only got about 30% of what he said.

Yes, that is a real dog that had poofy bangs.

Our driver/guide Emilio also showed us how Mate was done by the locals. He always carries a bag around with him with his gourd, straw and hot water. He gladly answered all my questions and shared a few rounds while we were waiting for the tour to start. I ended up getting a gourd similar to his later in Mendoza at a place he recommended.

When we were finished they had an excellent lunch at the base camp. Chicken empanadas with a croissant like shell and a juicy sort of salisbury steak with a mushroom sauce on top ending with flan for dessert.

Crosses. Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires

I've been enjoying this tea like drink they have here called Mate. We got one of the serving cups and draws and have been following the brewing and serving etiquette. It reminds me of drinking chai.

Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting, such as family gatherings or with friends. The same gourd (cuia) and straw (bomba/bombilla) are used by everyone drinking. One person (known in Portuguese as the preparador,[10] cevador or patrão, and in Spanish as the cebador) assumes the task of server. Typically, the cebador fills the gourd and drinks the mate completely to ensure that it is free of particulate matter and of good quality. In some places passing the first brew of mate to another drinker is considered bad manners, as it may be too cold or too strong; for this reason the first brew is often called mate del zonzo (mate of the fool). The cebador subsequently refills the gourd and passes it to the drinker to his or her right, who likewise drinks it all, without thanking the server. It is possible that the cebador drinks the second filling as well, if he or she deems it too cold or bitter. When there is no more tea, the straw makes a loud sucking noise, that is not considered rude. The ritual proceeds around the circle in this fashion until the mate becomes lavado ("washed out" or "flat"), typically after the gourd has been filled about ten times or more depending on the yerba used (well-aged yerba mate is typically more potent, and therefore provides a greater number of refills) and the ability of the cebador. When one has had his fill of mate, he or she politely thanks the cebador passing the mate back at the same time. When someone takes too long, others in the roda (Spanish: "ronda"; English: "round") will likely friendly warn him or her by saying "bring the talking gourd" (cuia de conversar); an Argentine equivalent, especially among young people, being "no es un micrófono" ("it's not a microphone"), an allusion to the drinker holding the mate for too long, as if they were using it as a microphone to deliver a lecture.

La Recoleta Cemetery

We took the Subte again walked to a corner in Palermo Soho to wait for a graffiti tour. The guide was 15 minutes late. I was about ready to leave but glad we didn’t. The tour was worth every peso. The tour guide Anna said she was self taught in English and did quite well. She was very much into the Buenos Aires Graffiti scene, also a journalist as well.

Several unique factors about Buenos Aires street we saw separated it from what I was used to in the US and Europe. Since it was started around the economic collapse in 2001 only rich people could afford spray paint so much of it was done with latex paint with free hand or stencil. Also, its generally not illegal, its done more as commissioned murals or walls that are open to artists. The community around generally likes and accepts the pieces. This helps the pieces last longer, many below are over 5-6 years old. Pieces by respected artists are usually not painted over by other artists. Often times they paint with brushes at the end of long sticks. In addition the artists are not attempting to be unknown, they freely sign their real names, email addresses and phone numbers so they can be contacted. This allows people to find out more of the background behind the pieces.

After catching up on some much needed rest we went to the Museo Evita in Palermo. We took the Subte to get there, which is what the subway is called in Buenos Aires.