Mendoza & the Uco Valley

January 24th we left Salta for our last stop in Argentina. After a lengthy delay in flights we landed in Mendoza where we then had an hour and a half drive to the Vines Resort in the Uco Valley nestled in the foothills of the Andes and as the name suggests right in the middle of wine country.  One thing that we passed along the drive was many oil drilling machines.  Apparently it is a very lucrative business in this part of the country.  Wine and oil, not a bad combination.  The Vines is a beautiful and interesting resort concept.  Situated on 1500 acres it is as the name implies a giant vineyard but the vines are owned by over 200 individuals in parcels ranging from a single acre to many. Workers tend to the vines and there is a winery on site where all the individual wines from each plot are made and then the owner is free to do with the wine as he wishes.  Owners are from all over the world.  The resort has 30 villas which are beautifully appointed, many of them privately owned but all rented out by the resort.  There are some other wineries on the property and we went to a tasting at Corazon del Sol where it was just Eric and I and the sommelier for 2 hours so besides tasting some wonderful wines we, especially me, also learned so much.  We enjoyed a lunch at the Gimenez Riili winery which was five courses paired with seven wines.  One evening we enjoyed the Siete Fueegos dinner experience at the resort with 12 other guests served family style. This has been created by Argentinian chef Frances Mallimann and involves cooking over 7 different open fires, inspired by the old gauchos.  Some of the cooking started early in the morning and the process itself was fascinating though there was more food than anyone could possibly eat.  Thank goodness we had skipped lunch that day.

A highlight of our stay was an early morning horseback ride up into the mountains before sunrise to watch the sun come up.  It was a private experience with just Eric and I and two horsemen.  The climb up was steep and dark and we had not been on a horse for many years but all went well and we reached the top and with hot coffee in hand watched the landscape come to life.  It was magical and as it was light on the way down we got to enjoy some wonderful views of the surrounding hills.  Maybe it was the massage later that day but neither of us were even sore from all the time we spent on the horses.

Our three days here passed way too quickly but it is time to head to Chili for a couple of days before we start home.

Except in Buenos Aires all the houses and buildings had these boxes on top. On enquiring, inside the box is a water tank. They have municipal water but pressure is poor so a quantity is pumped up to the roof first and then used from there. Explains why you can never get cold water from the taps

Vineyards with the mountains in the background. The haze is some of the smoke from the Australian wildfires that has drifted over. 

Interesting map of the Vines property 

We did a 5 kilometre walk through the vines.  It was marked with arrows or else one could wander for ever

Lovely cool place for a tasting

The sommelier Carolina getting us a taste straight from the tank. This wine will be bottled in the next few weeks

Eric is definitely in one of his happy places

This was one of the seven fires for our dinner and it was started at nine in the morning. Cooking above the coals are fennel, pineapple, cabbage and chicken. The chicken cooked like that all day until dinner at 830 and yet it was so moist

This is a package of root vegetables that also roasted for hours

These empanadas baked in a fire oven were the best we had in Argentina and luckily they were on the restaurant menu so we were able to have them a couple times more

Cooking ribs in this oven.  One would think they would be burnt to a crisp but they were moist and delicious 

This is a tray of trout heavily coated in salt and then baked in the fire. Cooked perfectly 

Fascinating process

One of the courses, this is a rib and a traditional sausage. So much more to come

Not bad for two middle aged city slickers

The colours in the sky were vibrant

Taking some time to sit and contemplate 

The rising sun changed the colours of the surrounding mountains 

The trail down was steep but the views that we had not been able to see in the dark on the way up were now opened up to us

Eric took this picture from up higher when his horse decided to go a little slower than the rest of us

The long rocky path down. Thankfully the horses were very sure footed

Eric trying matte, a very popular drink in Argentina. Better than the butter tea in Bhutan but not one we want seconds of

Now on the other hand one can never try too many different wines

This was the main course of our tasting menu at a winery. The piece of ribeye was delicious but would have fed a small family. Every time we have ordered meat in Argentina the portions are unbelievable. Thank goodness this course came with two different wines and even though I was not able to come close to finishing the meat I was able to drink all my wine so as not to offend our waitress

The Vines at night as e say farewell to Argentina