The newest Tango night on the block is at the Park Hyatt. Last week was the first of their weekly Friday tango night series on The Vines patio. Starting at 9pm, I found a comfy corner on the sofas as I was brought a cool beer and a platter of cold meats and cheeses to nibble. Then came the dancing.

Tango has quite an amazing ability to absorb you. I always find it surprising that everyone watches just as avidly when the male dancer throws his partner over his head twirling her in the air (which he did!) as they watch when the couple appear not to be moving at all.  Even the almost-still moments of intense staring are absorbing. The two dancers at The Hyatt have that knack to suck you in – it was intense, interesting and varied in tempo, style and had a handful of mind-blowing moves and some seriously longing looks.

After a few dances and a bit of tango poetry, the pair of dancers worked their way into the crowd to invite a couple unsuspecting onlookers to take a private dance class. Of course the attractive pair had little difficulty convincing a few people to take to the tiles, and there was about 20 minutes of an impromptu milonga for those who wanted to try out some moves themselves.

This is a good way to spend a hot Summer’s night in the city and will give you your fill of Argentine tango culture.

Tango night is every Friday at 9pm and costs $80 pesos per person which includes the show, two beers and a picada.

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza with an ever more eager desire to learn to tango, but is still stuck with her ever-more-awkward two left feet. 

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So, when I had the great fortune to recently attend The Vines’ adventure to the Galapagos Islands for outdoor adventure and wildlife exploration (you will read more about this here very soon) it came as a great surprise when I showed up with only a medium sized handbag and backpack. And at the end of the trip I realized I brought too much.

So, I’d like to share my recently acquired mastery packing skills, and share my tips on coming to Mendoza with the least amount of luggage possible for those of you headed down during the harvest season.

Here goes:

1) Flip flops or your other favorite flat shoes – It’s a very casual town and you will be doing a lot of walking to see all the plazas and do empanada tasting. So, when in Rome …

2) Sundress – Fits in with the relaxed but not quite hippy-ish vibe of most hangouts in the city. You can wear it to an upscale restaurant or to a dive bar. You will get cat calls at either location. Embrace it. It’s a regional past-time.

3) Polo Shirt / Khakis – If you’re a man, a polo shirt and khakis will suit you in the fanciest location here. At an asado, you’ll be the most dressed up without looking pretentious. But hey, why not impress.

4) Jeans – You will likely get on a horse at some point, and you probably don’t want chafing. And/or, you will likely be punching down grapes at some point and would like to avoid a purple skin hue. Either way, enough said.

5) Hoodie/Fleece – What keeps our grapes so perfect is that the weather cools at night. Prepare yourself accordingly so you’re not too chilly for Pollo Al Disco outside underneath the stars.

6) T-shirt – You could wear a sundress with the jeans, but you might want something more comfortable.

7) Undergarments –You’re an adult. We’ll leave you to make these decisions on your own.

8) Camera – There are countless locations to take phenomenal photos, whether your camera is a point and shoot, or the fanciest model (and either way you should be sure to get tips from Michael).

9) Sunscreen and other toiletries – It’s sunny over 300 days a year, so this is a must to protect your skin. Keep in mind for this and other crèmes and cosmetics, it may be difficult to find what you’re used to using at home, so be sure to pack at least a few small bottles.

10) Marshmallows and peanut butter – To bribe the expats to carry your luggage.

We hope to see you in Mendoza soon, with a tiny backpack or even four. Vamos!

Sharon Nieuwenhuis is The Vines’ new pr pro and believes the right pair of shoes can solve most, if not all, of life’s problems.

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I love a good picnic. Maybe it’s something inherently English in me, but checkered blankets, wicker baskets and specially designed crockery send little shivers down my spine.

And Mendoza is the perfect place for a picnic – stunning mountain scenery, 350 sunny days a year and loads of great bottles to crack open upon your comfy picnic rug. How better to spend an afternoon than sipping cool Torrontes under olive trees and looking at the snow dusted Cordon del Plata? This might be my English picnic sentimentality creeping in here again… but here are some top spots for picnics in Mendoza:

Picnic in the Park

With a park the same size as the city, Parque San Martin is the quintessential picnic spot for Mendoza. I particular love to unroll my mat on the island in the middle of the lake – a nice shady spot, and not to mention that the strapping, handsome rowing team circling the lake make good viewing. The upcoming evening Jazz on the Lake (10 – 12 Feb) concerts are just begging to be accompanied by smoked salmon bagels and espumante…

Winery picnics: Alta Vista

The latest winery to add gourmet picnics to their offerings, this fab French winery now provides kitsch picnic sets with bento boxes filled with gourmet nibbles such as caramelized onion and mushroom puff pastry slices; eggplant, goat’s cheese and olive oil focaccia; and roast beef ciabatta. All in miniature size you can pick your way through three appetizers, three salads, three sandwiches and finally three desserts while accompanied by a couple glasses of Alta Vista wine. The view of the mountain range is just the icing on the cake! ** Alta Vista, Alzaga 3972, www.altavistawines.com $300 pesos for two people.

Potrerillos

This dam is pretty stunning. A sparkling big blue lake set against a mountain backdrop is idyllic for a picnic. Make sure you bring cushions and a wind breaker as the rocks are pretty hard and the wind picks up quite a bit in the afternoon making it quite the dining ‘al fresco’ experience. When the wind does get going, you can catch a few wind and kite surfers on the water.

Sausage rolls in the hot springs

Sitting in thermal springs with a glass of red and a picnic by your side is a pretty cool way to go. About an hour from Mendoza, Cachueta is a beautiful ravine with thermal springs running through it. Surrounded by the rugged Andes mountains you can park up on the road and scramble down the hillsides to have a picnic by the springs. The walk down is a pretty hair raising experience, but hot relaxing water awaits below, and hopefully the obligatory bottle of Malbec will give you some Dutch courage to get back up again!

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza and content to find any excuse to bring out her cheese and ham sarnies for dining al fresco.

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Part 1- The Technical Tasting Note 

Ok, so I am not good at the boring blah blah blah that you usually get from wine professionals. I get that glazed over look as they talk about adequate tannins and structure, prominent anthocyanins, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I can talk the talk and also throw it in the mix, its just that I think there is a better and more fun way to talk about wine, one that everyone can grasp.

So, we will divide this “mini” course into small chunks with some take aways so that soon you too, can be a master tasting note writer and awe your friends with your wine tasting abilities and hopefully, creativity. So to kick things off we are going to start with the tasting note skeleton which is made up of 5 S’s.

So onward- the 5 S’s- this should be fun!

See- This is what you see in the glass. Look at the color, the opacity, the different hues around the edge and then start to think back to when you started to learn about the rainbow colors. Now try to identify those colors. I know you have all looked at clothing catalogs, so feel free to steal some names from clothing items like cranberry, straw, maybe even a hint of periwinkle etc.

Try to do it with adequate light and hopefully have a whitish surface as a background. Try not to look at the glass with a fuscia shirt in the background for example, it tends to skew the results. Also, you don’t want to look like a blind mouse running about searching for the light, so if you are in a compromised situation, its ok, just move on to the next step.

Swirl- Let’s get some movement going in that glass- I want to see those legs do some dancing! But try and get a gauge of your glass shape and size before you do so, otherwise you may be wearing half of your glass of wine. The best thing to do for beginners is to start slow with your glass of wine on a smooth table-like surface and, keeping the base of the glass on table, start to make small circular gestures. There you go, keep going, until you can take off the training wheels and go stem swirling only!

Sniff- Now this is probably the hardest step to do without looking like a complete idiot or a confirmed wine snob. But yes, you can do it! Once you have the swirling part down just start to lift the glass lightly to your nose and take a delicate whiff. See what you think, what your first takeaway is. Its okay if you don’t smell anything at first, it takes practice and what fun it is to practice with wine! The best thing to get started is to practice your swirl and then periodically sniff. See if you can smell the same essences from the first time to the next. Try to associate the different smells with foods you eat or experiences you have. There are no rules and no right answers, because this is a sensory exercise and everyones senses are different.

Try this out every time you have a glass of wine and you will increase your olfactory vocabulary quite quickly. Take time in the market to smell pinapples, berries, fruits and spices. Not only does it give you a zen-like moment to your day but it makes you start to create the smell memories that will help you with the PART II of the Tasting note course!

Sip- So this is really my favorite part of the exercise. If you are with a group, try to delicately taste the wine and see what your overall experience is. Take time to notice how it hits your tongue, is it spicy, tickly, acidic, soft, chocolatey? How does it slide through your mouth- is it elegant, grippy, tart?  If you are alone with your glass of wine, you can go full monty and close your eyes, sigh deeply and truly indulge in the experience.

Savor- So now you have experienced the wine from your sight, smell and taste, now it is time to see what remains. How was the wine structured? Did it have a lot of acid, tannin,  etc.? Basically … a lot of the boring things that you hear about but never really take into account. You don’t have to have the vocabulary, you should just know what it tastes like for you. Once you swallow what flavors linger, or does it even linger? What is your overall impression of the wine? Would you buy it again? Would you give it as a gift to a friend? 

So the take aways from this basic anatomy of a wine tasting note:

1. Relax and put your sensory hat on.

2. Don’t worry that you don’t know that much about wine- just know what you like and don’t like.

3. Follow the 5 S’s and you will look like a wine pro in no time!

And stay tuned for Part II…

Emily is The Director of Marketing for The Vines of Mendoza and likes to dabble in wines tastings and sensory evaluation.

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Where I grew up it would be impolite to arrive to a business meeting half an hour late, and just plain rude to turn up over an hour and a half late for a date. But here, either barely raise an apologetic eyebrow. This is ‘Argen-time’, and punctuality is not part of the vocab.

Last week I went to an Argentine friend’s asado – we’ll call him Juan. Not knowing anyone, apart from Juan obviously, I decided to play it safe, drop the gringo act and arrive in ‘Argentime’. The asado was at nine. At 9:10 I very coolly (or so I thought) cleaned the house a bit and casually went to shower. 9:30 I’m listening to a bit of music in my room, have a glass of wine poured and am getting changed in an incredibly nonchalant way, feeling pretty good (or downright smug) about how this time I’m going to be the last to arrive. 9:45 I am ready and a bit bored. 9:50 I’m sitting on the edge of my bed, waiting and urging the clock hands to hit ten. 10:00 pm finally arrives, and I jump up and head out. Walking at snail’s pace and pausing to look at pretty flowers, cats, trash in the irrigation channels and any old crack in the pavement, I manage to turn a 7-minute walk into a 25-minute meander.

10.25pm I’m stood in front of my friend’s door, with my ear to the wood listening to check the party is already swinging. I can’t hear anything. I deliberate. I really wanted to be the last to arrive, but then I don’t want to miss out on the first innings of choripan.  My stomach grumbles and I ring the bell. Half tempted to lean indifferently with one elbow on the door frame, I’m feeling pretty darn good about my late arrival – an hour and a half late, that’s like 90 whole minutes, probably a couple more by now, not that I’m counting.

A stranger answers the door in his pajamas and looks at me a bit peeved. “I’m here for the party” I say, trying my hardest not to sound too eager or squeaky. “You’re early,” he replies, “Juan has just gone down to the shops to get the meat.” “Oh” I reply, a moment more rolls by. “I guess you can come in and wait in here if you like.”

I sit in the living room while the roommate showers. I twiddle my thumbs, looking at the clock on the table, cursing my continued, foolish attachment to timekeeping. Juan comes back 20 minutes later, and finally at 11pm the next guest turns up. It’s another gringo.

Damn Argentime!

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza to learn about wine and unlearn the art of time.

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December is a very busy month for everyone- the mad rush to finally see everyone that you haven’t seen in the course of a year in the short space of a month. All in order to toast the year that is about to end. I personally like this concept and the hustle bustle of the season. It makes me smile and there seems to be an endless supply of champagne, or sparkling wine, which is never a bad thing either!

THE PERFECT GIFT- WINE!

The other great thing about the holiday season is that you not only get to receive gifts and thoughtful “somethings” from comrades, colleagues, friends and family, but you also get to give back as well. As I have been in the wine industry a long time, I naturally turn to wine as an easy escape route …to be honest it is a commodity that is a bit like flowers. Everyone is always happy to see it and it is never really necessary, so it’s one of those fun, guilty pleasures in life.

FOOD & WINE PAIRINGS

One of my other favorite pasttimes is cooking. I am sure you are like me in saying that I LOVE cooking for other people but when its just for myself, a grilled cheese with some tomato seems to do the trick (ok maybe with a sprinkle of  black truffle salt!).

This month I had some fun purusing the Food Network database, a favorite of mine to gain some meal time inspiration. I came across the site for $10 dollar dinners with Melissa D’Arabian. This is right up my alley for December when you are dashing about looking at your checking account balance decreasing daily … as you seem to remember more people to add to your holiday shopping list. I found a TON of recipes that are perfect, easy to make and best of all pair perfectly with The Vines $10 dollar wines!

$10 WINES!

Check out this page to see what $10 wines The Vines are offering. They are an unbeatable deal, cheaper than you could find when going to your corner grocery store and, plus, they land directly at your doorstep. These wines are perfect for the after holiday hangover- affordable yet indulgent, and you don’t have to feel guilty about dipping into your piggy bank for these wines.

Here is the full list, but a couple of my personal favorites are the Enrique Foster Ique which is light and fruity, the Serbal which is a bit more complex but really nicely balanced and the Ricomenciare Cab Franc blend. Try it – it will change your mind about the Cab Franc varietal!

So go forward, shop your feet (or fingers) off, but just make sure you have some good wines waiting for you when you get home to ease the pain!

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Salta and Cafayate are not only home to Argentina’s best fruity white wine, Torrontes, but also to the legendary Peña. One of Argentina’s best nights out, the Peña is part of your travels that can’t be missed. Some say the word Peña comes from wanting to drown your sorrows (or pains/peñas) with wine and music, while others say it comes from a native word to unite with brothers. Either way it works as this night of lively folklore music and plenty of local brew is sure to both numb the senses and unify people!

My first experience of a Peña was at the bohemian ‘La Casona del Molino’, an old mill building 10 minutes out of Salta city center which has been converted into a rather shabby looking bar. Five rooms in the round with a rustic bar propped up in the middle connecting patio, this is a real diamond in the rough – not for its mismatched, wobbly furniture, or rock bottom drink prices, but for the people that fill this place every night.

Gauchos in billowing pants with their large knives swaggering at the side pour into La Casona with an assortment of instruments slung over their shoulders. Picking any room, locals grab a stool and join in for a folk music jam session, improvising with others on the spot. Walking between the rooms you could end up at either side of the Argentine folkloric spectrum, from heart rendering wavering vocals being sung at the top of emotion filled lungs with solitary Spanish guitar, to foot tapping and thigh slapping alongside an energetic 10 piece band of all sorts.

As each rooms gets more and more packed, the music gets louder and louder with musicians competing to reign the sound waves over their neighboring room. This is a boisterous night that starts late and keeps going even later. So pick a room, take a seat, order a Fantvin like everyone else (orange Fanta mixed with red wine…) and enjoy the show. It’s sure to be one you will always remember!

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THE RESTAURANT

A new dining option that shines in Chacras de Coria is Dantesco Restaurante, an easy walk from the central plaza. From the moment you set foot on the property, you are immediately charmed. They offer a variety of intimate dining spaces from an outdoor patio to  warm kitchen-esque room with exposed wooden beams and vintage accents. Or, move to their covered patio for the best of outside/inside options. Feeling a bit high brow? Try their beautiful and more formal dining room.

THE FOOD

The food speaks for itself with a multitude of options and the ability to mix and match, a true rarity in the Mendoza dining scene. From amazing shrimp and avocado ceviche, grilled mollejas (sweetbreads), an incredible picada (antipasto plate), stuffed sirloin steak, delicious salads and grilled vegetables to desserts. It is like a Thanksgiving dinner that you don’t have to cook!

You can also take a stroll through their wine cellar to pick your own bottle, or chat with Jesus, the sommelier to get some good pairing ideas.

Overall you will not be disappointed by this lovely restaurant. If you live locally and want to throw a party, they also have a full service catering branch. Yum!

DETAILS

Address: Italia 5829, Chacras de Coria

Phone: (0261) 496 1991
Email: restaurante(at)dantescorestaurante.com
Website: www.dantescorestaurante.com

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I am often asked which Malbecs are my favorites. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share five Malbecs with you that I appreciate the most. For our friends outside of Argentina, these are great cold weather wines to pair with today’s turkey, comfort food and, of course, steak! Check them out and let us know what you think.

Pulenta Estate Malbec 2008 – $29 Every one of their wines is a great value for the price – they simply don’t make a bad wine.

Bressia Monteagrelo Malbec 2007 – $30 Walter Bressia is a true craftsman and gentleman — and it comes across in this wine

Laborum Malbec 2006 – $49 From up North in Salta – intense and rustic. Boom!

Lindaflor Malbec 2006 - $51

Our neighbors from across the street at Clos De Los Siete — the perfect balance of elegance and power by Michel Rolland.

And my favorite Malbec of all time:

Achaval-Ferrer Finca Bellavista $100

Ah, my friend Santiago — the magic that you pull from these old vines and into the bottle inspires and delights!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Pack your bags! We’re building Argentina’s finest luxury boutique resort and spa. Imagine laid back luxury that combines the spirit of the outdoors, fresh food and fine wine, and service that makes everyone feel like
family.

The Vines Resort & Spa will be sure to please every discerning traveler seeking an inspiring trip to the heart of Argentina’s wine country. If you love the outdoors and natural tranquility, you can ride horses through the Andes or take a bike tour of local vineyards. If you’re looking to distress and re-charge, unwind with a vinotherapy treatment or yoga class. Into good food and wine? Get your palate ready! Taste the fresh, delicious food picked right from our finca and our extensive list of Argentina’s finest wine including our very own Recuerdo wines. If you just want to get away from it all, you will enjoy the secluded atmosphere and your own private outdoor fire pit. We’ll let you decide how toasty you want your marshmallows.

For those interested in a vacation home, but don’t want to deal with the maintenance, this is your chance to own your very own Casita with gorgeous views of the Andes Mountains.

If you’re feeling inspired and want to learn more, check out our website: www.vinesresortandspa.com. We’ll be continually updating with details and features as we look forward to our first guests in December 2012.

And we’ll keep you updated with our progress on our blog too. We’d also love to hear from you. What do you want to do most during your trip, and what amenities would you like to see?

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