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What to Eat in Argentina – The Traveler’s Checklist

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Restaurant Parilla

So you have friends and family visiting or maybe its your first time to Argentina and you want to make sure that you experience the culture to the fullest. Whether it be foods you need to try or things you need to experience, this week I’ll give you a starter list of things you should try before leaving! Of course, I’ll start with food…

Food
Dulce de Leche: The closest food in American culture to dulce de leche is caramel. Of course, dulce de leche is much more delicious and regardless of your sweet tooth, you must try this. You can get your first taste in a variety of ways: buy a jar and eat it on bread or fruit (I recommend green apples), order it as a flavor at an ice cream ship, eat it in an alfajor (see below) or even take an artesan dulce de leche liquor shot.

Alfajor: Two cookies stuck together with gobs of dulce de leche and dipped in white or milk chocolate. You can buy them at any kiosk (convenience store) or stock up in large quantities at the Central Market.

Medialuna and Cafe con Leche: Literally meaning half moon, these sweet croissants are a must for any true Argentinian breakfast.

Helado (Ice cream): Not just any ice cream, but Ferrucio Soppelsa, Perrin or Grido. These three ice cream shops at the intersection of Belgrano and Sarmiento (Grido is at Espejo and Sarmiento) are rival ice cream shops, with Ferrucio Soppelsa being the chain ice cream shop in Mendoza and Perrin being the more traditional family-run ice cream shop. Grido is much smaller with fewer flavors, but certainly worth a visit. Everyone has their favorite. And, if you’re on Sarmiento peatonal, Bian y Nero is a must. You can’t go wrong with any of the flavors, and trying Malbec and Torrontes based flavors is of course a must.

Empanadas: I’ve seen empanadas translated as hot pockets, but I cringe at that comparison. Empanadas are made with much more love and taste a million times better. The traditional criolla empanada is stuffed with ground beef, olives, hard-boiled egg and spices, but other popular choices are ham and cheese (jamon y queso), sweet corn (choclo), four cheese (cuatro quesos), and vegetables (verduras). They are available at nearly every restaurant in town, and you can also purchase at corner bakeries or the organic market to cook yourself.

Steak: This one is a bit obvious, but the list wouldn’t be complete without it. Try it with chimichurri sauce and be prepared for large proportions.

Chorizo: Argentinian sausage that’s usually served at asado barbecues. If invited to an asado, rearrange your schedule to make it for this Argentine culinary experience. Nothing quite like the day long grill-out with friends and slow-cooked beef.

Morcilla and other “weird” cow parts: Morcilla, or blood sausage, will surprise you. It has a great pate-like quality. Give it a try, if not just to tell friends you tried it when traveling.  If you’re feeling adventurous, order a parilla, which generally includes not only traditional cuts such as asado de tira (ribs), vacio, chorizo (beef sausage) and chicken, but also morcilla (blood sausage), molleja (throat), chiculines (intestines), rinones (kidneys) and teta de vaca (cow teat).

Maybe not a meal you should eat on a daily basis...

Milanesas: Breaded and fried meat, similar to schnitzel. Very thinly cut, milanesas can be of veal, chicken, or even soy. Order it a la napolitana and you’ll get it covered in cheese and tomato sauce.

Check back for a suggested to-do list in Mendoza!

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both. A recent college graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

 

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Discovering Napa Valley

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

After an amazing weekend in San Francisco, I finally headed to the Napa Valley. Soon after I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, my heart started beating faster, not only because I could start enjoying the breathtaking views, but because I could see the first vines!

As you travel in this scenic area, you are almost always in view of a vine covered mountain or valley. Yountville was our first stop and I had the sensation I had arrived to THE perfect wine world. Restaurants, décor, perfect vines … a nearly perfect picturesque villa. We made a quick stop at Bottega, which I highly recommend, and headed to Chandon where we stopped to soothe our growing thirst and excitement.A cool glass of sparkling while lying on the grass and letting the bright sun warm our shoulders was a real treat for the senses and a true welcome to my wine trip.

Being my first time in Napa I was excited to discover this wine region. As Mendoza, it is consider to be part of the New World. So, being there, I could find the similarities in this classification, but it is very easy to find the differences as well.

In terms of geography, Mendoza doesn’t look a bit like Napa Valley. Napa looks much more as the wine regions in Chile, with vine covered hills and low altitude. Mendoza is about ten times bigger than the Napa Valley. However, despite its modest size, the Napa Valley is a region of enormous soil and topographical diversity. Vineyards are planted on the fertile valley floor, on the bench lands above the river, and on the thinner poor soils of the mountainsides.

The climate is quite different than Mendoza, as well. Napa, which gets a substantial amount of rain in the winter but almost none in the summer, is very hot in the summer. Mendoza does not have ANY rain in winter, and is actually is one of the driest wine regions on the planet. The other critical aspect to the terroir diversity of Napa is the effect of the ocean. As the Napa Valley is a warm, sunny region, the cooling fog that the hot Central Valley pulls in from the cold Pacific waters creates many different microclimates and is fundamental to moderating the warm temperatures. Mendoza has a climate that is 100% continental, with very warm summers and very cool winters and a very bright sun all year round!

In general terms, wineries from both regions share the same winemaking techniques. There is a sense of speaking the same wine language since in Mendoza and in Napa you talk of varietals more than appellations and the style of wines is quite similar. When tasting the wines you can better perceive these similarities. In many Cabernets, for example, I felt the same grandness you find in many of our Malbecs!

I’ll share more with you on my discovery of Cabernets from the region in my next post. Until then, salud!

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Oktoberfest in Argentina?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Yesterday wrapped up the final day of Oktoberfest in Villa General Belgrano (VGB) in the province of Cordoba. While Mendoza obviously touts the fine wines, sometimes it’s nice to take a break for a cold pint. Oktoberfest, also known as La Fiesta Nacional de Cerveza (National Beer Festival), is in VGB is for two weekends every year. The first weekend, September 30th, has a more calm atmosphere as the town gets warmed up for the long holiday weekend. Then the hoards of Argentinians and tourists alike swarm the quaint little German town for beer, beer and more beer.

But, let’s not forget all of the other wonderful aspects of VGB and German culture. There’s the German food, such as Brezn (pretzels), Spätzle (noodles) and all different types of wurst (sausages). There was even beer flavored ice cream. There’s also the traditional German outfits that performers and residents don for this special time of the year. As for performances, there’s pretty much always a dance troupe on stage at the Oktoberfest and if you get there in time, you can see the Oktoberfest queen crowned on the first Friday.

At the festival, everyone buys a beer stein the size of their choice to fill up at the stands. You can even buy a strap to hang the stein by your side. Then comes the difficult decision on what to drink. There are a few large beer companies who sponsor the Oktoberfest, so their beers are obviously readily accessible. However, you can get some great artesanal beers as well. Most of the artesanal beer makers have a blonde (rubia), a red (roja) and a dark beer (negra). I also saw a strawberry beer as well as a few honeys. Antares, as well as Homer Simpson’s Duff beer, were present at the festival. If you want to learn all you can about artesanal beer, there’s a daily tour through one of the breweries on the main avenue.

To get to the Oktoberfest, you can of course drive, but if you’re without a car, you must take a bus from Mendoza to Rio Cuarto and then take a Lep bus from Rio Cuarto to VGB. I, for example, took a seven hour bus to Rio Cuarto and then a three hour Lep bus to Villa General Belgrano. It’s quite a long journey so I would recommend getting a group of friends together and renting a cabin for the weekend.

Jerome Brewery, in El Salto in Potrerillos, also hosted an Oktoberfest celebration this year on October 8th and 9th. More than 500 people attended the celebration this year, just an hour and a half outside the city of Mendoza.

Whether you are celebrating October with a glass of beer or bottle of wine – salud!

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both. A recent college graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

 

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Winemakers Night with Mairena

Friday, October 7th, 2011

 

Monica Blanco, Rudolfo Menissi, Gabriel Blanco, Ricardo Menissi

The Vines of Mendoza hosts Winemaker’s Night every Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. so wine aficionados can learn more about the history, techniques and vision of local wineries. Hosted in the outdoor patio tasting room, Argentinians and passing tourists alike can enjoy tasting some of the best local wines with the winemakers themselves. This past Wednesday, Gabriel and Mónica Blanco, who own and produce Mairena wines were our special guests, along with oenologists Rudolfo and Ricardo Menissi.

The Mairena Story: The Blanco Family is a full-fledged family winery. Of Spanish descent, the Blanco family wine production involves three generations, including Gabriel and Mónica and their five sons and daughters. In fact, the winery’s label Mairena comes straight from the family. Mónica Blanco wanted to name her fifth child Mairena, which is actually the name of a small pueblo in Southern Spain near the Sierra Nevadas. However, unlike other countries in which you can name your child whatever you like, Argentina only allows parents to name their child if the name is listed in a “permitted names book.” Unfortunately for the Blancos, Mairena had to be discarded. However, when they were considering the name for the wine label, they decided on Mairena because “they would take care of the wine like a child.”

Although the winery took up the family grape-growing tradition in the 1980s, it wasn’t until 2005 that the family was able to realize their dream of bottling their own wines. Starting with Malbec and Bonarda in 2005, Sauvignon Blanc in 2007, Torrontes in 2009, the family uses all of their own grapes except for the white Torrontes grapes they buy from Cafayate.

Winemaking Process: The family is in the process of constructing their own winery expected to be completed by 2012. All of the fields are located in Ugarteche, Lujan de Cuyo, which borders Valle de Uco, separated only by a hill between Lujan and Tupungato. This proximity gives the Mairena wines similar qualities to wines from Valle de Uco.

Ugarteche has an average height of 970 m, above sea level. The soil is sandy loam and its uneven nature favors isolation, which makes the land and excellent place for planting grapes. Additionally, the micro climate has a wide temperature, reaching 30 degrees Celsius during the day and dropping to 15 degrees Celsius at night. The winery uses a drip irrigation system and anti-hail nets.

Wine Tasting:

Mairena Torrontes 2011: It’s been just two years since the family began producing Torrontes from white wine grapes from Cafayate, Salta. This wine is expressive, explosive and fruity with a pale green and silver color. $38 pesos/$12 US dollars

Mairena Sauvignon Blanc 2011: A lemon-green color,  this Sauvignon is fresh and agreeable in the mouth and has fresh aroma notes of pineapple, grass, and citric fruits. It was noted during the tasting that is has a hint of ruda, which is commonly recognized in Sauvignon Blancs. Ruda is an Argentinean plant with a strong odor. In fact, the family says that it only ripens its Sauvignon Blanc grapes 80% so the wine will not lose its citric notes to this strong scent. With a short finish, this light and lively wine would pair well with sushi, ceviche, cheeses or enjoyed as an aperitif. $38 pesos/$12 US dollars

Mairena Malbec 2010:  A beautiful violet color, this Malbec maintains red fruit and plum primary colors as its complimented with secondary aromas of chocolate, coffee and cinnamon. Very delicate with smooth tannins that fill the mouth. Oak staves are inserted into the wine to create this elegant and feminine Malbec.~$45 pesos/$15 US dollars

Mairena Bonarda 2010: A deep violet characteristic of the Bonarda varietal, this wine has aroma hints of red fruits and blackberries as well as coffee and tobacco. As a single varietal, this Bonarda has lots of potential. $19 US dollars

Mairena Blend Reserve (30% Bonarda, 70% Malbec): When the family began making their own wine in 2005, Gabriel wanted to differentiate his family’s winery by focusing on Bonarda. The Menissi brothers insisted on taking advantage of Argentina’s powerhouse Malbec grape. So they decided to do both. This blend captures the family’s two opening stars with cherry and plum notes from the Malbec and raspberries from the Bonarda. Complex, balanced and pleasant with a slight sweet flavor and mild tannins. $90 pesos/ $39 U.S. dollars

Interesting Fact: Adding to the family bodega concept, Mairena’s two oenologists, Rudolfo and Ricardo Menissi, are brothers.

Winemaker Quotation: “You have to make what the market demands. But you also have to provide high quality,” said Gabriel Blanco.

Winemaker Night at The Vines of Mendoza Tasting Room | 7-9pm every Wednesday | $40 pesos  

 

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Wine & Tango Festival Wraps Up in Mendoza

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

As quickly as September came and went, so did Mendoza’s Annual Wine and Tango Festival. The event, held September 16-18 and September 23-25, is officially called Tangos por Los Caminos del Vino and explores two of Argentina’s most emblematic passions. It is organized by Bodegas de Argentina, Secretarías de Turismo y Cultura del Gobierno de Mendoza and Great Wine Capitals.

“This festival gives us a chance to showcase Mendoza’s excellent wines, in addition to giving people the opportunity to get out and visit the wineries,” said Luifer Torres, an associate at Bodegas de Argentina, whose company represents and unifies more than 220 Argentinean wineries. ”Our company is proud to support two of Argentina’s most important pastimes.”

On the final weekend of Tangos por Los Caminos del Vino, I had the chance to attend an evening affair at the Hotel Intercontinental Wine Bar, and Norton Winery on the following Sunday morning. It was interesting to compare the two events as they both had unique atmospheres.

Hotel Intercontinental: Dúo Elbi Olalla & Victoria Di Raimondo gave a passionate performance, singing a collection of tango songs while a couple danced. The hotel served guests Kaiken Malbec, one of my favorite wines, and overall, the one-hour event was quite formal. I was very happy to see two strong females not only singing the lead for tango, but also playing the piano, which is somewhat rare in Latino society.

Norton Winery: On a bright Sunday morning, my friends and I headed out to Norton winery in Lujan de Cuyo. The winery started the morning with individual mini-bottle of champagne as they band warmed up and guests sat outside with the beautiful vineyard surrounding us. The affair had more of a feel like a comfortable Sunday brunch–beautiful weather, scenery, people and food. Then the band, Colectivo Tango began to play a more modern style of tango. I stared in amazement as two couples danced on a small stage, gracefully gliding carelessly and seamlessly. The winery also hosted a fashion show to showcase a local designer’s work.

The festival was well worth attending, and one I hope to experience again in the future.

 

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The “greenest” winery in the world

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Visiting the UC Davis winery was a great experience, and while talking with Fernando Buscema I realized how true it is that the wine industry needs to think green if it wants to succeed in the future.

If you ask me, I would say wine is a part of my food pyramid :) ! However, as Fernando very well explains, if water and energy are scarce resources in the future, no doubt the wine industry will have to struggle to compete with the basic foods.

So UC Davis winery is the first of its kind to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest rating for environmental design and construction, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

Here is what it takes for it to be Leed certified:

* This sustainable winery building has a large-capacity system for capturing rainwater and conserving processing water. The stored rainwater will be used for landscaping and toilets.

* The winery also has been designed to capture carbon dioxide, a natural byproduct of fermentation, from a port in each of the new fermentors. An innovative process is used to remove the carbon dioxide from the winery, reducing the building’s energy requirements for air quality and temperature control, making it possible to sequester the captured carbon dioxide so that it will not contribute to global warming.

* Other environmentally responsible features include maximum use of natural light, rooftop photovoltaic cells to provide all of the facility’s power at peak load, new food-processing equipment that minimizes energy and water requirements, use of recycled glass in the flooring, interior paneling recycled from a 1928 wooden aqueduct, and use of lumber harvested from sustainably certified forest operations.

Another really interesting aspect is the technology applied in each of their small fermentors.The facility has what is believed to be the world’s first wireless wine-fermentation system, a multimillion dollar assembly of 152 wireless grape fermentors, designed, fabricated and donated by a team of research engineers led by T.J. Rodgers, the founder, president and chief executive officer of San Jose, Calif.-based Cypress Semiconductor.

Each of the 200-liter, electro-polished, stainless steel fermentors is individually equipped for automated control of temperature and the “pump-over” process, controlling two of the most important factors in determining final wine characteristics and quality.The new fermentor sensors frequently and precisely extract and transmit sugar-concentration data from white and red fermentations across a wireless network. Data from the sensors can be generated every 15 minutes with a precision of 0.25 Brix, a measure of sugar content.

I have to say that although I did not taste any wine in this winery, it was without any doubt one of the highlights of my wine trip to California. It is good to have young professionals like Fernando who are thinking green and who can help Argentina to understand the importance of applying sustainable concepts while making outstanding wine

 

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Vines of Mendoza Sensory Experience

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Friends at the Vines' Sensory Experience

Wet earth. Licorice. Mushrooms. Perhaps these aren’t the first aromas you search for in a wine. My family and I recently underwent a “sensory experience” at the Vines of Mendoza. We were led into a private tasting room and guided by sommeliers to try a variety of containers with different scents. While some were easy to identify, such as cinnamon, others were more challenging, like leather or black currant. It was fun passing around the different aromas and trying to guess what is was, but it was also educational. For me, my mind often recalls an aroma within the wine, but can’t put a name to it.

We then smelled and tasted five different local wines:

Montecinco 2009, 100% Malbec: Cedar, spice, blackberry, peppery and floral notes

Urraca Primera Blend 2006, 36% Malbec, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot: Plum, red quince

Pulenta Estate Gran Cabernet Franc 2008: Ripe blackberry, cinnamon, black pepper

Monteviejo Blend 2006, 80% Malbec, 20% Syrah: black cherries, clove, caramel, smoke

Mendel Unus 2008, 70% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon: spice box, incense, lavender, earth notes, black currant, blackberry, hint of balsamic

I recently heard the anecdote from a sommelier that when she was a little girl, she was a very picky and precocious child so whenever she ate anything, she had to smell it first. However, little did she know, that her smelling habits would pay off and train her mind to recognize scents in wine later on in life. They say in the wine world, Taste, Taste, Taste. Perhaps we should add, Smell, Smell, Smell. I now find myself smelling everything when I’m cooking: fruits, spices, sweets. It truly heightens your awareness of the flavors that you can actually experience in the wines. Even more interesting are the personal flavors people recognize from their memory. Perhaps a certain floral aroma reminds you of a lavender perfume your mother wore growing up or a specific spice, like cloves, reminds you of Christmas, depending on where you’re from. Everyone’s pallet is different, so what one person may smell or taste in the wine can be different from someone else’s. For example, in the Pulenta Estate Gran Cabernet Franc 2008, I sense an overwhelming scent of fresh green pepper. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t listed as an aroma for the wine. However, it doesn’t mean necessarily that you’re wrong if it’s not listed on the bottle.

Interesting facts on Detecting Aromas:

Of the five senses, smell is the most acute, approximately 1,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste.

Smell and taste are the chemical senses because their receptors are stimulated by chemical molecules, rather than by energy from light, pressure, or sound.

While smell is the most easily stimulated of the human senses, it is also the most fragile. There is a great variation between individuals in the elements to which they are sensitive. A person’s absolute threshold is the smallest amount of stimulus required to produce a sensation. Once that threshold is reached, unless trained, the individual can only recognize and unconsciously catalog the smell as either “familiar” or “new.”

To date, scientists have cataloged over 17,000 different smells; about 10,000 can be distinguished by humans.

Sources: LaMar, J. (2011, Sept 27). Sensory user’s manual. Retrieved from http://www.winepros.org/wine101/sensory_guide.htm

Happily, with training, concentration, and practice, nearly anyone can learn to dissect and describe complex aromas!

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both. A recent college graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

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Winemakers’ Night with Monte Cinco

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Monte Cinco Owner Arturo Berdona (left) with Oenologist Marcos Maza (middle) at the Vines of Mendoza’ Winemakers’ Night

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring in Mendoza, as well as Students’ Day. We decided to join the celebration by hosting a Winemakers’ Night on our patio with the boutique family winery Monte Cinco.

Who are they: Monte Cinco as a label started ten years ago with Malbec in the Agrelo region of Lujan de Cuyo. However, the Berdona family has been involved in wine since the beginning of the 1900s when they moved from Viamonte, Italy to South America. First trying to settle in Brazil, the family moved on to Mendoza, Argentina, where they found the right conditions to grow their grapes. Thus, this long family history of winemaking has yielded vines as old as 85 years on their land.

Winemaking Process: The grapes are handpicked April 7-10 in one harvest and stored in 14 kg plastic boxes and then transported and destemmed at the winery. The grapes then go through a double selection process to ensure the best grapes are chosen for Monte Cinco wine. Before being fermented, the grapes go through cold maceration for three to four days. Maceration is the process in which tannins, anthocyanins and flavor compounds are leached from the grapes skins, seeds and stems into the must. This is how red wine gets its color. Cold maceration specifically keeps temperatures low to encourage extraction by water and added sulfur dioxide rather than relying principally on heat and alcohol to act as a solvent. The wines are then fermented in stainless steel tanks and fermented with selected yeasts and then aged in American and French oak barrels. The winemaker mentioned that the winery prefers to use American oak barrels.

Wine Tasting:

Petit Verdot 2007: The wine aged 4 months in oak barrel and 11 months in bottle. An intense violet color (the cold maceration seems to have intensified all of the hues of Monte Cinco’s wines), the Petit Verdot has complex aromas of spices and chocolate with a nice structure and a medium finish.

Malbec 2007: A well-balanced Malbec with an intense red color and violet tones. A very smooth texture with aromas of red fruits, spices and a hint of vanilla and chocolate. I personally preferred the 2007 over the 2009 for its pleasing smooth texture.

Malbec 2009: This wine was rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The magazine describes the wine in its review as “Cedar and spice are the lead aromas, and beyond that there’s blackberry, pepper and floral notes that rain complexity down on the bouquet. The palate is superrich, a bit tannic and deep as night, with black fruit, espresso, syrup and spice flavors. Finishes brawny and long, with toasty richness. Drink now through 2013.”

Interesting Fact:

Monte Cinco has won many awards for its wine including the Grand Gold Medal at the 2008 International Malbec Competition and the 2003 Gold Medal Malbec Award at Vinandino. Because the winery won the Vinandino award on an odd year (2003), the winery only releases wines on odd years to continue the success.

Winemaker Quotation: “Petit Verdot reaches higher quality in Argentina and will one day make history here.”

Learn more about Monte Cinco wines by watching our interview with him in 2009.

 

 

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Llamas at Tapiz

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

On a recent bike & wine trip in Lujan de Cuyo, I had the pleasure of visiting Tapiz winery. In terms of winery tours, Tapiz is one of the less visited wineries, perhaps because its surrounded by big players such as Chandon and Norton. However, in my experience, usually whatever a winery lacks in size, it makes up for in personalized attention. Such was the case at Tapiz when my family and I were treated to a two-hour individual tour around Tapiz’s vineyards and buildings.

Interestingly, Tapiz, or tapestry, used to be owned by American wine mogul Jess Jackson (read: Kendall Jackson). He acquired the winery in 1996, but when Argentina’s economy tanked in 2001, he cashed out of the Mendoza winery business. Today the winery is owned by an Argentinean family that resides in Buenos Aires. The winery also lays claim to Club Tapiz and Casa Zolo, a fine dining restaurant and guesthouse on a historical estate in Maipu, and produces several lines of olive oil.

If you’ve gone on several wine tours, you realize there is somewhat of a pattern in most wine tours: a history of the winery, a tour of the vineyard, a tour of the winemaking facilities and a winetasting session. However, the best bodegas add their own touch of flair to the visit. There are three unique characteristics about this winery tour that stand out in my mind.

First off, I don’t think I’ve ever met a tour guide so enthusiastic about his job. Juan, a native Argentinean who gives tours in English and Spanish, explained to us that he studied tourism throughout college despite protests by family and friends because it was his passion. Juan has now been giving tours at Tapiz for two years and shares a contagious excitement for Tapiz, visitors from abroad and wine in general.

Secondly, the llamas. I still get giddy when I see llamas and this visit was no exception. However, please note that llamas are skiddish animals and will run away if you try to chase or take a photo with them…. Tapiz keeps the llamas for the natural fertilizer, but also have a corporate social responsibility aim for the animals. When the llamas’ hair is sheared, Tapiz will give the hair to the grape pickers, who usually are seasonal workers from Peru and Bolivia, so the women in the family can weave the hair into clothing and then sell their products at Tapiz. Thus, they will have a supplement to their income when they are seasonally unemployed.

Finally, Tapiz does a great wine tasting in which you can compare a wine from the tank to its final product. In our case, we tried a Torrontes, a Sauvignon Blanc and of course, a Malbec. If you’re interested in trying their wines, look for their Tapiz line (within this line, all carry the name Tapiz except their organic wine Spirit of the Andes and their ultrapremium Malbec Black Tears) and Zolo. Visit the winery yourself for 25 pesos or for free if you decide to take a nice wine home for yourself.

With two of Tapiz's leading men: our tour guide Juan and the Zolo man!

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both. A recent college graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

 

Posted in Behind the bottle, Experiences, Life in Mendoza, Mendoza Bodegas | No Comments »


Winery Lunches Compared: Zuccardi vs. Belasco de Baquedano

Monday, September 5th, 2011

I’ll admit that I’ve only had two winery lunches here in Mendoza. It’s not that I wouldn’t love to have more but for most of us who live in Mendoza, it’s a treat rather than a regularity. Also, let me preface this blog post by saying that both Familia Zuccardi and Belasco de Baquedano’s winery lunches are lovely and in many ways, very distinct, so to each their own as to preferences. However, as I plan for family and friends to visit in the upcoming spring, I realize they would have no idea where to start in order to pick the best suited winery lunch for them in the beautiful Mendocinean wine wonderland so here are a few quick hints!

Familia Zuccardi:

Location: The Casa del Visitante, or Visitor’s House, is located in Maipu. To me, this is Familia Zuccardi’s biggest drawback–it’s pretty far away from everything and is quite the trek if you don’t have a car. My friends and I had an interesting experience trying to hail a taxi in Maipu near Uruquiza Street and trying to get there. It must have been siesta because the Maipu-based taxi service we called said it would be 45 minutes until they could come get us…? That said, hire a remise for the day, make a Mendocino friend who’d like to join or sign up for a tour.

Wines: Familia Zuccardi has a ton of wines hailing under different names: Zuccardi, Santa Julia (their most popular wines; a line you’ll find at nearly every restaurant, grocery store, party, etc), Fuzion and Malamado. Interestingly, Malamado is a fortified wine, meaning brandy or liquor is added during the production process to increase alcohol content. Accordingly to their website, this is a technique from the 17th century.

The wines served at lunch are as follows: Santa Julia Varietal, Santa Julia Reserva and Santa Julia Tardio. Rating: 6/10

Atmosphere: Wow! The atmosphere is fantastic at this place–cozy, yet elegant with fantastic views right from your table. It feel likes you’re in a rustic restaurant in the middle of their vineyard, which I guess you sort of are…. Best of all, you can lounge around outside afterwards falling into a food coma or play with friendly dogs who stroll around the estate. Rating: 8/10

Food: I think the food at Zuccardi was more my style than Belasco de Baquedano because the chef doesn’t put on any airs…and you can repeat any plates you enjoy in particular. You start off with meat, onion and cheese empanadas followed by grilled vegetables and salad. Finally, an all you can eat asado (really can’t beat that…) You also get fresh bread served with the Zuccardi line-up of olive oils. Some of the best olive oil I’ve had in Argentina. Dessert and coffee follow the asado, but if you’re truly taking up the Argentinean stylebook, you’ll make the most of the asado and tsk at desserts (okay, a few bites..) 7/10

Value: 200 pesos, or $50/person. Good value, but requires a good amount of planning. 7.5/10

Friends and Family at Navarro

Belasco de Baquedano

Location: Located within the Agrelo section of Lujan de Cuyo, Belasco is within a nice proximity of several other wineries including: To get here directly from the Mendoza city center, you’ll still need to hire a remise, make friends with someone who has a car or hire a tour guide, but at least you’ll be able to visit several other high quality wineries in the same day. 8/10

Wines: Like Zuccardi, Belasco has several lines: Swinto, AR Guentota, Lllama and Rosa. The first two names come from the native Huarpes language of the region, meaning Crow and Cuyo’s soul, respectively. The Llama is a really nice value wine, and with the Rosa, unfortunately, I’ve yet to develop my Rose palate. With the lunch you get a Rose, a Loan (Lllama), ARGuentota, Swinto and Antracito (sweet tardia wine). See photo below for how many glasses were on our table. 8/10

Atmosphere: The atmosphere of Belasco de Baquedano is completely distinct from Zuccardi. A much more modern boutique feel than Zuccardi, the restaurant is on the second floor and overlooks the vineyard. We had the luck of being one of two tables in the place as we went in August during low season in the middle of the week. 6.5/10

Food: A four course lunch including a round of empanadas, fresh bread with tomato and garlic spread, beef tenderloin and a final dessert of orange ice cream with toasted nuts and bitter chocolate mousse. A completely different menu style than the asado lunch at Zuccardi (no all you can eat here) but you will be full to the brim when you walk and quite satisfied. 6.5/10

Value: Similarly priced to Zuccardi’s asado, you get many good wines and a four course meal for approximately 175 pesos. Belasco is much more convenient to stop into than Zuccardi and can be a nice break from the asado if you’ve already indulged several times in the overwhelming quantities of meat an asado entails. 7/10

No lack of wine at either winery lunch!

No matter which you choose, you will not lack good wine!

 

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