Welcome to Wine Country (Sun 3/21)

 
Stats:
- Dessert for breakfast
- 3 winery tours and tastings
- 1 winery lunch that included 11 courses
- Ice cream for dinner
 
Can you believe this?  Today was the first day we did not eat dinner!  Who could eat dinner when lunch did not end until after 4:30pm!
 
We had to set an alarm this morning.  After arriving so late last night, neither of us could get to sleep right away.  My issue is partly my fault.  I am reading a book about "patient safety" in healthcare.  It is so offensive to the whole science of industrial and process engineering that I cannot turn my mind off.  I go from feeling shocked, to outraged, to pissed, and to pity for the medical community.  Then, I remember, "Hey, I am a consumer of the community and then I start with the shock and outrage all over again.  To help, I have started a second book for when I need to "take my mind off the first book".  The second book is about brain surgery.  My last two books were about the dynamics of communications.  Last year in South America, I read the whole Twlight series.  It might be time for some "lighter reading".
 
Anyway, we were slow to stir this morning, but we had to move.  We had an 8:30am pick up for a day of wine tours.  Breakfast was another festival of cakes and cookies.  Dulce de leche was a featured ingredient.  At least fruit was an option this morning.  The van was on time.  We were joined by another couple staying in our hotel.  They are from Greece, living in London.  On our way out of town, we picked up another couple (Canadians) and a man from the UK.  We headed to the wine valley the furtherest outside of Mendoza.  It is interesting in several regards.  First, it is at the highest elevation of the growing areas around Mendoza.  The elevations range from 3000ft to 4000ft.  Second, it the newest growing region.  And third, most of the investment in this region is from overseas.  It is called the Uco Valley.
 
The drive to the valley took about 1 1/2 hours.  The Andes have returned to our landscape.  While we had a great time in Buenes Aires, I must admit --- I missed the Andes.  Here, there is a bit of snow left from last winter.  Included in the mountains was a stellar volcano standing at over 21,500 feet and covered in snow.  It now ranks as the tallest peak either of us has ever seen!  The winery person said, "But don´t worry, it is not active".  I had to reply, "Yeah, they said that about Mount St. Helens".  Another peak topped out near 20,000 feet.  So, the mountains are TALL.  We cannot see Aconcagua from our location.  We have been told we need to be one valley further over in the mountain range. 
 
Our first winery was Andeluna.  Their mid-range Malbec and top-end blend were great.  The top end wine, about $50 a bottle, was truly stunning.  But really, shouldn´t anyone be able to produce a great wine for that price?  The place was a joint venture between an Argentina family and "Mr. Lay".  Yes, I mean Mr. Lay of Frito Lay potato chips.  And you know what Arn had to ask while tasting wine ... "Where are the chips?"
 
The second winery was a place called Salentein.  The woman gave a great tour and showed us everything.  She kept referring to the "young" wines meaning their "entry level wines".  In Argentina, they pronouce "y" like "j" in English.  So, rather than "young", we kept hearing "jung" or "junk" wines.  It was pretty funny.  Their pinot noir and malbec were both good.  They can actually grow pinot noir because they are located at the higher elevations where it is cool enough to grow the grapes.
 
The third stop was at another winery to eat lunch.  The lunch started with about 8 rounds of starters served in either individual tablespoons or as small bites.  The food was excellent.  It was the first time Arn both ate and praised braised meat.  I think lunch started around 2pm and ended around 4:30pm. 
 
The day included a lot of wine, tasting grapes right off the vine, enjoying views of the Andes, and a lot of good food.  We were returned to our hotel around 6pm and neither of us wanted dinner.  We chilled in the hotel and headed out around 8:30pm to go for a walk around town.  Town was hopping!  We were stunned by the number of people in the park, eating outside, enjoying ice cream, and roaming the craft market.  We were also blown away by the amount of retail in town. And, we were really shocked by two McDonalds that offer a combo meal --- some kind of burger, two empanadas, and a small bottle of wine! 
 
We stopped for ice cream and shared three different flavors.  The temperatures were perfect for a stroll wearing capris, t-shirt, and sandals while eating ice cream.
 
Tomorrow, we need to make a plan --- figure out how long we are going to stay in Mendoza.  So, we will be figuring out the hiking and biking options.  We can only do one more day of wine tours and that is scheduled for Tuesday.  Really, we cannot drink and eat like this for too long!