Bodegas by bike

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Today didn’t go exactly as planned.  After having breakfast and applying lots of sunscreen (it’s so hot here), I walked to the bus stop for the local bus to Maipu.  Maipu is where the vineyards are actually located, about 30 minutes or so outside of Mendoza.  On the bus, I talked to the only other tourists (two British guys and two German girls) who were also planning to rent bikes to explore the area.  I know I did the wine tasting thing yesterday, but that’s one of the main attractions in Mendoza, and renting a bike is the common backpackers way to see lots of bodegas.

We exited the bus at 11:30am right outside “Maipu bikes” and figured that was as good as any.  The woman gave us a simple map and highlighted some bodegas.  I wanted to stop at the wine museum first and Bodega La Rural, but the rest of the group wasn’t interested.  Content to go off on my own, the woman warned me that it wasn’t a good idea in case something happened to my bike.  Never one to ignore words of warning, I stuck with the group and rode my single gear basket-bike five kilometers to our first bodega.

Tempus Alba was a beautiful, modern bodega with a self-guided tour.  The grounds were immaculate and the building gorgeous.  We sat on the terrace and ordered our wine – a selection of three wines.  I chose the more expensive option which included a nicer glass of their Tempus Pleno a blend along with the Tempus Tempranillo and Tempus Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Pleno was by far the best and the tasting sizes were quite generous.  We spent over an hour enjoying Tempus Alba and were hungry at 1:30pm when we departed, concluding that our next stop would be lunch.

We checked out a bodega nearby, but the food options were limited, so we biked another three kilometers to Bodega Familia di Tommaso, one of the oldest bodegas in Mendoza founded in 1869.  Four of us ordered the daily special pollo al disco, country chicken cooked in a typical Argentina style with dark beer, vegetables with a side of rice and salad. Not wanting to get drunk, I ordered lemonade to drink and the brownie with dulce de leche ice cream; even though the main course was filling (everyone ordered dessert).   I overheard four American girls talking at the table near us and went over to say hello and ask where they were from (Los Angeles, St Louis, Colorado and Arizona).  We had a quick chat before I rejoined my European group.

After a very relaxing, hour and a half lunch, we went inside for the wine tasting and tour.  The tasting included four wines, a 2009 Malbec (a bit harsh on the throat), a 2007 Malbec (aged for six months in oak, much better), a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and a white dessert wine.  All of the bodegas seem to share a sample of their dessert wines.  Following the tasting, we were shown the old winery including the original cellar section.

By the time we were ready to leave, it was almost 4:30pm and we only had time for one more bodega since some close at 5 and the remaining at 6pm.  Challenging ourselves, we biked another 2 kilometers to the farthest bodega, Carinae, French owners with an interest in astronomy.  Only the guys and I did the tasting after a short tour of the storage building: rosé Malbec, 2009 Malbec and a Malbec-Syrah blend.  All pretty good considering that the owners have only had the winery a few years and had no prior knowledge of winemaking (but are being trained by experts and the vines are 100 years old).

Across the street from Carinae was Laur, an olive oil workshop.  I was quite keen to stop there for some samples before we biked the 10 kilometers back to Maipu bikes but the group was moving slowly and it was almost 6pm.  I went ahead and in the end, only one of the guys joined me for the tour and tasting since it cost money.  Unlike the factory yesterday, they no longer use the old techniques but now have machines.  We sampled the extra virgin olive oil, a mustard-honey spread with olive oil and sundried tomatoes with olive oil; all tasty but the bread was a bit stale.  Post bread, I was ready to ride, but the rest continued to take their time.  We finally set off at 6:15pm.

We rode at a steady pace on the way back but all the sudden one of the girls stopped for water.  The woman at the stand was so slow we were there for 15 minutes, with only 10 minutes until 7pm.  Not my style to rush things so I got even more frustrated about the day.  As I said, I’d been content to go on my own but took advice not to.  While it was comforting to be with others, I really didn’t click with them (didn’t even ask for their contact info or remember their names).

Anyway, we made it back to Maipu bikes at 7 on the dot.  Instead of kicking us out, we were offered free white wine – it was so disgusting – and a seat to relax.  Soon after we sat down the wind picked up and we walked to the bus stop instead.  As we approached Mendoza, I kept looking out the window for our stop.  We still seemed to be a ways from the center of town, but one of the girls said it was our stop.  For some stupid reason, I got off with the rest of our group, even though my instincts told me they were wrong.  Well, turns out we were still ten blocks from the main square.  They went a different direction towards their hostel (not sure how long it took them to get back) and I went off on my own.  It took over 40 minutes to walk back to my hostel (not that I minded the walk) and I was overheated when I arrived.

Luckily, even though there was only an hour until free chorizo night, I was still able to sign up and after relaxing I headed to the terrace for my free dinner.  I sat with a group of very friendly Swedish travels, a couple whom studied in Cusco.  At 10:30pm I decided it was time to come back to the room and get some sleep as I’ve got a long bus ride tomorrow to Viña del Mar.  Overall a lovely (but hot) three days in Mendoza drinking wine (and paragliding).