Wine and Olives: The Bodega Tour
After a bit of rest, I decided to see what I could do in Mendoza with one day. I had asked the previous night and was told that I was a 30 minutes too late to book any excursions. Luckily, a different staff member was working in the morning and she advised me to check out Parque San Martin where the 1978 World Cup was held and from where you can see the Andes. She was also able to put me on a bodega tour to see some of the Argentine wineries. After that, I would be off to the bus station to catch my bus to Bariloche in Patagonia.
Around 2:30 pm, the tour guide, Karla, picked me up from the HI Hostel in Mendoza. She was quite dismayed when she realized that spanish is not my language. For you see this is a Spanish-only tour! No problem, I told her. I can understand more than I can speak. Plus, it's good practice for me. When I hopped in the van with my big 'ol backpack, I sat down beside a young guy. The first thing he asked me was, "Are you really from Canada?" Perhaps, he thought I was one of those tourists from the U.S. who straps a Canadian flag on their back. But, I assured him that no, I actually am from Vancouver. Turns out that this guy is from Mexico and is living in Buenos Aires studying wine and design. Great! By the end of the tour, we had exchanged e-mails and promised to meet up when I got to the city. Here comes Felipe, new best friend!
So, with Felipe, I toured the San Felipe winery in Mendoza. Luckily, this tour was bilingual. So, I got to listen in Spanish first and then check for understanding in English second. Que bueno!
The winery is one of the largest in Argentina and they have a wonderful museum of both turn-of-the-century artifacts and a history of wine making. After seeing the vineyard and the museum, we got to see the factory and wine cellar. The wine tasting here was pretty basic and only got to one red. I have to say that I prefer the wine from Chile. Score one for them!
Next was a smaller winery run by a couple from France. The focus here is on sustainability. They use all of the grape so they do have rose wine which is normally not made in South America. Here my spanish really got a workout because the tour guide\owner speaks no English and she speaks spanish with a French accent! Again, not too taken with the white or red wine we sampled. Although, by this point, I have perfected my wine tasting skills.
I was pretty sure that was our last stop of the day but surprise we were off to the Olive Oil factory. That was good news by me because I was starting to tire of the wineries.
Around 2:30 pm, the tour guide, Karla, picked me up from the HI Hostel in Mendoza. She was quite dismayed when she realized that spanish is not my language. For you see this is a Spanish-only tour! No problem, I told her. I can understand more than I can speak. Plus, it's good practice for me. When I hopped in the van with my big 'ol backpack, I sat down beside a young guy. The first thing he asked me was, "Are you really from Canada?" Perhaps, he thought I was one of those tourists from the U.S. who straps a Canadian flag on their back. But, I assured him that no, I actually am from Vancouver. Turns out that this guy is from Mexico and is living in Buenos Aires studying wine and design. Great! By the end of the tour, we had exchanged e-mails and promised to meet up when I got to the city. Here comes Felipe, new best friend!
So, with Felipe, I toured the San Felipe winery in Mendoza. Luckily, this tour was bilingual. So, I got to listen in Spanish first and then check for understanding in English second. Que bueno!
The winery is one of the largest in Argentina and they have a wonderful museum of both turn-of-the-century artifacts and a history of wine making. After seeing the vineyard and the museum, we got to see the factory and wine cellar. The wine tasting here was pretty basic and only got to one red. I have to say that I prefer the wine from Chile. Score one for them!
Next was a smaller winery run by a couple from France. The focus here is on sustainability. They use all of the grape so they do have rose wine which is normally not made in South America. Here my spanish really got a workout because the tour guide\owner speaks no English and she speaks spanish with a French accent! Again, not too taken with the white or red wine we sampled. Although, by this point, I have perfected my wine tasting skills.
I was pretty sure that was our last stop of the day but surprise we were off to the Olive Oil factory. That was good news by me because I was starting to tire of the wineries.
posted by Susanne M | 8:04 AM
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