First of all, I started riding south down the main road in town and took a left down Boca calle (street) to Trapiche winery, but it ended up being closed, so while I was there I decided to check out the El jardin de Cervecerro or beer garden. It was located in this hippie enclave with tons of earthships (a building_style which uses cob (mud and straw) and/straw-bale. I had two rojas or red colored beers here and some homemade chips. I should have ended my trip here because it kind of ruined my taste buds for wine tasting, but not too bad.
Next I rode back to the main road then five miles south to a family owned winery called, ¨Familia de Tomaso¨. This winery was somewhat of a small-scale production. The family migrated here back in the mid to late 18th century from Italy. Here I did a wine-tasting where we sampled four different wines; two Malbecs, a Cabernet Sauvignon (with hints of chocolate, tobacco, coffee, oak and fruit) and a sweet wine made for eating chocolate and fine delectable pastries.
After the tasting we went on a tour. He took us out to the vineyards and explained the difference between the shape of the leaves of the Malbec (which is five-lobed leaf) and the Cabernet (which is a three-lobed leaf). Then he took us out of the sweltering heat of the mid-day sun and we went through the factory. He showed us where they store the bottled wines while it ages, then where they put it in oak barrels and then they put back in a closed, cool spot where no outside fragrances can enter through the cork changing the consistency of color, olfactory smell and/or the taste.
There I met a brother and sister, Torrent and Portia from San Diego, CA. He was a life guard and she was a Marine Biologist.
After the tour I rode north again to Cero De Vina and had a tasting of three different labeled wines from three smaller companies. I tried one Malbec and a Cabernet from the lower quality wines and then tried a Malbec and a Cabernet from the higher quality, less mass produced wine with the name. Here I ran into Portia and Torrent again and they were on bikes too so we rode and toured together the rest of the day.
After this we rode down the street to La Mevi, the last winery of the day. This place was much more modern than the previous two. We could have went to about ten more, but was getting late and quite buzzed. We decided to forfeit the tour and buy two bottles; A Malbec and a Cabernet. We drank it inside in the air-conditioned place and after the first bottle we decided it was time to order water and food. We ordered empanadas. After the last bottle we rode back with huge wine smiles to the bike rentals.
Wine growing is quite the science of pruning back the vines directly influencing the height of the vine you want, allowing the vine to grow horizontal or vertical for the most photosynthesis and trying to grow the perfect Malbec grape or the perfect Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Each vine or wine requires a lot of trial and error through direct and keen observation of producing the perfect color of wine, the perfect olfactory smell and most delectable taste and flavor. All of these processes come from the right amount of grapes, yeast, alcohol, sugars all the way to duration of time in the bottles for the chemistry and fermentation to happen, to the aging process in the oak barrels then back to the bottles.
Talking to Portia and Torrent I paid way too much for the tour. I paid a whopping 120 pesos and they paid 25 pesos. LIVE AND LEARN!
Today I leave Mendoza riding the 8:30 pm bus to Bariloche in the south, but the northwestern part of Patagonia where the weather is cooler and sweeter. I get there at 1:30 in the afternoon tomorrow. My seat is in the upper level of the bus. Sit back and watch the countryside go by.
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