Vino Country: Mendoza with the Padres

Apparently there is a song about Mendoza in the fall, and now I know why. The crisp air and the vibrant colors of the leaves against the background of snow-capped mountains is really a beautiful sight. And let's not kid ourselves... the wine was awesome!


The trip started when our plane got delayed a few hours so then we missed our connecting flight and then the next plane we got put on was delayed again... and when we arrived in Mendoza we found out Mom's bag had been sent to Brazil. BUT that didn't mean the next 2 days (a.k.a. the last few days of Mom and Dad's visit) were ruined.

We spent our first day in the local wine region of Maipu laughing at the name and riding bikes to different wineries. It was a 9 km trip along narrow roads with big trucks wizzing by, and it's a miracle that more drunk backpackers don't get hurt. There are a bunch of wineries along the way, and you can pop in for tours and tastings for the equivalent of about $4 at each one. Some of the wineries were old and traditional from the 1860s, and others were super modern, but I would have to say I enjoyed the vino at each one.





We got home with the help of the bike rental lady chasing after us and screaming at us for about 5 minutes because we rode too far, thanks to Dad's slight misreading of his iPhone GPS (he must have been pretty buzzed at this point because we all know about his map reading skills). Anyways after a nap we went to the most amazing parrilla (Argentine bbq). Seriously if you are ever in Mendoza you have to go to La Barra- it was the best meat I have had in this country, and that is a pretty hefty claim.


After a trip to the casino, we got a good night's sleep in order to wake up early and....... go wine tasting again! This time we got a ride about 2 hours outside of the city close to the base of the Andes.

The region: Valle de Uca
The winery: Salentein
The vibe: sophisticated
The wine: really good





After a multi-coarse lunch in the middle of the countryside, we headed to the airport and back to the big city. Mom and Dad had one more day in BA but because they were such super-tourists the first week, they had already seen all the important stuff. We spent their last 24 hours eating meat, drinking wine, and walking around- my favorite things to do in Buenos Aires :)