Mendoza, Argentina

Journey through Mendoza, the Great Argentine Winemaking Province


Parra Sea
A plain full of vines between the Catena Zapata winery and the Andean pre-mountain range.
Accurate aroma
Jaquelina Ascoetti tastes a wine in a small wine shop in the center of Mendoza.
Nightfall at Cavas Wine Lodge
Dusk highlights the facade facing the mountains of the pre-Andean mountain range of the wine hotel Cavas Wine Lodge.
Raw material
Large bunch in a vineyard at Cavas Wine Lodge.
Finca Flichman Cellars
Welding worker in the barrel room of the Finca Flichman winery belonging to the Portuguese company Sogrape.
Eno-Inheritance
Aged corner of a winery in Lujan de Cuyo.
Hard choice
Visitor examines bottles stored in the winery.
Wine, tapas and cheese
Cheese board prepared by the wine hotel Cavas Wine Lodge.
villa in vineyard
Villa at the Cavas Wine Lodge hotel, lost in a vast expanse of vines on the outskirts of Lujan de Cuyo.
Finca Flichman Style
Exquisite decoration and lighting from the Finca Flichman winery.
Saffron flavored conversation
Friends chat at a table at Bar de Viño Azafran, in Mendoza.
San Martin Tower
View of Mendoza with the emblematic Torre del Pasaje San Martin in the foreground.
Pre-Andean Vineyards
It was planted at the foot of the mountains of the pre-Andean mountain range, near Lujan de Cuyo.
winery circle
Barrel room at the Catena Zapata bodega.
aged wine
Cellar filled with dust in a tasting shop in the city of Mendoza.
Wine in pesos and on sale
Wine showcase at the Azafran bar in Mendoza.
Winery meeting table
Catena Zapata winery meeting room.
In the XNUMXth century, Spanish missionaries realized that the area was designed for the production of the “Blood of Christ”. Today, the province of Mendoza is at the center of the largest winemaking region in Latin America.

“Well, then you know. Cross the first sector of the vineyard and see your villa at the bottom on the right”!

Cecília Diaz Huit directs us, still somewhat apprehensive due to the obvious visual abyss that separated us from the other guests, almost all wealthy South American executives or vacationers, dedicated to wineries.

It had only been a year and a half since we met this enterprising Argentine. On her first visit to Mendoza, we found her as Marketing Manager at the local Hyatt hotel. He had already suggested to us then that he was preparing more ambitious flights.

To date, most visitors to the province of Mendoza have stayed in the homonymous capital. They set out to discover the vast winemaking domain spread across the endless surroundings of Godoy Cruz, Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo. Vast areas, if we take into account that the province of Mendoza is almost the size of Portugal.

Cecília and her winemaker husband Martin Rigal understood the gap. They did not hesitate to resolve it.

When we returned to the area, they welcomed us to their newly opened wine hotel, located in a corner of Lujan de Cuyo's vine-green sea, isolated by the immensity of the landscape. In fact, among several wineries with whimsical architecture.

Villa at the Cavas Wine Lodge hotel, lost in a vast expanse of vines on the outskirts of Lujan de Cuyo.

And a view of the snowy mountains of the pre-Andean mountain range.

They were not, by far, the first to take advantage of the sunny fertility of those parts.

The Long History of Enology in the Province of Mendoza

The first Spanish colonists noticed, shortly after arriving there, the dryness and irrigable aridity. They also noticed the great thermal amplitude in the region. It was they – especially the Catholic missionaries – who planted the first experimental vineyards.

Wine production remained for a long time creole and localized. In the XNUMXth century, the intensification of the immigration of Italians and Spaniards – also French and others – made oenology begin to be taken seriously.

From then on, competition between family wineries led to a process of maturation of the wine industry that the construction of the railway between Mendoza and Buenos Aires, in 1884, favored.

Despite this progress, until three decades ago, despite being the fifth in the world in terms of quantity, Argentine wine was not exported. It was considered too inferior to the one imported from Europe by the French-style mansions of Buenos Aires.

Eno-Inheritance

Aged corner of a winery in Lujan de Cuyo.

By that time, winery owners found that beer already occupied a significant part of the national alcoholic beverage market. And that the annual per capita consumption of wine had dropped from 25 liters in 1960 to less than 10.

They were forced to redouble their efforts. They resorted to foreign investors and winemakers. Its entry into the scene meant that, in a short time, the best Argentine labels were spotted and recognized around the world.

Catena Zapata. A Successful Eno-Producing Family. Among So Many Others

The Catena Zapata family, arriving from Italy in 1898, has become one of the biggest owners of vineyards in the region and a case of enormous success.

When we visit its winery and headquarters, we are dazzled by the sumptuous grandeur it has endowed with, designed with influence from the Mayan pyramids of Tikal.

The welcoming yet pragmatic posture and pompous speech of Nicholas, the heir to the throne of this wine dynasty, also impresses us.

Barrel room at the Catena Zapata bodega.

Nicholas Catena Zapata sits comfortably atop one of the hundreds of kites in his eccentric cellar. The slender, elegant figure fits in perfectly with the basement environment, yet refined that surrounds us.

"I'm glad it impresses you!" whisper to us as we stroll in disbelief through the building's sumptuous round barrel room. “We spared no effort to build a seat worthy of family history. As you may already know, my predecessors have great responsibility for everything that Mendoza has become.”

The miracle that allowed the Catena Zapata clan and so many others of European origin to take advantage of an almost desert so that it would generate 70% of Argentina's wine production today has few secrets.

Raw material

Large bunch in a vineyard at Cavas Wine Lodge.

The Geological and Climatic Particularity of Mendoza

The province of Mendoza is located, in Argentina, at approximately the same latitude as the capital Buenos Aires but at the opposite longitudinal end of the country.

It appears in an inhospitable and sandy expanse, at the foot of the Andes mountain range which, here, is shared with neighboring Chile, stands more imposing and colorful than anywhere else in South America.

It is crowned by the highest elevation in the Western Hemisphere, Mount Aconcagua (6962 m).

Mendoza's continental location shelters the region from moisture from both the Pacific and the Atlantic. Provides an absolute predominance of sunny days and strong daytime thermal amplitudes.

But if the water only very rarely falls on the flat areas of the province - which often happens in the higher mountains - it ends up sliding over them in flows fed by the melting and the slope, more or less voluminous depending on the time of year,

It was these rivers and streams that the Spanish settlers learned from the Huarpes Indians to channel in a complex network of canals and aqueducts in order to irrigate a sea of ​​vineyards that grew over the centuries.

Parra Sea

A plain full of vines between the Catena Zapata winery and the Andean pre-mountain range.

This engineering also enabled the development of the region's homonymous capital.

Homonym City, Soul and Heart of Mendoza

Mendoza – the city – is famous for an incredible density of huge plane trees that protect it from the harshness of the contrasting climate. Its urban trees are irrigated by countless dimples (open-air canals) that follow the wide avenues downtown.

This is the case of the pedestrian Avenida Sarmiento, where the esplanades dominate the shade and allow residents to enjoy the inevitable picadillos e moon averages (croissants) as they debate the nation's favorite themes and traumas.

As dimples they can, however, do nothing against the tectonic movements observed in the area. As a precaution, the city of Mendoza was endowed with large squares.

Its primary function, the refuge of the population in the event of an earthquake, is somewhat vanished by the improvised picnics, by the Naps and other forms of leisure that the Mendocinos have perfected over time.

Mendoza is not what is expected of a capital.

The vines are long gone but the green remains and predominates. So dictated the landscape design of Frenchman Carlos Thays, author of a surprising work, recognized around the world as one of the most brilliant urban expressions of an oasis.

Founded in 1561 by the Spaniard Pedro del Castillo, as we have already seen, in an area of ​​great seismic activity, the city would soon pay for its ignorance or, worse, its negligence. It was razed by a strong earthquake and only in 1863 did it receive a new layout.

Today, its buildings are rare and homes with more than 4 or 5 floors.

View of Mendoza with the emblematic Torre del Pasaje San Martin in the foreground.

Naturally, the local commercial activity is also organized, to a large extent, in terms of wine.

As Wineries and the Wine Tastings of the Eno-Argentine Province

There are located many of the agencies that organize visits to the wineries more tourist-oriented. Cases of the Escorihuela or La Colina de Oro.

Wine

Cheese board prepared by the wine hotel Cavas Wine Lodge.

Or La Rural, the winery that houses the largest wine museum in South America, where we can find on display the tools used by the region's settlers in planting the inaugural vineyards.

There are several single-storey buildings in the center that house small fitting rooms, little concerned about their insignificance compared to the pomp of their counterparts on the plain.

We walk down any street when Jaquelina Ascoetti recruits us to join the bodeguita what is your work. And tasting a series of Argentine wines that he is in charge of promoting and selling.

Accurate aroma

Jaquelina Ascoetti tastes a wine in a small wine shop in the center of Mendoza.

In a gentle and gentle way, the young Mendoza serves us a little Malbec, Cabernet, Syrah, Pinot and Torrontés, in some of the samples, refined combinations of these varieties.

“What do you think?? As old as Europe may be, we have already produced some wines to match yours, don't we?” We cannot disagree. We are grateful for the hostess's dedication.

We say goodbye for a long walk to the famous Azafrán wine bar. That night, we had a tapas dinner with Argentine culinary gestures.

Friends chat at a table at Bar de Viño Azafran, in Mendoza.

And we drank a few more glasses of the invigorating nectar of the gods of Mendoza.

Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
San Ignacio Mini, Argentina

The Impossible Jesuit Missions of San Ignacio Mini

In the century. In the XNUMXth century, the Jesuits expanded a religious domain in the heart of South America by converting the Guarani Indians into Jesuit missions. But the Iberian Crowns ruined the tropical utopia of the Society of Jesus.
São Tomé and Principe

Cocoa Roças, Corallo and the Chocolate Factory

At the beginning of the century. In the XNUMXth century, São Tomé and Príncipe generated more cocoa than any other territory. Thanks to the dedication of some entrepreneurs, production survives and the two islands taste like the best chocolate.
Salta and Jujuy, Argentina

Through the Highlands of Deep Argentina

A tour through the provinces of Salta and Jujuy takes us to discover a country with no sign of the pampas. Vanished in the Andean vastness, these ends of the Northwest of Argentina have also been lost in time.
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

Departing from Mendoza city, the N7 route gets lost in vineyards, rises to the foot of Mount Aconcagua and crosses the Andes to Chile. Few cross-border stretches reveal the magnificence of this forced ascent
Pico Island, Azores

Pico Island: the Azores Volcano with the Atlantic at its Feet

By a mere volcanic whim, the youngest Azorean patch projects itself into the rock and lava apogee of Portuguese territory. The island of Pico is home to its highest and sharpest mountain. But not only. It is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Azoreans who tamed this stunning island and surrounding ocean.
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
Ushuaia, Argentina

The Last of the Southern Cities

The capital of Tierra del Fuego marks the southern threshold of civilization. From Ushuaia depart numerous incursions to the frozen continent. None of these play and run adventures compares to life in the final city.
Beagle Channel, Argentina

Darwin and the Beagle Channel: on the Theory of the Evolution Route

In 1833, Charles Darwin sailed aboard the "Beagle" through the channels of Tierra del Fuego. His passage through these southern confines shaped the revolutionary theory he formulated of the Earth and its species
Ushuaia, Argentina

Last Station: End of the World

Until 1947, the Tren del Fin del Mundo made countless trips for the inmates of the Ushuaia prison to cut firewood. Today, passengers are different, but no other train goes further south.
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

The Resisting Glacier

Warming is supposedly global, but not everywhere. In Patagonia, some rivers of ice resist. From time to time, the advance of the Perito Moreno causes landslides that bring Argentina to a halt.
Iguazu/Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

The Great Water Thunder

After a long tropical journey, the Iguaçu River gives a dip for diving. There, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, form the largest and most impressive waterfalls on the face of the Earth.
El Chalten, Argentina

The Granite Appeal of Patagonia

Two stone mountains have created a border dispute between Argentina and Chile. But these countries are not the only suitors. The Fitz Roy and Torre hills have long attracted die-hard climbers
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

A Farm at the End of the World

In 1886, Thomas Bridges, an English orphan taken by his missionary foster family to the farthest reaches of the southern hemisphere, founded the ancient homestead of Tierra del Fuego. Bridges and the descendants surrendered to the end of the world. today, your Living room harberton it is a stunning Argentine monument to human determination and resilience.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Duo of giraffes crossing paths above the savannah, with the Libombo Mountains in the background
safari
KaMsholo Bush Safaris, Eswatini

Among the Giraffes by KaMsholo and Co.

Located east of the Libombo mountain range, the natural border between eSwatini, Mozambique and South Africa, KaMsholo has 700 hectares of savannah dotted with acacia trees and a lake, habitats for a prolific fauna. Among other explorations and excursions, we interacted with the largest of species there.
Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Architecture & Design
napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s – Old-Fashioned Car Tour

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Totems, Botko Village, Malekula, Vanuatu
Aventura
Malekula, Vanuatu

Meat and Bone Cannibalism

Until the early XNUMXth century, man-eaters still feasted on the Vanuatu archipelago. In the village of Botko we find out why European settlers were so afraid of the island of Malekula.
Correspondence verification
Ceremonies and Festivities
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

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good buddhist advice
Cities
Chiang Mai, Thailand

300 Wats of Spiritual and Cultural Energy

Thais call every Buddhist temple wat and their northern capital has them in obvious abundance. Delivered to successive events held between shrines, Chiang Mai is never quite disconnected.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Lunch time
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Cuada village, Flores Island, Azores, rainbow quarter
Culture
Aldeia da Cuada, Flores Island, Azores

The Azorean Eden Betrayed by the Other Side of the Sea

Cuada was founded, it is estimated that in 1676, next to the west threshold of Flores. In the XNUMXth century, its residents joined the great Azorean stampede to the Americas. They left behind a village as stunning as the island and the Azores.
Sport
Competitions

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Tsitsikamma National Park
Traveling
Garden Route, South Africa

The Garden Coast of South Africa

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Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica, Caribbean, Punta Cahuita aerial view
Ethnic
Cahuita, Costa Rica

Dreadlocked Costa Rica

Traveling through Central America, we explore a Costa Rican coastline as much as the Caribbean. In Cahuita, Pura Vida is inspired by an eccentric faith in Jah and a maddening devotion to cannabis.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
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Sesimbra, Vila, Portugal, View from the top
History
Sesimbra, Portugal

A Village Touched by Midas

It's not just Praia da California and Praia do Ouro that close it to the south. Sheltered from the furies of the West Atlantic, gifted with other immaculate coves and endowed with centuries-old fortifications, Sesimbra is today a precious fishing and bathing haven.
Alcatraz Island, California, United States
Islands
Alcatraz, San Francisco, USA

Back to the Rock

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Oulu Finland, Passage of Time
Winter White
Oulu, Finland

Oulu: an Ode to Winter

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José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
deep valley, terraced rice, batad, philippines
Nature
Batad, Philippines

The Terraces that Sustain the Philippines

Over 2000 years ago, inspired by their rice god, the Ifugao people tore apart the slopes of Luzon. The cereal that the indigenous people grow there still nourishes a significant part of the country.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Torres del Paine, Dramatic Patagonia, Chile
Natural Parks
PN Torres del Paine, Chile

The Most Dramatic Patagonia

Nowhere is the southernmost reaches of South America so breathtaking as the Paine Mountains. There, a natural fort of granite colossi surrounded by lakes and glaciers protrudes from the pampa and submits to the whims of meteorology and light.
Puerto Rico, San Juan, walled city, panoramic
UNESCO World Heritage
San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Highly Walled Puerto Rico of San Juan Bautista

San Juan is the second oldest colonial city in the Americas, after the Dominican neighbor of Santo Domingo. A pioneering emporium and stop over on the route that took gold and silver from the New World to Spain, it was attacked again and again. Its incredible fortifications still protect one of the most lively and prodigious capitals in the Caribbean.
Visitors to Ernest Hemingway's Home, Key West, Florida, United States
Characters
Key West, United States

Hemingway's Caribbean Playground

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mini-snorkeling
Beaches
Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Back to Danny Boyle's The Beach

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Djerba, Island, Tunisia, Amazigh and their camels
Religion
Djerba, Tunisia

The Tunisian Island of Conviviality

The largest island in North Africa has long welcomed people who could not resist it. Over time, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs called it home. Today, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities continue an unusual sharing of Djerba with its native Berbers.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

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Australia Day, Perth, Australian Flag
Society
Perth, Australia

Australia Day: In Honor of the Foundation, Mourning for Invasion

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Daily life
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

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Meares glacier
Wildlife
Prince William Sound, Alaska

Journey through a Glacial Alaska

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Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.