January 6, 2021
I am not zealous wine drinker, but be in Mendoza and not go to at least one wine tasting would be a sin and traveller’s irresponsible decision. Mendoza is called the city of Malbec. And Malbec is a type of red grape. But in vineyards is planted all variety of grapes. Mendoza considered the heart of winemaking industry in Argentina proves this status with more than 1,500 wineries in the area.
| What was included in the price 1,100 pesos (16€, today 11.50€) | |
|---|---|
| Transport from hostel | |
| Bodega Dante Robino | 3 wines |
| Cavas de Don Arturo | 3 wines |
| Florio | 5 wines |
| Laur | 5x olive oil, 3x balsamic |
| Transport to hostel |
This winery produces only dry wines and their capacity is 20 million litres. One of the wines we tasted was sparkling wine (or some people know it as prosecco). Honestly, I am anti-prosecco person, and here I found out why. When I drink sparkling wine, it’s sweet like bubbly glue and makes me feel sick after first glass. This one was different. It was dry and high quality sparkling wine and I could taste the difference immediately.
“The amount of sugar per litre added to wine defines if the wine is sec, demisec, or dulce (dry, semi-dry, sweet). That’s why dry wines have less calories.”
These 20,000-litre barrels are not in use anymore and serve as a souvenir. The winery is now focusing more on quality than quantity.
Truck fully loaded with grapes.
This bodega was my favourite because it’s family business. They make only red wine and we also met Don Arturo. Their youngest wine we could drink was from 2013. So they have to wait 7 years to taste this year’s wine.
Winery doesn’t use chemicals, and workers collect the grapes manually to separate leaves which cause bitterness. The waste is sent to other places where they can use it for production of cognac, grappa, brandy, or cosmetics. Their wine is exclusive and sold directly to clients with 3% export to United States. Unbelievable is, they don’t have website, they don’t export to supermarkets or restaurants, only to individuals, and their marketing strategy is: word-of-mouth.
Turn your glass in your hand. If you see tears forming on the glass, it’s a sign of good quality.
They say: “The more wine cries, the less cries the producer.”
The last bodega produces only sweet wines. The one which stood out was brown wine Marsala which I never heard of. It had 16% of alcohol, and you could drink maximum one glass. It was strong and very sweet grappa-ish wine. 80% of its production goes to ice cream shops, confectioner’s, and patisseries.
Laur was the name of olive farm where I learnt about olive trees and olive oil. The guide was spitting interesting facts so fast I couldn’t keep up. But here’s something.
They pick olives manually from 3 farms and their taste differs on each farm. Olive tree needs usually 15 years to start growing olives, yields up to 500 years, but can live 2000 years. One tree produces 200-250 kilograms of olives per season. The colour of the olive depends on ripening time, the tree is the same. Green olive is early collection, then it’s purple olive and the most ripened black olive. 70% of olive is water, 30% oil.
Balsamic vinegar is made of grape juice and wine acid. The more maturate the less diluted. It matures from 3 to 7 days when it reaches creamy consistence.
Olive oils tasted all different, there was even spicy oil, but from balsamics I liked most maturated one.
And guess the name of their dog. Yes, it’s Olive.
Soňa
