Mendoza: Day 3

Coming from families of avid wine drinkers, both Karlyn and I knew Mendoza was a must see location. Like pious believers to their Mecca, we intricately planned out our trip to our sacred haven- ready to embark on a faithful tour of our beloved Malbec wines and so much more. This was not a purely hedonistic pursuit; we wanted to learn about something that we loved a great deal in order to truly understand our shared passion.

We woke up bright and early on Wednesday in order to venture off to the Uco Valley, which was located an hour outside the city of Mendoza. We dozed off while staring off into the myriad of colorful vineyards that appeared to stretch on endlessly. We were awakened to a cranky driver ushering us into the momentous estate of the Salentein vineyards.

Slowly arising from our siesta, we were astounded by the enormity of the Salentein vineyards. We were escorted into a reception room where we were instructed to head into their massive movie theater to watch a brief film on the production and history of wine. There, we learned that about the long history of wine and how wine has been with us since the beginning of civilizations. The movie charted the various references to wine that are found throughout history. It spoke about Dionysus, Jesus’ use of wine as a right of passage for important occasions, and many, many others. We were also able to learn more about the production of wine, even after hearing it from three previous vineyards. I am still amazed by the complexity of the whole process. I had no idea that there was such a science to the production of each glass of wine. Each wine is vigilantly experimented with and tasted over and over again by the wine maker until it reaches its ultimate point of conception. I like how the video and our guide described how wine is alive and always changing up to the point of digestion. Wine even takes on different forms after you have poured it into your glass!

After the movie, our German tour guide herded us out of the theater and lead down a long path surrounded by vast areas of vines with a backdrop of the snow capped Andean mountains. The bodega was a harsh contrast to the raw nature around us- it was an enormous steel and concrete building with very modern architecture, yet a work of art. Although we had been to three different vineyards already, this one was by far the largest. They sell over one million bottles throughout the world. We stared on in awe as we were shown their enormous collection of barrels in the cross-shaped bodega. In the epicenter of the bodega, we were instructed to yell out something. Each of us approached this spot and was surprised to hear our voices magnified as though we were using a microphone. There, we learned how Salentein utilizes a traditional gravity transfer system that allows wine to flow from French stainless steel tanks and wooden vats to the underground oak casks used for aging in order to prevent the obstruction that occurs with pipes.

At the end of the tour, we walked into a darkly lit tasting room where we were seated at an immense stone table that was painstakingly set with five different glasses, cheeses, and decanters of different shapes and sizes. Here, our German guide taught us how to properly taste wine and emphasized the importance of truly taking the time to let not only wine, but also food give you a burst of flavor. As Americans we are often especially hasty in our eating patterns and eat or drink carelessly without actually tasting the food or beverage. She encouraged us to let the wine and food “explode” in your mouth by holding it there and letting it provide you with its true flavor. For wine, we were told to swish it around our entire mouth and analyze its many forms. Here are the wines we were lucky enough to sample and attempt to offer our own interpretations with a little (or a lot of) help from our extremely knowledgeable guide:

• Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2009: Yellow with green reflexes that arise because it is a younger wine. I particularly enjoyed this one being a white wine aficionado. Citric fruits and leaves of tomatoes were used to create this wine. It lacked a strong body, but left a feeling of latent salvation. Grown in colder temperatures.
• Pinot Noir Reserve 2007: Less color and less body because of the skin used to produce this wine. It was more transparent and had a woodier taste with a hint of cinnamon and caramel (that we were able to taste after hearing it from our guide). The body was lighter and smoother than most other red wines.
• Malbec Reserve 2007: Darker with violet hues that are unique to Malbecs. Malbec is the wine that is most often associated with Mendoza. There was a taste of blackberry, plum, and mature fruits that had tendons that made the mouth dry.
• Merlot Reserve 2005: Redder in color with a woody taste and dryer sensations. More developed fruits used that creates a jam taste.
• Numina 2007: The girls favorite wine, which was 60% Malbec and 40% Merlot. Raisins and cooked fruits used here.

Needless to say, we discovered a great deal about wines in this quiet chamber. We then viewed the private museum of the vineyard that featured a variety of art, mainly from Dutch artists. Let’s just say this vineyard had it all in terms of the facility. Running a little late, we headed on toward O’Fournier bodega located thirty minutes away.

O’Fournier was in a very dry area and the vines almost appeared dead as we gazed at them in passing. This structure was also a work of art and very modern. Both of the two bodegas were constructed by the same architect, which obviously aided in their similarity in styles. The bodega was shaped in a temple like structure and made of cement. This Spanish bodega has tanks where the temperature is controlled by computer to allow the wine maker, who manages the other vineyards that are located in Spain and Chile, to control the temperature no matter the location. We were escorted throughout the building and were reminded of Phoenix as we stared on at the dust storm below that ran throughout the vines. Unlike the other wineries, O’Fournier had a tasting that was accompanied by a four-course meal where we sampled their Alpha Crux and B Crux wines.

For our lunch, we were seated at a beautiful table that featured a man made lake that we could look out into as we enjoyed our amazing meal. See the menu below and pictures to understand our incredible feast. Each course was strategically paired with a wine to allow for maximum satisfaction. I must say, that I was overwhelmed by the food and wine. I think the final dessert might have been one of my favorites EVER and that says a lot coming from a dessert enthusiast.

Hoisting ourselves out of the now barren restaurant, we all piled back into the car only to fall asleep from wine and food exhaustion. I think each of us had enough food and wine to last us a week, but would do it all over again if we had the opportunity. As we slept the journey back and returned to our hotel only to relax the rest of the afternoon, we reminisced on the many memories we have all shared in the past. We talked about our funny experiences we’ve had on other trips, colleges, high school, and other times and thought of our other friends who were not their to join us (you know who you are and I hope you’re regretting not coming to join us). We’ve all been friends for quite some time and it’s great to see how we have formed one larger group that has united the different schools from all over the Phoenix valley.

With stomachs still full, we went to our next culinary experience at 1884 for dinner. This is the world-renowned restaurant of celebrity chef Francis Mallman. 1884 boasts an Argentinean tradition, but with a French flare. They also had a resident sommelier to assist Ashley and I with our champagne selection. Here, Greta and Karlyn tried out a salad with arugula, prosciutto, parmesan, sundried tomatoes and a lemon seasoning that was followed by a perfectly cooked salt encrusted chicken and mushroom risotto. Ashley and I sampled two different appetizers- baked goat cheese with sundried tomatoes and a delicious salad that I have somehow forgot (probably because of the haste with which we ate it, despite my lessons prior that day). For our entrée, we shared fettuccini pasta with king crab in a white cream sauce that gave us our much-needed portions of fish for the day. I would highly recommend this restaurant and the ambiance surprisingly competes with the food.

With little energy due to our food coma, we tried out the casino located in the Sheraton Hotel located alongside our hotel. Although I did not gamble, I watched as people put down chips at a game of roulette. We vowed to learn the rules of roulette and craps next time we made it to a casino as we saw quite a few people getting lucky in both games. Maybe Karlyn’s dear grandparents can teach us the game! Karlyn and Greta lost a mere five dollars to the slot machines. I, on the other hand, stayed with Ashley attempting to learn the basics of these games. Being shopaholics, we all figured it was a better bet to save our money for clothes than throw it away on games! With a basic understanding, we left the casino and fell right asleep afterwards dreaming no doubt of the amazing food and wine we had that day.