Earth’s playground for wine lovers: Mendoza

vineyards at an airport? Yep - you bet, this place is surrounded by them. As your taxi rolls out of the airport, it is hard not to be struck by the vineyards bathed in the sun staring at you, either side of the road. Billboards are adorned with bottles from local vineyards and tour touts are on every corner trying to flog a trip through the many vineyards, which border this city. Before you even make it into the mix, it is clear this is a city born and bred of wine.

The city itself is the accompanying dish to the surrounding areas. Ok, the park is beautiful and if you hunt a little, colonial buildings are hiding behind overgrown trees and dusty roads. But - this city is nothing to write home about In terms of picturesque architecture or pristine boulevards lined with museums or historical sites. As was obvious from the drive from the airport - this is a somewhat unidimensional city - the only thing on the agenda here seems to be vino!

However, having walked around the city for a few days - it was hard to escape the inextricable divide between those that have wealth and those at the other end of the spectrum. There was no hiding from the mother, breast feeding her baby whilst trying to sell empenadas at 11:30 at night on the street corner, whilst two blocks north - behind the walls of large houses with immaculately dressed window boxes, wealthy families were carving their meat and pouring their finest bottles of Malbec. Whilst I am not naive to the fact this is a fact of life - which occurs across the planet - it became more apparent here than anywhere else in the city. Perhaps because the streets are close and the area small. Nonetheless, it was something which made me think whilst strolling the streets of this place.

Despite the city lacking any real appeal - as soon as you leave the bustle of the centre, you can see why so many people flock to Mendoza from all corners of our globe. As the tram rolls out of the city, dusty roads and graffiti walls make way for vineyards nestled at the feet of the snow capped Andes. A real eye pleaser.

Our Top Tips for Mendoza:

Ok - so hopefully I have made it a little obvious...if you want to experience Mendoza, get out the city. Getting out is pretty easy! Just grab a little red bus card from any corner shop or kiosk. They cost 30 pesos and load about 60 pesos on to the card. From there, you are free to roam! The best bet is to jump on a tram from Belgramo. Head towards Maipú and you can’t go wrong - just sit on it until everyone gets off - then you’ll be in the thick of all the vineyards. Even if you don’t go to the vineyards - the tram is fun and you’ll get a proper experience of what it is like to live in Medonza.

When you get off the tram - head towards Bodega Lopez. We were gutted we just missed it as the gent was just closing the doors on the main entrance. However, we were told that the guys give you free glasses of wine and the tour is top notch.

On route to the Bodega - you can’t miss the little shop called Wine and Ride - they have a line of white bikes outside them. Nico is a half American chap who owns the place. He was super friendly and nails the sale process ! Before you know it you have rented two bikes and you have signed up for numerous tastings. Go with it - he won’t let you down and it is worth it.

Once you have picked up your bike - you have about a 30 minute ride before you get to anything like the photo above. Don’t arrive with the thought that your ride will be like this. It won’t!! In the main you are peddling ferociously to keep out the way of fast moving, free flowing traffic and at times you could be mistaken for traversing the M1! But when the time comes and you manage to navigate onto the little side streets, bordered by beautiful vines you will soon understand why this is a venue for so many. The fume filled freeways soon become a distant memory and the extraordinary vista or vines and the Andes take full control. Enjoy it, this is what you have pedalled for!

We took a pit stop at a family ran vineyard called Cecchin. The Spanish took a bit of a battering as the tour is in Spanish. Touring a vineyard it seems requires a little more knowledge of the language than “tango una Hermana y uno hermano” but it is worth it, even if your Spanish is as poor as mine. The incredible cellars and concrete pools are awesome to experience, as are the hundreds of oak barrels surrounding the perfectly cooled rooms.

Once the tour is complete - we were led into the shop. A beautiful, high ceiling room with a roaring fire. This is where the day kicks off - the glasses are lined up and the wines are poured. It is pretty awesome to be tasting wines in the exact vicinity where they are processed and bottled. Likewise, it was amazing to sip wine whilst such knowledgable humans share their experience with you. i tasted all sorts in that glass of red - maybe because I was told that was what it tasted like, or perhaps because I was in a space where my surroundings encouraged me to focus.

Once the wines were tasted, it was back to the two wheeler and the highways! Only this time - we seemed to have a little more confidence in our pedalling! We stopped at a little restaurant on our way back for a bit of food. The lady who ran the place could not have been more kind - a reminder that the Argentines are certainly some of the nicest people you will come into contact with on this planet.

Mad you cycle back - dip in and out of as many vines as you can handle. All of them offer a similar set up. Tour and tasting - drink to your hearts content!