{"id":237,"date":"2010-04-07T13:04:43","date_gmt":"2010-04-07T20:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisaandtony.com\/?p=237"},"modified":"2010-04-07T13:04:43","modified_gmt":"2010-04-07T20:04:43","slug":"mendoza-argentina-great-malbecs-steak-as-big-as-your-face-and-tourist-traps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lisaandtony.com\/travelblog\/2010\/04\/07\/mendoza-argentina-great-malbecs-steak-as-big-as-your-face-and-tourist-traps\/","title":{"rendered":"Mendoza, Argentina – Great Malbecs, Steak as Big as Your Face, and “Tourist Traps”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wine<\/a><\/p>\n

Mendoza is a city of about 1 million people nestled along the Andes mountain range on the central-western edge of Argentina. \u00a0 As you may know, it’s place well known for producing world class Malbec wines. \u00a0What you may not know is the popularity of the Argentine Malbec is a fairly recent phenomenon, rising to fame only in the past 10-15 years. \u00a0 In fact, when the Argentine peso was devalued in 1999-2002 during Argentina’s economic crisis, a lot of foreign investors came in and helped develop the region.\u00a0 So many of the wineries (and therefore many of the wines) in the area are very new.\u00a0 (As a side note, that’s why it’s rare to see a wine from Mendoza that’s older than 2004\/5.\u00a0 Prior to the 2001,, most wineries sold all of their wine each year and the idea of ‘laying down’ or building a wine library didn’t really exist, except at a few wineries).<\/p>\n

\"Bodega<\/a><\/p>\n

There are now over 1000 wineries in the Mendoza region and wine tourism is fairly developed with several wine tour agencies started by ex-pats catering to foreigners. \u00a0 One company, called Vines of Mendoza<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0is importing a business model familiar to those in the U.S. – they’ve opened a tasting room and wine bar, allowing visitors to sample flights of wine from many different wineries.\u00a0 They are developing a massive vineyard estate in Uco Valley, south of Mendoza, where you can buy a full-service vineyard (3-acre minimum) and start producing your own wine. \u00a0Full-service means they plant your vines, care for them until they produce fruit (2 years) and make the wine for you, with your consultation of course.<\/p>\n

Through a friend, we were fortunate enough to meet Duffy, an executive of Vines of Mendoza.\u00a0 This connection led to our adventures at “wine camp” which we’ll write about in a future post. \u00a0(Thanks Duffy!)<\/p>\n

“Tourist Traps”<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the first things you’ll see when you visit Mendoza are the irrigation ditches that line just about every street. \u00a0 One local ex-pat\u00a0 quipped that they are “tourist traps” – where if you’re a tourist, you’re too busy looking around (or drunk from wine) that you’ll inevitably fall into one of these ditches and injure yourself badly. Though we didn’t fall in to any traps during our stay in Mendoza, I am absolutely certain they’ve put a few tourists in the Emergency Room.\u00a0\u00a0Here I am, reenacting it on one of the smaller ditches – don’t try this at home, folks:<\/p>\n

\""Tourist<\/a><\/p>\n

Seriously though, these irrigation ditches serve a very valuable purpose in Mendoza. \u00a0All of the water comes from snow melt in the nearby Andes and so this is the way the municipality meters out and distributes the water. \u00a0 Basically, they’re water pipes above ground.<\/p>\n

Life in Mendoza<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the weekdays, Mendoza buzzes about like a large city does, complete with cars honking, buses revving, and people walking briskly by, trying to get to where they’re going as soon as possible. \u00a0 Business starts up around 9am and then shuts down at 1pm for lunch and siesta, reopening around 4:30 or 5pm until 8 or 9pm. \u00a0 In the evening, restaurants typically open at 8pm at the earliest and stay open past midnight.<\/p>\n

During siesta, things are very quiet – people actually do go take naps at home. \u00a0 One would think you double the commute time needed per day by having to go home twice, but since things are pretty close and the traffic isn’t terrible, people seem to go home, at least according to a driver we hired. \u00a0 That means FOUR rush hours per day!<\/p>\n

As a visitor, there are a couple of other things you notice. \u00a0Crossing a street on foot is like playing real-life Frogger (1UP only!), or if you’re in a car, it’s like playing chicken.\u00a0 There are many intersections without stoplights – call’em death streets – where the game goes like this:\u00a0 roll up to the intersection at near full speed to signal that you’re definitely going to cross and there isn’t the slightest chance you could stop in time so that the cross-traffic is forced to stop.\u00a0 Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; and when it doesn’t, you see one car slam on the brakes though without screeching. \u00a0It’s just the way the game is played and the locals say they rarely see an accident. \u00a0There were many occasions where we’ve been in the back seat of a cab, crossing the intersection, and seeing a car come a few inches away from t-boning us.<\/p>\n

Such is city life in Argentina I suppose. \u00a0By the way, this game is played in just about every Argentine city we’ve been to. \u00a0 Now, go back and imagine crossing the street on foot when this game is being played!<\/p>\n

Sundays<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

In contrast to busy weekdays, Sundays in Mendoza are eerily quiet. \u00a0 It feels like one of two things: either you’re living a scene out of a horror movie, or there’s a party or soccer game somewhere that everyone knows about, and you’re just not in the know.<\/p>\n

\"Mendoza,<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

So, we asked a local where everyone goes. \u00a0Sunday is a family day where people get together for asados (big backyard barbecues) or hang out in the park, like the one below. \u00a0Here’s a water fountain\/show in the Plaza de Indepedencia in the city center,\u00a0reminiscent of the one at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (use your imagination!).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Plaza<\/a><\/p>\n

Aside from families lounging in parks, you’ll see a lot of young adults making out in public. \u00a0This is presumably because most people still live with their parents, so privacy is found in public places. \u00a0Sound familiar, or oxymoronic?<\/p>\n

Great Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since Mendoza grows grapes for wine, it follows that it can also grow other crops well (olives, leafy vegetables, peaches and other fruits). \u00a0So, gastronomic expertise is not far behind. \u00a0In fact, we liked almost every restaurant we went to, whether they catered to tourists or locals. \u00a0Here’s a look at some of the restaurants:<\/p>\n

Azafran – one of the most oft mentioned restaurants to try in Mendoza. \u00a0It boasts a wine room with sommelier where you can choose your wine for dinner. \u00a0Azafran definitely caters to the foreign palate and the prices are as such. \u00a0Unfortunately, we disagree with most people in that this restaurant was not worth the premium you pay to eat there. \u00a0There are PLENTY of other restaurants within a few blocks that are much better – for half the price. \u00a0We can say this because we went back to Azafran twice to give it another chance, but it was average at best.
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Azafran,<\/a><\/p>\n

La Flora <\/strong>– this restaurant is a block or two away from Azafran and is a much better option. \u00a0It features good light fare, like a mixed green salads with strawberries, with richer options like osso bucco ravioli and your requisite bife de chorizo steak.<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a><\/p>\n

One other thing you see is lots of outdoor seating. \u00a0 The Argentines love to dine outside almost regardless of how cold it is outside.<\/p>\n

\"Mendoza,<\/a><\/p>\n

And for course, it wouldn’t be dining in Mendoza if the restaurant didn’t have a kick-ass wine cellar.\u00a0 Here is one of our favorites at a restaurant called Francesco Barbera.\u00a0 The bottles we are holding are Double Magnums (each holds 4 bottles of wine).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

\n

And now, for some food pics that show off the culinary sophistication you can find in Mendoza – this is a mixed greens salad with blue cheese, honey glazed pecans, green apple slices and a light citrus vinaigrette at Salentein Winery’s cafe:<\/p>\n

\"Salentein<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s flank steak for lunch at the Decero winery:<\/p>\n

\"Finca<\/a><\/p>\n

And, beef wellington, medium rare, at Azafran. \u00a0We’ll admit that this dish saved Azafran’s reputation for us.<\/p>\n

\"Azafran<\/a><\/p>\n

And finally, on our last night in Mendoza, we went to Don Mario, a parilla where the “who’s who” power brokers of the wine industry go to do business. \u00a0Here’s Brian on his first day as a legal intern with Vines of Mendoza, about to consume a bife de chorizo (rump steak) the size of his head. \u00a0 This dish arrived after we each had a provoleta (a slab of grilled provolone cheese marinated in olive oil and oregano) and chorizo sausage. \u00a0 He finished about half of the steak before Duffy stopped him for his own well-being. \u00a0Duffy is Brian’s boss for the next few months. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"Bife<\/a><\/p>\n

Next up, how wine is made (in Mendoza) and our adventures at “Wine Camp” courtesy of Vines of Mendoza. \u00a0But in the meantime, enjoy these photos from Mendoza:<\/p>\n

\n