Self-interview Sundays: Wine Country of Mendoza
Let me guess, you've been drunk for two weeks?
C'mon, give me a break! We're in one of the best wine regions in the world, we've certainly enjoyed a few tastings.
And what have you sampled?
Mendoza is known for its Malbec, a well-structured red wine.
"Well-structured"? Since when did you become a sommelier?
I'm surprised you can spell the word sommelier. A fun couple from back home came to visit and we visited 10 different vineyards, ranging from boutique winery to mega exporter.
Ok, for the beginners amongst us, myself included, what does a visit to a vineyard consist of?
It's two parts: touring the facility and getting insight into their process, and then drinking. During the tour the winemaker or resident sommelier will talk about the origin of the winery, the grapes they choose to grow, and show you their barrels and bottling. We happened to be there during harvest season, so we got to see people picking and separating grapes.
Are the processes the same for each winery?
No, it's different at each place. Some use very old, traditional methods. Others use massive industrial machinery to make it more efficient. Some use French oak, others use American. Some left the wine barreled for six months, others 18. I think that was the coolest aspect of the visit, to see how much thought and effort went into turning a bunch of grapes into a beautiful wine.
Better than drinking the wine?
Um, maybe not better, but equal.
When you tasted the wine did you say things like, "I smell a hint of apricots, a touch of vanilla..."??
Ha! I didn't, but only because I couldn't smell those things. I wanted to be able to smell the berries and tell you it had a long finish, but my palate isn't good enough. Ariane and our friends were more sophisticated, they could decipher the tastes. I mostly swished the wine around in my mouth and made noises like I was searching for the right descriptor.
I saw you two made the local Fashion Police report?!
Yeah, sometimes we find ourselves in unexpected places, like when we were invited to the wedding in the foothills of Chiang Mai, Thailand or the celebration at the Buddhist temple in Can Tho, Vietnam. We don't plan these things, they just happen.
And how did you two end up on a fashion report?
This is kind of a rabbit hole, but...we happened to be in Mendoza during their busiest time of the year, the National Wine Festival, known as Vendimia. Well, the hotel we picked was also the cultural hub for the festivities. They must've hosted five parties during the week.
Did you pick the hotel knowing that?
Not at all. I'm loyal to Hyatt and they had a great property in Mendoza, so we booked a long stay there using points. (If you haven't read about our use of points, do it now!)
And how did you get invited to the party?
My loyalty to Hyatt means I have their top status, and I guess someone at the hotel thought it would be nice to invite their top members to the party.
Meet anyone famous?
Ha! Maybe. I mostly drank wine and ate the brownies. I could've had a conversation with the governor and wouldn't have realized it. The biggest celebrity to me was the hotel manager -- I love getting the business card of the hotel's GM. He was fun to talk to and ended up giving us free tickets to the big concert the following night!
More freebies!?
Yeah, the concert was very cool. It's an interpretive dance concert extravaganza where the dancers act out the harvesting of the grapes and the making of wine. There had to be 200 people on stage dancing ballet, tango, and folk dancing. It was a lot of fun. But we left before the Wine Queen was crowned.
A queen??!
Yeah, a queen.
It sounds like you had a couple of busy weeks in Mendoza. What's next?
I'm typing this from a bus somewhere in the Chilean Andes. We'll be in Santiago, Chile for a couple of weeks. We're sad to leave Argentina, but excited for the next adventure.
And how do you feel?
I love waking up in the morning to a window full of mountains.
