"Argentina's Napa Valley"

Alta Vista winery entrance with lavender and olive trees

In October, Husband and I sneaked away (sans Boy and Girl) for a quick trip to Mendoza, "Argentina's Napa Valley". Husband was invited there to give a lecture on the upcoming U.S.elections and the Tea Party movement, so I got to tag along.

Argentina has been producing wine since the 1500s, tracing its heritage to Spain, France, and Italy. Mendoza produces 70 percent of Argentina's wine. Much of the rest is produced to the north, near Salta, with only a few vineyards flourishing to the south, in Patagonia.

Until the 1990s Argentina primarily produced inexpensive table wine for the home market. Only with the infusion of foreign capital and investment (France, Italy, U.S., and China, more recently) was Argentina able to make its mark abroad and in the U.S., although Chile remains far ahead in exports.

Argentina's most successful grape, Malbec is enjoying its moment as the darling of critics and wine drinkers everywhere.

The region is framed on the west by snowcapped peaks of the Andes Mountains. (Well, that is what the books say and the pictures show, but we happened to visit while it was rainy and overcast.) Our wonderful guide, Gustavo Delucchi told us it only rains about 30 days a year. During our short stay, we neither saw the mountains nor did we take any pictures of the vineyards -- it was just too gray.

Mendoza irrigation

Since the area is high and arid, mountain snow melt is used for irrigation in a simple but effective way -- roadside ditches and channels that run through the vineyards. Very few vineyards use the drip technology that is common in other winemaking areas.

Mendoza has three wine regions: Maipu, Luján de Coyo, and the Uco Valley. Of the 800 wineries located in Mendoza, around 100 offer tours and tastings. Since we only had one day, Gustavo recommended that we visit Luján de Cuyo. He picked us up at the Sheraton Mendoza promptly at 9:30 am. The drive out of the city took about 30 minutes. 

We were glad that we had hired a guide and not attempted to drive ourselves -- the combination of multiple wine tastings and not-well-marked dirt roads would have taken away from the relaxing nature of the trip. 

Gustavo Delucchi

Gustavo was a perfect guide, giving us informative background information and history of the region, and on winemaking and local business practices. His English is excellent, but is clearly informed by MTV and reality programs from the U.S. He told us a couple of very funny stories, where, thinking he was being hip, he used words like "pimp" and 'ho" with clients from the U.S. and England. Husband and I laughed a lot. "For sure," also rolled easily off his tongue, although Husband has noticed that many Argentines say this when speaking English.

Gustavo's service was $550 AR (about $140 USD) for the day, which included transportation in a clean, newish car. We felt that it was well worth the cost. 

Our first stop was the Achaval-Ferrer winery where we joined a tour already in progress. Husband and I have toured wineries in Napa Valley and France, so a lot of the general information, process, and equipment was familiar. Where the tour differed though was when the guide took us into the inspection and labeling room. We were impressed that every bottle produced there is inspected under light (to look for sediment) before being hand-labeled and boxed.

Alta Vista cave

Next we visited Alta Vista. The first step down into the cool cave was almost intoxicating with the smell of oak and red-wine earthiness (you know this particular smell if you have toured wineries before).

The weekend before our trip to Mendoza, friends had shared a fabulous meritage from Benegas Lynch. Although it was not on our itinerary, Gustavo was able to make a call and get us in for a private tour. It turned out to be the highlight of our trip.

family dining room at Benegas Lynch A lovely woman named Cecilia (whose sister played field hockey at Ohio State -- small world) gave us a truly great tour of Benegas Lynch and the family dining room. A bodega with an interesting history -- including that it was once owned by the family that owns El Trapiche -- we saw meticulously kept business records from the 1890s as well as a guest book from the 1920s. Displayed throughout the home is an amazing collection of traditional ponchos collected by owner Federico Benegas Lynch (whose mother is a Norton -- another famous Argentine winemaking family). Lunch was late and long, beginning at 1:30 at Bodega Ruca Malen. We savored four delicious courses that were carefully paired with wines to complement the food (or maybe the food was to complement the wine -- not sure). Many of the courses were served by the chef himself. The whole experience was ridiculously indulgent. Here is our lunch menu ($210 AR/$52 USD per person: Appetizers: quinoa and lemon salad with Arbequina olive oil, green apple chip with citrus mousse paired with Yauquen Chardonnay 2009; spicy beef brochette; pumpkin and walnut empanada served with a chimichurri sauce made with Picual olive oil, paired with Yauquen Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Starter: fresh cheese, leek, and olive terrine with pine mushrooms on toasted country bread with Arauco & Farga olive oil, paried with Ruca Malen Merlot 2005 Main: grilled beef tenderloin with cabernet and cassis sauce, fire-roasted eggplant and potatoes, and vegetable brunoise, paired with Ruca Malen Malbec 2007 and Kinien Cabernet Sauvignon 2002. Palette cleanser: chardonnay, lemon, and rosemary granitee Postre: banana wrapped in a crepe with white chocolate, cinnamon and honey sauce, paired with Ruca Malen Chardonnay 2007 And finally, coffee and petit fours. We were scheduled to visit Catena Zapata after lunch but decided to cancel since it was almost 4 p.m. We just could not ingest any more wine or food. We skipped dinner that night as well since the food/wine coma lasted about 18 hours.  Although we had one very full day in Mendoza, someday I hope to return for three or four days to visit each of the regions. Next time I would choose to stay at a vineyard with a spa instead of in the town of Mendoza. Something else to consider is that Mendoza is closer to Santiago, Chile than it is to Buenos Aires. Gustavo told us that he would drive to Santiago to pick us up and drive back to Mendoza over the Andes, which sounds fabulous. Can't wait for next time....

Benegas Lynch cave

Benegas Lynch degustation

Benegas Lynch cave

Teatro Colón: Not to Be Missed (But We Missed It)

Over a four-month period, Husband and/or I went the world-renowned Teatro Colón eight times. Well, we went to the ticket office or stood outside locked doors eight times. I am sorry to say that we did not make it inside for a performance or to tour the recently renovated facility. It was not for lack of trying.

Shortly after arriving in Buenos Aires, we began plotting our visit to the Teatro Colón. One of the world's top five opera houses for its near-perfect acoustics and stately elegance, the theater was built in 1889 but not opened until 1908 (in large part because the lead architect and the chief financier died and another architect was murdered). The Teatro Colón has more than 2,500 red-velvet seats in La Sala plus a standing-room only area, El Paraiso, for another 500 people.

Discussion about the theatre is popular among tourists and short-term expats because it recently reopened after a major renovation and refurbishment. In 2006, performances ceased for four years so a much needed $100-million dollar investment could occur, inside and out. The initial plan called for 18 months, but that quickly evolved to three years. The theater was then scheduled to reopen in May 2008 but because of delays did not reopen until May 24, 2010, which was just in time to be included in Argentina's bicentennial celebration.

We set our hopes on attending a performance with visiting family in early November. Since our group included sophisticated New Yorkers and audiophiles from Los Angeles and Indianapolis, we decided to splurge on good seats to get the most from the experience.

We visited the Teatro Colón website numerous times and decided that we should go to the ticket office in order to look at the seating chart when buying the tickets. Each trip to the theatre comprised a 60-minute-roundtrip subte ride to Tribunales and standing in line for 20 minutes or more.

Ticket-attempt timeline:

August: told that we could not buy tickets until October, no specific date given
1. Early October: ticket office inexplicably closed
October 18: told that tickets were not available for sale until October 20
October 20: told that the only tickets available were standing-room only
October 21: after consultation with family, returned to buy standing-room only tickets
2. November 4: Performance scheduled for 8 pm! Pre-performance posh nosh: high tea at Alvear Palace. Told by hotel concierge upon leaving for the theater that there was a strike and all performances were cancelled (for the rest of the month and, likely, the year).
November 9: Husband unsuccessfully attempts to get refund for tickets but could not because the purchase was made with my credit card.
November 10: I get ticket refund.

At this point we gave up hoping to see a performance in the Teatro Colón. It was unclear when the strike would end and I just couldn't take the rejection or waste any more valuable time. 

Even though we could not attend a performance, I had hoped that we could at least tour the building to learn more about its history and the splendor of the design, which features European marble, a Parisian stained-glass dome, a Venetian-tiled mosaic floor, and a French Baroque-style auditorium. Vast rehearsal spaces and studios lie underneath the building and the broad Avenida 9 de Julio, as does a costume shop that holds more than 22,000 pairs of shoes.

I was told different things at different times. The last time I was there, I was told that guided tours would be available again "sometime in 2011."  

So we were shut out...denied. Bummer.