Wine Tasting Day Two - Valle De Uco

The second day of wine tasting took us to a region where the altitude is higher and the soil content different, which allowed for some really delicious wines. It was a little farther out of town, so Miguel picked us up aroud 8 am. Today we only made it to three wineries but spent the day tasting with two guys who also live in San Francisco, Michael and Dorian. We totally hit it off!!!

- Azul - "Small" production - although we did see cases of their wine at a popular restaurant in Palermo, Mott. We got to do a barrel tasting which is always fun.

- Salentein - Nice architecture, supposedly good wines. We really weren't able to taste any because the tour was WAY too long, excruciatingly long AND they didn't even give us the option to taste any of the good wines, so we left in a hurry without buying a bottle. Booh to them!!!

- O. Fournier - Solid and well priced wines. A nice sauvignon blanc, which I found a rarity in Argentina. They had an amazing facility and had used the same architectures as Salentein - but they didn't seem sooo serious. We had lunch with Michael and Dorian which was sooo delicious and a lot of fun. Four courses with wine pairing... Yummy!

Carlos at Azul

Barrel Tasting!

Interesting Machinery

Salentein Winery

The altitude is so high - there is snow on the surrounding mountains

Salentien and their Very Da Vinci Code Inspired Wine Cellars

O. Fournier - AKA the UFO

Outside O. Fournier

Lunch at O. Fournier

Wine Tasting - Lujon de Cuyo

We had the most amazing driver, Miguel, who took very good care of us for two days. I didn't book anything in advance, so not every winery was available, but Miguel knew everyone and worked some special magic to get us into most places. On the first day, we went to four wineries:

- Alta Vista - Solid selection plus our hotel grows grapes for them. Danny liked their rose. High production.

- Achaval Ferrer - Best wines, highly rated, only reds. Small production - brought back two bottles.

- La Grande - where we had lunch, ok wines, good corn empanadas.

- Carmelo Patti- The cutest little old Argentinean man runs the place. He kinda reminded me of what Mike Grgich of Grigich Wines would be like.

Everyone had a driver to go wine tasting - all the boys hanging out

Patricia - our very knowledgeable guide at Achaval Ferrer

Achaval Ferrer's Collection

Lunch at La Grande

Yay Champagne!

Carmelo Patti!

The Hotel Aguamiel - Tres Hip

I thought I would do one post on just the hotel where we spend two nights outside of Mendoza, The Hotel Aguamiel, a boutique spot with only eight rooms. It is run by a lovely couple who also designed the property. I think they did an excellent job. It's a little funky, but such a cool spot in the middle of Argentinean wine country!

First night in Mendoza

Mendoza is the main wine producing region of Argentina. We spent the first night in town at the Park Hyatt hotel. It was very nice and quite fancy. Right outside of the hotel was the main square, where on Sunday nights, they have a fair with regional craft and street performers. Danny and I enjoyed the local color and I bought an authentic Gaucho knife! We laid low, as our bags didn't make the connecting flight through BA.

Outside the Hyatt

Local Arts Fair

The Gaucho Knife Man

More pictures of the Llao Llao...

Because the Llao Llao was so amazing... I had to include some more pictures...

Our Last Sunset

The Lobby Bar

Antler chandelier + deerskin chairs = Awesome

Who doesn't need another picture of the Llao Llao???

Yeah Blogging by the Pool!

View From the Pool

Exploring Bariloche

So aside from fly fishing, we made two excursion around Bariloche. We went on a hike to a special forrest of Arrayanes (myrtle wood) and we took a quick chairlift to the top of the Cerro Campanario for amazing views of the Llao Llao Peninsula and the surrounding lakes. Our last night we had dinner a little Italian restaurant just down the hill from our hotel. The owner of the Restaurant drove and picked us up for our reservation. It was our best dinner in Bariloche and a great last night at the Llao Llao!

To the Arrayanes Forest!

On Our Hike

The Special Trees

The Chairlift to the top of the Cerro Campanario

Yes, it was VERY windy...

Quick Picnic

Danny made friends with the Brazilians...

There's the Llao Llao in the Distance!

The Views were UNREAL

Fly Fishing in Patagonia!

Fly Fishing in Patagonia really is that cool. We had a great guide, Emmanuel, who took us out on the river. The views were incredible with the Andes in the background, and I have to say, it reminded me a lot of the Stanley Basin in Idaho. I caught five baby fish and Danny almost brought in two really big ones, including a brown trout. We will never forget it!

Yippee!!!

About to get on the river...

A decent cast...

Tally-ho!

The Mountains were beautiful...

In Town with Emmanuel - Our Guide