Mendoza

So here we are in wine country, Becs is like a kid in a sweet shop her most used saying is ' Is it too early for a glass of wine '. We decided to stay at a place where our friends had recommended to us with the added bonus of a FREE glass of wine every night and also a promotion so you stay for 3 nights you get the fourth night FREE....

Becs in Heaven... Free wine at the ring of a bell!!

The hostal has to be the greatest hostel ever, loads of activites ranging from FREE Spanish classes, FREE Empandas cooking classes, FREE Wine tasting, FREE use of washing machine, Pizza night and of course the Argentine special Asado in English BBQ with of course FREE wine.

The staff here are amazing. They go out of their way to help and ensure you have a brilliant stay. This is Maggie (our favourite) at reception..

The hostel also has a lovely courtyard and roof terrace - perfect for relaxing after your busy day!

First up was a trip to the hot springs. After our overnight bus to get here we thought what better way to spend our first day... relaxing

And then Terry got bored and joined the kids on the water slide!!

After the hot springs we went to a place for tapas and here they served pints of local beers...

After a fantastic BBQ at the hostel on the first night, we opted in for pizza night. All you can eat pizza for £5!! and of course Free wine!! So much pizza - boy it was all you can eat even I (Terry) was defeated.

Day 2: a few of the guys we met at the Hot Springs were going for the Winery tour so we decided to gate crash and jumped on board.
The 8 of us visited 3 different wineries which included tours and tasting and then a 4th stop for lunch.
It was interesting to see the processes involved and obviously learn how to wine - even though it was only 10 o'clock in the morning - it seemed while in Mendoza - this was acceptable.

The first place was a little posh...

Wine tasting apparently has many stages.... first testing the colour, then the smell, then after some swirling you smell again, and then after all this anticipation we were allowed to taste...

I was shocked to find out that one barrell cost on average about £750 and in this cellar there was 5400 barrells each barrell containing 225 litres of wine. This place was one of the big boys and was owned by Diago company.

The second winery was a little smaller but the guide was out to get us drunk offering more wine at every opportunity.

before and after...

We even took a glass of wine for the tour. Cheers!!

They used a slightly different (cheaper) process using wood chips rather then oak barrells for most of their wine, however there were barrells used for the premium wines..

The third place was a family run place with only small amount of produce there were only 10 workers there at the moment but between 2 and 3 hundred on harvest months.
A lot of wine..

They picked the grapes by hand. It had a real comty feel about it. We also tried 4 more wines and we decided to buy a bottle.

After a hard day drinking, oh i mean wine tasting we were taken to the 4th winery for the biggest lunch you have ever seen. Guess it was to soak up the wine!!

After we had sobered up we took part in the FREE spanish lesson so Terry was able to show off his spanish skills!! Even though it was spanish for beginners Becs was still way out of her depth!!

The next day we signed up for the Alta Montana or High Mountains Tour. We are not sure if its because we have seen so many amazing views already or whether we werent taken to the best view points - but we were a little disappointed by this tour. It basically took us route 7 - which is the main road between Santiago in Chile and Mendoza.

However the mountains unveil before your eyes and the still the scenery was vast and interesting....

we stopped at the manmade lake..

went through tunnels..

stopped at a river with a little bright which apparently is a massive tour attraction...

Terry thought otherwise....!!!

We saw the Puente del Inca, which was a natural bridge with very unusal colouring due to the sedement in the rocks..

And then made our way to see Mount Aconcague - the main view point....

unfortunately we were miles away!!!

A landslide...

And a condor..

To console ourselves over the tour we made the most of our FREE wine and opened another 2 bottle with some friends in the Hostel!

Next day, once Becs headache had cleared we decided to go visit the Olive / Oil factories for a spot of oil tasting!!
We caught the local bus to Maipu. Maipu hosts many vinyards and wineries but also chocolate and oil factories.

We hired bikes from Mr Hugo's and set off with our map...

Extra Olive
Amazing... after a brief tour and explanantion of how olive oil is made we started the best bit....
We tasted a selection of olive oils..

Marmalades and Jams made out of wine and oil... yummy!!

Licors and chocolates......

Terry made me try this licor made of 50% alcohol, beer, vodka and cinamon - blew my head off!!!

The chocolate counter..

And the shop..

That evening we took advantage of yet another FREE activity with our FREE wine......

Hostel

Empanada cooking lesson....

Empanadas are like little cornish pasties and very traditional for argentina. They are so yummy!!
made from mince, onions, cumin, paprika, oregano, chilli - wrapped in pastry.
Terry wrapping his Meat in his pastry...

Our finshed and baked Empanada..

Very socialable activities...

The next day we chilled... went for a walk... did a bit of FREE laundry and caught up on the blog!
That evening ... FREE wine tasting in the Hostel..

Hostel

Our last day in Mendoza, the sunshine came out and so we spent time wandering around the town....

and a few of mendoza's many beautiful plaza's ..

Then we chilled out in the hostels courtyard and waited for our bus!

What an amazing stay. Mendoza is beautiful, the people so friendly, the wine delicious, vast range of things to do and see and we stayed in the best hostel ever. A brilliant 6 days. Completely recommended! THANKYOU Hostel Empedrado!