Unemployed & Unimpeded: Wine in Mendoza

No trip to Argentina would be complete without a visit to Mendoza, the wine capital of South America. Mendoza sits at the foot of the Andes, almost directly west of Buenos Aires. It's a long thirteen hour ride from the capital, but since most buses leave at night you can hopefully sleep through the bulk of the journey. The main wine that comes out of this area is the Malbec. It's a dark, heavier wine that is always paired with red meat at the parillas (grills) across the country. About 75% of all Malbec wines worldwide come from this region. Two days is plenty of time to explore the city of Mendoza and go wine tasting at vineyards. Since most of the vineyards are spread out miles outside the city, we decided to book a full day tour by van that would take us to several vineyards, an olive oil company and a chocolate store.

Tree-lined downtown

Restaurants and cafes are everywhere

Plaza Independencia

Parque General San Martin, massive park on the edge of downtown

The centerpiece of the park

The first day we took it easy and walked through the city. The weather was perfect and there was little to no humidity. We spent the majority of the afternoon drinking wine and playing cards in the park. We woke up early the next day to start the wine tour. It was supposed to start at 9:30, but the van was an hour late. On Argentine time, it was right on schedule.