Cruising through the Vineyards of Mendoza !
When travelling through Argentina after or during your Spanish course in Buenos Aires, Mendoza is a place you do not want to miss. Mendoza is beautiful in many different ways, but mostly it is famous for its good, red wine. What some people may not know is that you can experience these tasty wines in many different ways. Tasting Mendoza´s wine is fun in itself, but savor the flavor even more with a fancy weekend package, a quick half day tour, blending your own wine, or renting a bike and going on an adventure! The last one is without a doubt the most exciting to do with a few friends or fellow students because you can take your time and enjoy some fresh air as well. Mendoza has many different bike rentals but the one I would recommend is Hugo’s Bike Rental. Hugo is a sweet, old man who runs his family business with passion and you can truly notice it by how he treats his guests. We were with a group of 8 international Spanish students from AMAUTA Buenos Aires and from the moment we arrived the staff made us feel at home. After we got our red bikes, a map of the wine paths through Maipú, some discount coupons, and even a place to pick up a free glass of wine, we were ready to go!
We started by devouring the free wine tasting. To be honest, we expected to get a little bit of wine, but it turned out to be more than just a bit. The owner of this winery was really enthusiastic and let us try more than one glass. He also gave us a tasting of another wine named, “Vino de Pengua”. This was quite a new experience as the red wine was literally cold like ice, and served from a real Patagonian penguin can. It is a perfect wine for a starting wine drinker because of its sweetness, like Sangria. Argentines are very generous when it comes to food and beverage. Besides tasting wine, you can also taste homemade liquors, chocolate and olive products.
The combination of drinking wine and being active in the open air is really perfect, especially if you like some exercise. The vineyards in Mendoza are not all close to each other so I recommend you to rent your bike early and take all day to taste different wines. When you have had enough of all the sun and wine, you must certainly pay a visit to the Beer Garden, a lovely place to relax, play football, refresh yourself in the pool, and drink home-brewed beers. The best is to end your day here with a deliciously handmade pizza or empanada with fresh ingredients.
As a last surprise, señor Hugo himself gave us 3 bottles of wine as a gift to drink together back at Spanish school in Buenos Aires! Do you need any more reason to take a tour to Mendoza?
