Mountains of Grapes

On our second day in Mendoza, we took a wine tour. Our first stop was an industrial winery (a.k.a. bodega) that used large metal towers to ferment and store wine. Next, we headed to an organic bodega that didn't use chemicals such as pesticides to grow the grapes. Interestingly, they used different flowers and trees to divert pests from the grapevines. Our last stop on the tour was a boutique family-owned winery. My favorite part of each stop was the wine tasting! We tried Malbec, which is a grape that grows best in Argentina.

Perhaps the funniest little fact I learned on the trip came from a poster in the industrial bodega that listed an array of flavors and aromas in wine. While different nuts, fruits and flowers dominated the list, one interesting aroma stuck out -- buttered toast. Wine and its taster have an intimate and personal relationship. No one smells or tastes the same thing in each wine. Smell and taste depend largely on individuals' taste buds and sense of smell. However, is buttered toast that major of an aroma to make it to the poster of most common scents and flavors? I hope to never think my wine tastes or smells like toast.


After a morning of drinking wine, our tour group headed to an old governor's home, which was converted into a restaurant for lunch. This feast was amazing -- from the start with picadas, which are like finger foods, to the ice cream dessert. Below is the finger foods we were greeted with when we first came into our dining room. There was too much for us to finish as a group and most of it we could not recognize. If anyone knows what purple rice is, let me know. It was delicious!


The tour was a great way to appreciate the wine culture of Mendoza. Our diverse group from all over the world was also a ton of fun. Perhaps the wine loosened everyone up, but it was wonderful to chat and swap stories with fellow travelers on our trip.


We returned after our tour and moved out of our hostel to the hotel booked for our conference. Almost 2 months later, we met our boss for the second time all summer...After he greeted us, we caught up with our fellow interns from ADITO and La Plata.