Peso Millionaires: Argentina: Ampora Wine Tour

Mendoza
Day Eight

On our last day in Argentina we went on the Ampora Wine Tour, another wine tour, but this one was in a vehicle. Good, because our butts were still sore. They took us to four different wineries.

Clos de Chacras

Here we got a lot of basic information about the wine making process from the vine to the barrel to the bottle. In one hallway they just had stacks and stacks of unlabled bottles all piled up on the floor. At every winery we had a tasting at the end of the tour. Here, after the first swirl and sniff the tourguide asks, "What do you smell?" I proved my sophistication to the group by answering, "Ummmm.......vinegar?"

Bodgega Finca Decero
Our next stop was a place closer to the mountains, owned by a Swiss millionaire. It was stunning. There were the vineyards of course, all set against the backdrop of the Andes. The building was completely modern and designed to fit right into its surroundings.
Inside the winery everything was steel and shining. The whole place was set up for efficiency, even the handrails on the staircase served the double purpose of carrying water to all the vats. The winery features one special wine that they make totally by hand, but I thought that was kind of a silly thing to do with all their modern equipment, but like I said, I'm not a very sophisticated wine drinker. I just like the way it tastes, and how it makes my tummy feel warm. All wine at this winery is exported, so I'm sure you could find it in the States, but I'm guessing it's pretty expensive. They didn't skimp on any of the details when building this place.

Ruca Malen
Our next stop was for lunch, but before eating they led us into an aroma room, a huge space filled with little scented boxes that supposedly covered the range of smells found in wine. The smells were organized by categories: fruits, vegetables, herbs, minerals, animals, spices and so on. We smelled every single one and I have to say I think it really improved my wine sophistication. After that someone asked me, "What do you smell in this?" And I was able to honestly answer, "Smoke and berries." But I'm still not sophisticated enough to answer any follow up questions like, "What kind of berries?" Or "Anything else?" Two smells is my limit.

The lumch was delicious, but we were too busy eating to take any pictures. Brad took these outside while we were waiting for the crazy lady in the group to finish her cigarette.

Bodega Benegas
The last stop of the day, Bodgega Benegas, was by far the best. The owners of this winery used to own Trapiche but lost the busniness during one of Argentina's economic crashes. A few years ago one of the sons came back to Argentina, bought back some of his family's old vines and started up a new winery. But it's not really new I guess, because they do things the old fashioned way.
It could have been all the wine coursing through me, but I just loved this place. And Brad fell in love with our tourguide. She was really cute. She told me that everyone in the wine industry saves their money for new teeth and a new liver. I wanted to be Barranquillera about it and say, "And what about that little pooch around your middle?" but remembered that we were in Argentina, where things like that might sound rude.
The wine we tasted here was so good that we bought three bottles, which made it back to Barranquilla safely but have since been almost entirely drunk. We have one bottle of chardonnay left and I'm guessing it won't last long.