Its about half way up the country in a North-South line, and its over on the Western side, snuggled up against the foot of the highest part of the Andes... Actually, its right near Aconcagua which, at almost 7000m in height, is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya/Karakorum region... But Im not here to climb mountains, and neither are most of the tourists in the area.
But, tourists there are; And in their droves!
Many are foreigners like me, and many more are "locals" from Chile or Argentina. And they are here for the wines.
This region is essentially a desert... The country I was riding through for the last three days has been very arid (like most of Argentina that I have seen other than the extreme South). But, about an hour away from Mendoza, things change and it becomes green... Though it is not a natural effect because its done by irrigation again :)
And the irrigation is almost entirely devoted to vineyards and olive orchards. This dry climate is perfect for growing fruits because you dont have to worry so much about rains spoiling the fruit while it ripens on the trees and vines in the plentiful sunshine.
The colonial Spanish were quick to notice the potential of the area, and I believe that wine grapes have been grown here for about 500 years! Though apparently, for a very long time they focussed on producing "quantity" and not "quality"... But that changed about 150 years ago, and now they do make very good wine here :)
There are over a thousand wineries in the immediate area and they range from small boutique wineries to massive international industrial producers, and everything in between.
So, while I was here and resting for a day, I went and visited a few of the local wineries. I chose some older more established places (about 100yo), but they pretty much all seem to offer free winery tours and tastings every day on the hour... And there are hordes of tourists doing it every day. It seems that the most popular method of touring is to ride around from place to place on rented bicycles... Its so popular that even the streets in the winery areas have dedicated bicycle lanes - To keep the slightly inebriated tourists out from under the taxi and truck wheels :)
At the moment its picking season, so there is lots of activity and stuff to see at the wineries - not just the tasting :)
And after having done the "tours" thing for the morning, Id more or less, had enough.
And in review, it seems to me that the whole city has developed around this industry and the "wine scene"... And in fact, just like the wine districts in other countries that Ive been to (Australia, Canada, USA), its all a bit, well,.... Tacky!
Yes, yes, I know Im supposed to hold "wine" in high regard, and pay homage to the wonderful Malbecs of the region or the revered traditions of the vintners work... but I tell ya, most of what Ive seen has been very... "commercial"...
It seems to me that many (if not most) "Wine people" tend to be so "Hoity-Toity" as if they are better than everyone else (ie not wine people), and I really dont think they are for the most part!
Now, I do think there is a great deal of tradition and skill in making good wine, and many people (myself included to an extent) get a great deal of pleasure out of drinking wine and appreciating the subtle flavours and differences.
And, I actually think thats great :)
I believe that everyone should "pursue" something in life with passion... Something that they do well, with "finesse". Something that develops and celebrates our human ability to discern subtle things...
Why?
Because to achieve that ability to discern subtle things, we must "pay attention" and focus, and learn... And thats what I think life is for...
So anything that encourages anyone to do that, even if it is only in one small area of life, is a good thing :) And the same could be said for connoisseurs of coffee and beer, and orchids and lawn bowling, and... well anything :)))
And so, I think its great that people find things to be passionate about... Its just the all too common "attitude and arrogance" of connoisseurs (not specifically wine people but they are a great exemplar) that I really dont like.
But back to Mendoza and the wines...
So, as I said, the wine people are very often (not always mind you) a bit disdainful of the general public (ie non-wine people)... But guess who buy and consume most of the wineries product!... Its the general public with their very "pedestrian" wine ambitions, minimal understandings, and insensitive pallets. It seems to me that most wine people would rather not have anything to do with such people, and if they "stuck to their values", they would eschew these hordes of tourists at their wineries too.
But, in fact, the opposite is true... The wineries encourage the tours. Its a whole industry in its own right... And on these tours, they "sell" the tradition, and the subtlety, and the passion of wine to the general public. They are "selling" the image of fine wines... You too can be Hoity-Toity like us... You too can be above "the rest".
Now, they ALWAYs spout the politically correct phrase that "Any wine that you like is a good wine", or words to that effect... But they also consistently (at all three places I visited when I asked the leading questions) disdainfully referred to their own "low grade" product as to be reviled... "Oh thats the machine picked grapes... Its for "carton" wine... You dont want that!" And they all serve up tastings of young rough Cabernets of young bland Malbecs in chunky, poorly cleaned glasses to the hordes and then talk about its subtle flavours and how to appreciate it... Now, of course it was a free tour, so I suppose I shouldnt expect much, but they talked it up so much and to me it all seemed very hypocritical...
... But, I guess, its no real surprise that it comes down to whatever sells your product to the pesky "general public" means that you have the money to produce the fine wines in small volumes that you love and that you can enjoy with your other wine loving friends.
And if that means that your winery will look old and have lots of antique stuff hanging around... Then thats what you have (Despite your winery now being a hundred times as large as it was back then and all the current buildings and equipment are less than 25 years old!).
And if it means that you need to have a brick lined cellar with vaulted brick lined ceilings, and subdued warm well spaced spot-lighting, and lots of oak barrels in rows (even if they are all empty), and racks and racks of dust covered wine bottles... Then thats what you have...
And they all did :)))
... Im sounding terribly jaded here I know, But honestly, Id have enjoyed it much more if they were "straight-up" with the facts of the wine making game and I could learn something, rather than going through the whole "pantomime" of selling the fashionable image...
But I guess thats just me... Evereyone else seemed to be "lapping it up"... literally :)))
... Update...
I couldnt just leave it at that with a "bad flavour in my mouth" so to speak, So I went to see one more winery the next morning before I left town...
And this time, I got it right... Or is that "they got it right" ? :))
It was a smaller winery but it was about 160 years old. And it wasnt pretentious, and it wasnt "artificially rustic"... And I learned some stuff about how things were done on my little tour which was given by one of the owners...
And it was clear that they did love wines and that they wanted to share their passion... even with the "lowly" such as myself :))
A much better "after-taste" :)))
