Mendoza, wine country!

We were slightly dazed to say the least when we arrived in Mendoza having just stepped off an overnight bus from Bariloche. In between the bingo games and the bus load of snorers (I wasn’t one of them!) we had managed to get some sleep so we decided to hit the ground running. We were sort of forced into it as there was an election on the day after so no alcohol could be sold so all the vineyards would be shut!
After a bit of research we decided that the top of the range tours were too expensive and we were told that the cheaper ones weren’t worth it so we decided to go it our own. So we took the bus out to where all the tastings took place and were told that the local tourist agencies had bikes we could use to get around the wineries. While it sounded like a good plan, unfortunately the bus dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and by the time we had found the tourist agency we found that it was shut for the day!
We had little option but to go for a walk and after a few kms we found a winery and were let in and allowed to join a tour. It was really a great experience and we learnt a lot about how wine was made and got to look around the winery, which was absolutely stunning especially with the Andes as the backdrop. The tasting was pretty good too!
Unfortunately our plan of sending loads of wine back home and to everyone for Christmas was scuppered as they wouldn’t ship to France, Australia or the UK! Boo
The rest of the time in Mendoza has been spent wandering around the city which is nice but really fairly unremarkable. The streets are nice in that they are lined with trees and there is a central plaza, but otherwise little to note. It might also be a bit of a strange weekend to visit due to the fact that the election is on so while Saturday was busy Sunday was pretty much a ghost town. T

Felt pretty good when we finally got to a winery, the we just had to get passed the security guard.