amiga en argentina / friend in argentina

This past week one of my good friends from the University of Virginia came to visit me in Buenos Aires. When I asked Katherine why she came, she said the first reason was the sun and escaping the polar vortex currently in the US, the second was drinking lots of good Argentine wine, and the third was to see me. I knew it was going to be a fun week full of sun and wine!

After spending a couple days in Buenos Aires doing the obligatory sightseeing, we took a trip to Mendoza, Argentina's main wine region. You might remember that I took a trip to Mendoza back in October so it was fun going back to a couple vineyards I had loved and also exploring new ones. We spent two wonderful days biking through wine country, one in the Lujan Valley and the other in Maipu Valley. My friend Rishan also joined us for part of the trip! Where did we go exactly:

Lujan Valley:

• Carmelo Patti: They have free tastings and the vineyard is run by a friendly and passionate man who does all of his business "boca a boca" (by word of mouth). There wasn't even a sign to let us know we were at the vineyard
• Favorite wine: Gran Assemblage (blend)
• Pulmary: We ate a lunch of empanadas and did the wine tasting. Great good and wine
• Favorite wine: Torrontes
• A la Antigua (chocolate, liqueurs, and olive products): delicious snacks and large selection of liqueurs 
• Favorite snack: Dulce de Leche with Chocolate spread 
• Alta Vista: Beautiful vineyard with great wine, ask to try their Alto wine if you go and definitely include this vineyard on your trip 
• Favorite wine: Alto (blend)

Maipu Valley:

• Trapiche: huge vineyard and bilingual tour, we got to taste some of the Malbec grapes. I'd opt for one of their premium tastings which we wished we had done
• Favorite Wine: Malbec 
• Tempus Alba: Beautiful boutique vineyard with a great patio. Delicious wine, opt for the tasting that includes their Pleno wine
• Favorite wine: Pleno (blend)
• Mevi: I had gone to Mevi last time and it was just as good as I remembered. We ate empanadas for lunch and wine tasted (I suggest splitting a varietal tasting and premium tasting so you can taste more)
• Favorite Wine: Malbec Reserva 
• Cerveceria: Cute artesanal beer garden with great patio
• Favorite Beer: Honey Golden

After a wonderful couple days in Mendoza we headed back to Buenos Aires with only one small glitch of a delayed bus and having to then switch buses in the middle of the night due to a blown tire. I had taught Katherine one of my favorite sayings and she used it when the tire blew: TIA, This Is Argentina...

We spent Katherine's last couple days visiting the rose gardens, sunbathing in parks in Palermo and Recoleta, and meeting some more of my friends. It was so fun having her here and I can't wait for more of my friends to come visit!