(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XIII - Wine Country! Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza!  We made it!  Normally not a big fan of major chain hotels, we were very happy to be in a real city in a real hotel with amenities and English speaking staff.  It was only one night in PA and one night on a LAN flight since our last luxe stop but those 48 hours felt like an eternity.

We checked in to the Park Hyatt Mendoza around noon and passed out.  Slept the day away in a great way.  Awoke at 4p and went downstairs for a snack and I went for a swim – they had an excellent outdoor pool.

For dinner, we visited Ciao Cuoco at the recommendation of our chef friends at Casa Felix.  A restaurant recommendation from a great chef seems a sure bet.  Well, not so much....
It was a mediocre Italian place with a courtyard.  I’d say dinner was a 4 out of 10 at best, but it was nourishment at least. 

The next morning, we slept in a bit and then it was off to do some errands in town.  Drop our laundry.  Print and scan the wedding invite proofs, etc.  So, I found what they call a “web house” inside a Subway shop.  Very strange but they did have fresh baked rolls and lots of cold cuts.  No one spoke English and I only got half the work done before having to run the ¾ mile back to the hotel for our wine tour. 

Diego picked us up and we were off.  Day 1 we visited three vineyards in Maipu.

We had a tour, tasting and then lunch at Familia Zuccardi.  We learned of the Bonarda varietal – quickly overtaking Malbec in popularity in Argentina but relatively unknown in the US.  We enjoyed that very much and also tried their Tempranillo.  There is a blend they make, called Zetta, but they wouldn’t let us try that one.  We’re not sure if we can find any of them in the states, but shipping to the US would cost us a fortune - $200 flat fee plus cost of wine.

Lots of barrels at Zuccardi

We did enjoy a traditional lunch of empanadas, grilled vegetables and grilled meats.  I sampled them all, including the black sausage made with blood, and enjoyed it very much.  Nothing spectacular but all very good and a fun meal to taste with unlimited samples of their mid-range wine…

Empanada action...

Mixed grill, halftime...

Full and slightly intoxicated, Diego took us over to Cecchin.  En route, he inquired about why Cecchin, because frankly, he thinks the wine is not good and the vineyard is not pretty.  I reviewed where that recommendation came from and I realized it was also from our friends at Casa Felix.  After dinner the night before, we were nervous.  But there was no turning back.

Diego dropped us off at the very rustic looking vineyard with a little chuckle.  Why it interested me was because Sanra and Diego had mentioned the vineyard was biodynamic and organic.  And, in fact, we loved our tour – to hear about the passion with which they pursue sustainability.  From using the stems and skins for compost (while other vineyards might make grappa), to planting fruit trees throughout the vineyard to attract the bugs rather than use pesticides to hand labeling every bottle they make.  We were quite impressed with their enthusiasm.  But, unfortunately, they only let us taste their two lowest end wines which we didn’t love. 

Posing in the au naturale vineyard at Cechin.

Hand labeling bottle - very old school.

From there, Diego threw in a choice of his (I had picked all the stops for the two days) called Carinae.  It was a very small boutique vineyard making only 100K bottles per year.  We visited with a couple dudes from Switzerland who had just biked from a nearby absinthe tasting.  We enjoyed their malbec – especially the one that came from their single, higher altitude vineyard.  Unfortunately, they have no distribution in the US and since we’re not checking back to the US there was no way to take any with us…

It was a good day and Diego drove us back to the hotel.  I enjoyed another swim while GG read and then it was off to Francis Mallman 1884, generally noted as the top restaurant in Argentina and possibly South America.

We took a taxi to the restaurant and drove for about 20 mins through some dicey neighborhoods.  We pulled up to a large castle-like door that was closed.  He beeped and slowly it opened and an attendant came out, took our names, and let us proceed in.  We arrived around 930p and were nervous we were eating too early.  We decided to sit outside and found several tables filled.  Mostly, as you might guess, with Americans not accustomed to 11p dinners.

Welcome!

The setting was spectacular – in an old vineyard and we could see both the barbeque and the clay oven from which about 2/3 of the dishes were cooked in.  We were seated under the stars, table lit by candlelight with a garden right near us to sit in when we needed a break.

BBQ is to the left; Clay oven to the right.

View from our dessert perch in the garden. Full moon.

We started with a Norton Malbec Reserva and our appetizers – GG opted for a roast pear and burrata salad and I got the “Shrimps in a Box” (please no JT or SNL references) which was 3 large shrimp baked in their clay over with potatoes and bacon.  It arrived at the table sizzling and was absolutely delicious.  Not super healthy with a delicious and tasty shimmering of oil to the dish, but extremely flavorful.  Unfortunately, GG was a bit underwhelmed by her dish.

GG's Roast Pear and Burrata...

Shrimps in a Box

 For our entreees, we went for it.  GG ordered the Lamb Sirloin with Green Risotto and I opted for the Roast Baby Goat “Malargue” with potatoes and thyme.  Both were cooked in the clay oven and both were spectacular.  The lamb was almost steak-like since it was the sirloin cut and the risotto was special – flavorful, buttery, delicious.

Yum from the clay oven.

My goat was also incredible – the skin crispy and charred and the meat literally falling off the bone, tender, moist and full of flavor.  I can’t remember if I’ve ever had goat before, but I’m sure it will be a very long time until I have it again this good.

Don't remind GG how tasty this was...we have an adopted goat back home...

We finished our evening in the garden to stretch out and have the “chocolate cake with liquid center” along with house made vanilla ice cream and orange sorbet.  I know it’s a trite dessert that everyone’s had a million times, but the combination with the fresh made ice cream and sorbet was really wonderful.  The perfect finish to a spectacular evening under the stars.  A very memorable meal.

Delicious, not necessarily nutritious...

The Argentine imbibing continues!