Continuing the Wine and Food Frenzy

Sunday 7 August 2016 

Next stop was the nearby Andeluna winery. This was a very different experience to the over-the-top set up at Salentien. This place was also massive compared to wineries in Australia, but it had a certain je ne sais quoi and was a very relaxing place to chill out and just soak up the atmosphere, with views over the vineyards and the spectacular Andes as a backdrop. Our host was the head chef and we just had a really cool time talking about food, wine and this beautiful place. Somehow we lost track of time (well what do you expect after having around 10 wines before lunch with a jetlag addled brain?) and we were now running late for our next appointment (and some much needed food). We got back in the car and gave our driver permission to drive a little faster!

For lunch we had reserved a table at the newest of the wineries to be built in the Uco Valley, Zuccardi’s Piedra Infinita. Zuccardi has been making wine in Mendoza for a long time and is one of the most well regarded wineries in the region – they opened their new facility in April 2016 and it’s a testament to the Uco Valley’s growing importance in the fine wine scene here. Where Salentien reminded us more of a cathedral, Piedra Infinita was more like a spaceship, complete with alienesque eggs inside where the wine was being fermented ready for its birth into great wine. 

The architecture of the new winery was something to behold and the views from the dining room were amazing – here you were right up close to the high Andes mountains and it was breath-taking. As we were running late, the maître d’ informed us that the kitchen was closing and that he would have to check if they could still make lunch for us. Thankfully he came back with the good news that lunch was on. We had organised to have the degustation menu with matching wines, needless to say we weren’t disappointed. After soaking in the view with the fabulous wines and stunning food, we took a tour of the wine making facility. Everything here is new and the wine making facility was a one-of-a-kind. All wine was fermented in large concrete tanks that were shaped like eggs or amphora’s. We’ve been to a lot of wineries, but have never seen anything like it. 

After a pretty hard-core food and wine day, we had an hour-or-so drive back to Mendoza city, where we promptly fell asleep. We got back to our apartment just in time for a siesta – hey when in Argentina do what the Argentinians do. 

For some strange reason the people here eat dinner late – its very uncommon to arrive at a restaurant for dinner before 10pm – so siesta time was working well for our itinerary. Tonight we had dinner at a place called Ocho Cepes which was a bit more laid back than the Siete Cosinas restaurant from the night before. We had the steak (half a portion each and still it hung over the plate). The steak was perfectly seasoned and was really tasty – yum!