Tag 83: Maipú

The last few days we mainly spent in the hostel. We cooked, played billiards, and drank wine with two Englishmen from our room, Tom and Leon. Today we wanted to do this tour that pretty much every tourist in Mendoza does: ride a bike and visit the different wineries in Maipú and drink as much wine as possible. So this morning after breakfast, we took the bus to Maipú. The owner of the bike rental warmly welcomed us and invited us in when we got off the bus. After checking the bikes, we were given a small map with all the wineries in the area, explained how much wine you can taste for what price, and that when we come back, we can have tapas and all-you-can-drink wine on the next door between 5pm and 6pm. And off we went. Unfortunately, the area was not as beautiful as we had imagined. You ride along a busy main road, past run-down houses and burnt-out cars. The back of our map advises not to wander off the paths and not to wear valuables openly on the body. After about 30 minutes, we found the first winery, and suddenly we were in a different world. Everything was very clean and noble. Here we could taste 3 different wines and were given a 10-minute tour. Our next destination was a small shop that produces various delicacies. Here we could taste some oils, sweet and savory spreads, chocolate, and 6 different liqueurs. Our last destination was one of the largest wineries in the area. Here we could explore the property and production on our own and then taste various wines on the terrace. After that, we went back to the bike rental, where we enjoyed our tapas and free wine and had some conversations with other tipsy travelers before heading back to the hostel.