Horseback Riding Through the Mendoza Malbec Vineyards
On our only Sunday together here in Mendoza with Jack, he picked the greatest activity of all time: touring Malbec vineyards on horseback!
We thought there will be eight people on the tour group, but we were pleasantly surprised when the owner himself of Trout and Wine picked us up from our Airbnb. Instant private tour!
First stop was at Rancho Viejo, where we would be riding these horses through Malbec vineyards!
Alex's horse was white and fluffy...
My horse's name is Eva, and she had soft hair and the cutest ears!
Gauchos from Kansas City, Missouri, and one from Ireland!
Good thing I decided to put the camera strap instead of my wrist strap, but it was still a challenge to take these photos!
It's winter now in Argentina hence the already pruned Malbec vines... Perro on watch...
Puppers were barking at my horse! Eva didn't care though.
They have to prune the Malbecs so that it grows again come spring, and those green trees are Olive trees!
Olive trees line the vineyards, and they harvest the olives as is or for oils
See those white coverings? They do this because foxes and other animals try to get into the sap of the Malbecs!
Me on a horse, I thought I was scared of horses because of how big they were...
This is Cesar who runs the rancho, on the left an Olive tree and on the right are Poplar trees
Back at the stables... I have more photos from my phone but maybe I'll just post those on Instagram...
This ride made me realize how good of a life it was to have your own ranch, animals, and a vineyard!
A family off to ride horses through Malbec vineyards
A fluffy cat also runs the ranch
10/10 would love to be on a horse again and make it run
A boutique winery, is also a honeyfarm
Mendoza is really lucky geographically speaking as they have perfect elevation, weather, and the soil is really fertile to grow grapes! This farm is sustainable
Do you see the golden making his rounds in the vineyard?
The Dona Juanita vineyard is one of the oldest ones here in Mendoza
They also sell honey products
They only make 10,000 bottles of their wine, and so they make honey between making those
The owner's dad is a professor who helps him in the production of honey and wine
Some of their art on the wall
Like in the Philippines, they do some cockfighting here in Argentina...
The cutest employees of the vineyard
... needs some pets! They still use these machines in pressing the grapes...
These guys are really thinking of moving here to Mendoza
The wines can be aged in bottles or in oak barrels... Didn't know a new oak barrel costs 600USD!
Pouring us some fresh wine
The color of fresh wine is more purple, this is at 15 days old...
Drinking in the morning! We don't drink often...
Marcos owns this whole place, and is the only one processing the wines!
It's a small winery, only making 10,000 bottles in a year...
The cat supervisor watching over the tour
Marcos actually buys used oak barrels from bigger commercial wineries, and carves the inside for a fresh layer of oak for his wines
He had an orange tree in front of the building
Dona Juanita is his grandmother
He stores and ages his wine bottles in a cellar!
These wines have been here since 2019
When I asked if he has a record of when he pet the bottles in, he says it's all in his head! He remembers!
These are the wines that were aged in oak barrels first, then transferred to bottles...
Gives this cellar a mood...
The cellar was noticably cold, and it's all natural! All original, from rocks, sand, and clay to keep the wines in optimum temps
These were the aged wines, the color is softer and tastes more like wine, not as strong as the 15 day ones...
As in another video I was watching, his corks are from Portugal!
His are natural wines, meaning he doesn't add or use any chemicals in his vineyards and winemaking process. Here he explains that sediment marks on the bottle are natural.
He opened an oak aged wine bottle just for us!
Tastes so good! At this point I am feeling happier and reddish
Supervisor cat is great at his job
We were lucky that we could be accomodated at this private tour, thanks to our guide Charlie
We bought two bottles of Juricich wine, one aged in a bottle and one in an oak barrel. We put the labels on ourselves!
I love how they are doing what they are passinoate about
They sell bee products, which are great for your health!
Prices... Alex regrets not getting some honey, and for me, the olive oil!
We got to taste the honey! It tastes different, due to the fact that the bees get their nectar from desert flowers here...
Different texture for the honey... Never tasted something quite like this! Sweet, and floral maybe? Tastes great!
We learned a lot about winemaking from Marcos!
Transfering to our lunch reservation! You could see the Andes :)
We went to a boutique Club Tapiz Hotel and Resto (I like how it's all boutique places we're going to in this tour). Do you see the parakeet?
Art by our table
We were treated to a three course lunch! This sweet potato with goat cheese is PHENOMENAL
Provoleta
Berenjena Crocante (crispy eggplant)
Ojo de Bife (which by the way is also PHENOMENAL)
They poured us 3 glasses each, chardonnay, red wine, and sparkling wine.. All from this vineyard!
At this point I was already so red. Thanks Asian flush.
Dessert time! Alex's Pavlova de Cacao
Jack's Quesos
And my Galette de Fruta to finish off that 2 hour lunch! THE BEST MEAL EVER!
We hung out by the garden for some fresh air while waiting for Charlie to fetch us
Argentina really loves their wines
Another scene of a good life! Drinking wine in the garden on a Sunday afternoon!
Jack is convinced to really move here...
I hope Alex is, too! :P
I could see mosquitoes...
On our way back to our Airbnb in Maipu
That was a great tour! Loved hearing all abour Argentina, especially Mendoza from our Irish guide!
I wanted for my horse to run a bit more, but I was afraid of hurting her… Maybe next time I’ll look for more stables in the countries we visit!
Learning more about Malbec wines was a highlight of this trip. Especially since Malbec wines is taking its rightful place in the world!
Would definitely come back here, hopefully not in winter time so we can see the vineyards in its natural color!
Chantal
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