Mendoza Wineries ~ O. Fournier

One day last week, we took a drive, with our wonderful driver Walter Nievas. We drove along famous Ruta 40 towards the Andes and the Valle de Uco to visit three different wineries. It was a short drive, only about 150 km. Perhaps a bit more advance consultation with Walter might have been wise, but here we are.

Our first visit was to O. Fournier, which is a temple to wine. Built in 2000 by a Spanish family group that has holdings in Spain, Argentina and Chile with ownership of 435 hectares, of which 160 are now in production. This is a family group with serious plans and deep pockets indeed.





A prominent feature of the O. Fournier structure is the roof with its wild space ship landing pad image. This winery has a capacity of 600,000 litres with an underground cellar capable of holding up to 2800 barrels.

A theme here is the Southern Cross, the star group only visible to those in the southern hemisphere. That image is reflected in the branding of the wines (Alfa Crux and B Crux) and in the beautiful cellar. There is a spiritual feeling in this place, and it is intentional.












Our host was a young winemaker named Mario, who delighted in sharing his thoughts during the tasting, and in inviting ours as well. Winemakers tend to do that, ask your opinions about the tasting, and it is an important part of understanding what your customers like. Imagine, asking a customer what she actually thinks of the product.

Art works appear in the cellar and the tasting room. Those in the tasting room change over the course of time; they are rented in the company's effort to support local artists. The only permanent piece is that to the left. There is something unique about the work, and if you look more closely you discover it has been created by working entirely with plasticine.














Nice wines and a beautiful operation with a first class restaurant and plans to build a hotel and spa. Those deep pockets again.

And for us, out to the dry wind and back on the road.

Visit O. Founier's website here: www.ofournier.com

Tommy - Deaf, dumb and blind dog

Actually, Tommy is not deaf, dumb and blind. Well to be clear, he might be a bit blind in one eye, and he seems to be a bit hard of hearing, or maybe he just doesn't understand English. He is most certainly not dumb; he does bark at his own shadow now and then.









Tommy appeared one day at Posada Cavieres and hasn't left. Like his people, Hans and Alina, he greets each new guest as they arrive. In Tommy's case he comes to see them each time his guests return from an outing with much barking and nuzzling but no jumping or weirdness. You know what I mean.






He took to sleeping outside our door at night. One morning I opened the door, or tried to open it, only to wake him up with the hard thump of the door. Sorry about that.

On another occasion, during a late night thunderstorm, he pushed open the screen door to our room with his nose, came in and flopped down at the foot of our bed, went into a sound sleep complete with snoring.

Here Jeem and Tommy compare notes on the best position to attract a good tummy scratching.










He might need a little work. Jeem that is.

Posada Cavieres

We spent four days last weekend in Maipu, just outside the city of Mendoza. Our bed and breakfast was Posada Cavieres, a small three room affair located in the middle of Argentina's wine country and itself, a working wine farm or bodega.





The Posada Cavieres is fourteen hectares devoted  to vineyards and olive groves. It is about 20 km from Mendoza and is quiet, peaceful and relaxing. Our hosts were Hans Devloo (originally from Belgium), Alina Gomez Cavieres and Tommy. Hans and Alina, gracious and welcoming hosts, met while both were travelling in Chile. Tommy appeared out of nowhere one day and adopted them and the posada as his own.

The inn is an old converted farm building and rustic. The bed was probably the most comfortable we've found in Argentina. Rooms are not air conditioned, though there is a fan which we never used. The autumn weather provides hot days and cool nights so we slept with the windows and door open.

There's a well stocked minibar in a fridge in the common kitchen, with wine, soft drinks, bottled waters (both sin and con gas), and some nice litro bottles of local cervesa. The prices are reasonable and don't reflect minibar prices at all.

Breakfasts are a simple affair and feature homemade preserves and jams, some of which originate with fruits grown on the bodega.

Harvest is underway throughout much of Mendoza province. Trucks are transporting pickers to and from the fields and grapes too. Some vineyards are now harvested by machine, which certainly saves time and money, but most winemakers feel better wines are made from grapes picked by hand and early in the morning. Hans and Alina will begin their harvest sometime in the coming week.

Upon arrival we were presented with a bottle of Cavieres malbec from a previous harvest. The wine was good though might have been better decanted. It will only get better if left for a while, like a year or two, but who wants to wait.









Posada Cavieres is an incredibly relaxing place if you want it to be. A bit off the beaten track, in the middle of nowhere in some ways, and a delight all the same. Some nicer soaps and shampoos would be a welcome addition to the bathroom, and a wee variation in the daily breakfasts would be minor improvements I recommend, but the strength of the posada is in the hosts and the atmosphere they have created. Tommy is a delight too, and so is the always present view of the alta montana.

Highly recommended, you can visit the Posada Cavieres website here: www.caviereswines.com

The Italian side of Maipu

Buenos Aires, at least the capital city itself, is a dramatic and cosmopolitan city. It often feels and sounds and looks European. Italy to be exact. So too the narrow roads of Maipu.

One day we went walking along some of these narrow roads. Most people drive, or cycle; few walk. Consequently we attracted the attention of a young police officer who pulled us over to ask what we were doing walking around Maipu along the roads. As we were visiting several wineries and doing the usual tastings at each, we replied, "Drinking and walking Officer." Not funny apparently. He didn't want his photo taken either.

Maipu is a small town and region to the south of the city of Mendoza. Both are located in the centre of one of the largest wine producing regions in the world, the Province of Mendoza. In fact 95% of Argentina's wine production comes from this province.

In this part of the province the climate is a semi-desert. Most of the agricultural production depends on irrigation canals from the Andes mountains to the west. The area receives about 200 mm of rain each year. In comparison, Vancouver receives 1600 mm of precipitation annually while the South Okanagan wine region about 310 mm. This is a dry and dusty place.

Change is coming to this region as mechanization slowly takes the place of pickers. The large harvesting machines are increasingly used, though many winemakers continue to support, and encourage hand picking of the grapes.







But I digress. We should be tasting some wine by now. In this case at a charming little bodega called Familia di Tommaso which sounds Italian because the family came from Italy generations ago and remains in business to this day. The restaurant is charming too, and the view as we walk back to our posada is...

MALBA ~ Museo de Arte Latinoamerica de Buenos Aires

The Museo de Arte Latinoamerica de Buenos Aires is one of many museums and galleries in the capital. MALBA is wonderul in its airy simplicity, and in its great collection, and not to be missed.

The building houses the private art collection of collector Eduardo Costantini and is considered one of the most impressive collections of Latin American art anywhere with a permanent collection featuring Antonio Berni, Frida Kahlo, Antonio Sigui, Diego Rivera and others.

Benches are functional, and modern works of art.

Some of the works confront social issues and explore national identity, 

as above in Manifestacion by Antonio Berni. 

The work is from 1934. The artist is from Rosario, Argentina.

Time is well spent at MALBA. Delightful in every way, even in the parting shots.