January 3-5
We spent three days in the Uco Valley to start our time in Argentinian wine country. A view of me relaxing at our AirBNB which overlooked a vineyard:
The valley is surrounded by the Andes and between that and the vines are incredibly picturesque. We had a great time seeing the different wineries, drinking delicious wine and enjoying great meals. We also finally got a few hands of Euchre in with Phil and Krystal. A recap of the wineries we visited:
Clos de Siete – we found out our first morning that the first winery we had a tasting at was not a winery. Clos de Siete is similar to a winery/vineyard coop. It is seven farms and five wineries. They all produce their own wine but they also all contribute to one joint bottle a year that is made by Diamandes’ winemaker (Michele Rouland). Michele goes to each farm, tastes the grapes and tells each farm which grapes he wants for the production. And everyone just agrees to give him whatever he wants.
Diamandes – on Clos de Siete – had the coolest facility. Their buildings are nicknamed the wine cathedral and have won awards for the architecture and art.
Monteviejo – one of our favorite lunches. We met the winemaker, Marcelo Pelleriti and Felipe Staiti, a rockstar. The winemaker is really well known. He is from Argentina but creates wine for the same family in Pomerol, France. He is the only Argentinian winemaker to have ever been awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. We spent some time chatting with him about a variety of topics.
He showed us pictures of the farms in Pomerol that he took with his drone. Super nice guy. He then introduced us to Felipe Staiti who was sitting with him at lunch. Felipe is a rock star. We’re not totally sure who his band is but we saw a YouTube video of him playing guitar and he’s solid. Marcelo is in a band and is really into music. Felipe is a musician who is really into wine, so they collaborated on two lines of wine that is sold under Felipe’s name. We talked with Felipe for awhile – he’s playing Madison Square Garden in June – and then, of course, we bought the rockstar’s bottle of wine.
Finca Sophenia – This winery had a great story. The two men who started the winery became friends because their two daughters, Sophia and Ohenia, were best friends. Hence the name. The daughters are now adults and are involved in the company still. It was our favorite tasting room of the trip and the blend that was served last was my favorite wine of Uco Valley… yet somehow I don’t have a picture of it.
Domaine Bosquet – We had lunch at this winery. The restaurant is called Gaia. The food was good and the pairings were good, plus it was all beautiful, but they lost our reservation, so it was a struggle to enjoy the meal, especially compared to Monteviejo which was so much fun.
Andeluna – Krystal’s loved the Altitud Malbec.
Also we got Phil and Krystal’s Dayton Quarterly picture taken care of:
La Azul – more casual, sampled fewer wines. Chardonnay and a Cab/Malbec blend. Syrah Grand Reserve was one of Mike and Phil’s favorites. We hung out with the winemaker, Ezekiel, who studied to be a vet but gave it up because people are too attached to their pets. “I have 15 dogs. I give them food and some I give names.” You can see how much Krystal loved this guy by the slightly awkward yet surprisingly natural looking hand touch.
Sidenote about driving in Argentinian wine country: it’s rough and causes flat tires. Michael changed the tire with a little help from me and Krystal. Phil was really good at watching:
