A Beautiful City full of culture and fresh air (Mendoza)

Member Name: huggy2009

Product:	Mendoza
Date:	21/05/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wine, food, adventure sports, the Andes

Disadvantages: Its a long trek from Buenos Aires or Santiago

Having just read the previous review of Mendoza you'd be led to believe the only real reason to visit would be its location close to the Andes.....wrong!!!


The location is pretty fantastic, Mendoza is located in the north of Argentina close to the Andes, its a fantastic place to go for adventure sports such as hang gliding and more especially white water rafting, you can use the city as a base to visit the Andes and I did this climbing the Andes by bus until we briefly entered Chile.

The main reason I would recommend Mendoza is the wine, this place has some amazing wine tours and vineyards, the Malbec produced is outstanding as are Merlot's, Torrentes and even the odd Sauvignon Blanc, it is a gorgeous little town, easily walkable in an hour, but you can book tours to nearby wine vineyards and enjoy history tours and tastings.

One place I would really recommend is Wines of Mendoza, they have fantastic wine tasting evenings, full of fine blends, served by graduates of the Mendoza university of Wine who will talk you through each grape and advise on the best cheese to combine with it. The evening was great fun and interesting.

Another highlight is the exceptional restaurant from the world renowned chef Francis Mallman, his restaurant is expensive but combines incredible wines with the finest Argentine ingredients, from amazing Sirloin Steak to succulent Patagonian Lamb and Trout, there is an art gallery and sitting outside on a summers evening in the garden is a joy.

Mendoza is accessible by plane or bus from Buenos Aires for around £60, it is a clean fresh city with plenty of tourists and a decent bottle of wine costs as little as £3.

The Andes are incredible, the wine is exceptional, the people are friendly and so proud of their wine and the adventuring is wicked too, this is a city I will always remember and plan to go back there someday just to experience the tranquility and peacefulness again.

Summary: Wine, wine and more wine!!!