Revisiting Mendoza

Mendoza holds a special place in our hearts. In addition to being the ¨land of good wine and sun,¨ it is also the place Erin and I first talked about getting married. And it is the place we first discussed going on a long journey around the world.

And to top it all off, we have friends there from our first visit. So we were amply excited to get back into the heart of Argentina´s wine country for a few days of malbec and good times.

A bit of background: A couple years ago, Erin and I were looking for a place to go on vacation (back in the days when this meant two weeks away from work).

As luck would have it, my good friend JR was sleeping on my hide-a-bed for a few weeks. Being a world traveler, I thought it wise to ask JR, ¨what´s your favorite place you've visited?¨ With only a bit of hesitation he answered, ¨Mendoza.¨

A few months later, we were off to explore this metropolitan Mecca sandwiched between vineyards and the snow-capped peaks of the Andes. And the rest is history.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. As we staggered off the Andesmar bus, I couldn't help feeling a bit like I was coming home. After so many months of visiting places we've never been before, it was oddly comforting to return to a place we knew we loved. We had favorite restaurants, we knew people, we could navigate the streets.

After a quick nap, we dove right in. Off to the Park Hyatt - Mendoza´s swankest hotel - for a light three-course lunch extravaganza. This being Argentina, the bill for my empanadas, beef tenderloin, postre, wine and water came to...$15. Nice.

The next day started late, as we slept off the remaining drowsiness from the long bus ride. After our cafe con leche and medialunas (croissants), we headed out for a walk in the park to build our appetites. After lunch, we wandered into one of the many new wine bars for a tasting. Ten wines later, we were feeling ready for another nap. Albeit with a smile on our faces.

Already a solid day, the highlight had to be heading over to dinner with our friend Eugenia and her parents. Our introduction to Eugenia came through a Buffalo connection (where else?) too complex to get into here. Basically, I went to highschool with her cousin Jorge and my mom is friends with her Aunt Silvia. In our visits to Mendoza, Eugenia has been a good friend.

And it´s always nice to have dinner in a home rather than a restaurant. With our laptop in tow, we spent a lovely evening eating empanadas, drinking wine and viewing slides of our trip. We tried to keep the slide show brief to avoid becoming ¨those people,¨and hope we succeeded.

This being Mendoza, Eugenia had a new job in a winery. So on our final day in town, we headed out to Finca Flichmann, one of the regions oldest and most respected wine producers. Founded by Herr Flichmann - an Argentine Jew, of which there are many - the winery is today under Portuguese ownership.

Since we had an inside connection, Eugenia gave us a top-notch tour of the winery, including an ample tasting of some of their finest (OK, middle shelf) wines, which were quite quaffable.

As we headed back to the bus station, Cabernet and Chardonnay in hand, we were sorry to leave Mendoza so soon. But it is one of those places we couldn't help feeling we would see again.