Estancia El Puesto Tupungato

... the vineyards of Mendoza Province form the heart of the winemaking industry in Argentina. There are forests, rivers, and imposing snow-capped mountains that tower over vast expanses of yellowish, earthy hues of sand carpeting the desert of this province. There is also a refined, civilized side to this vast area, with elegant wineries, called bodegas, looming above the plunging valleys of grapevines that snake endlessly towards the ...

... to remember the social etiquette of the much loved drink. Spending the days workig 7 hard hours, cutting grass with ancient tools, weeding, feeding animals, planting and harvesting veg, plucking chickens, making bread and much more.

23/10/09
Well it´s like a snow day today but with wind! We´ve been in the field all week planting onions one by one so they have more space to grow. Probably the most tedious job I´ve ever done, but the ...

... on Sunday, but we don´t have a ride and Carlos is having a bachelor party tomorrow night so we might have to take the bus tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we´re supposed to go and check out the site for the golf resort that a guy that lives behind us is building. Its at 2500m and supposed to be pretty amazing. We´ll see. We spent a day at a day at Altus Winery last week too. It´s very near ...

... destinations in the world. On March 2, 1561, Pedro del Castillo founded the city and named it Ciudad de Mendoza del Nuevo Valle de La Rioja after the governor of Chile, Don García Hurtado de Mendoza. Before this time it was populated by three tribes, the Huarpes, the Puelches, and the Incas. The Huarpes devised a system of irrigation that was later developed by the Spanish. This allowed for an increase in population that might not have ...

... the consultant winemaker at Mayol) is also the consultant for MASI. The winery ther eis massive and the property is amazing. We definately felt pretty special being thrown a dinner in the VIP guest house. Unfortunatly in turned out to be a late night filled with pisco and vodka followed by a 17 hour work day. The have a guy ...

... to Lurton which is a pretty gigantic winery in Vista Flores. The grapes from Anns finca (vineyard) go into their top end blend. We had a great tour and tasting. Then we went to O´fournier which is this stunning gravity fed winery in San Marcos and went on an amazing tour and had dinner there. Just a stunning location. The barrell cellar doubled as an Art gallery for this artist ...

... yes purple hands, the damned juice is purple! Definately don´t have a colour problem down here. The winery is pretty cool and relaxed, and we don´t do a tonne of wine which is nice. So, they are not lying when they say that Argentine beef is the best. I got my first taste the other day and I´m sticking to it! A whole beef tenderloin costs about $6 canadian ...

Apres une nuit tres froide, nous partons a 9h20. Le debut se passe tres bien mais ici les montagnes sont tres a pic et il faut monter a flanc de montagne sur des pentes de plus de 50 degres parfois. Apres 40 min d'ascencion, Lucie est prise de vertige : angoisse, pleurs, tremblement et impossible de bouger. J'essaye de la calmer pour qu'elle puisse redescendre. Elle se controle, je continue seul. L'ascencion ...

Nous partons a 9h pour quelques sommets alentours du refuge. Debut d'ascencion difficil, le manque de sport se sent mais une fois le rythme acquis ca va mieux. Deux chiens nous accompagnent. A 10h30, nous arrivons au sommet de l'Arenales (3390 m). On suit la crete pour arriver a 11h20 en haut du Lomas Blancas (3760 m). La vue se degage, c'est impressionant. Au loin on apercoit des sommets a pres de 6000 m. Descente longue ...