Argentina is world-wide famous for its wine. The city of Mendoza makes one of the worlds’ most famous Malbecs and around the city, there are hundreds of vineyards to prove that! Big and small, modern and rustic, family owned to full on business. You can find all types of wines, from their well known Malbecs, to crispy sparkling roses.
The scenery on Rota 7 – the famous “wine route” of Mendoza – is composed of vineyards on both sides of the road that extend for as long as the eye can see. The road runs on a long, straight line for miles and miles until it disappears into the firsts hills of the Andes Mountain Range. After passing by dozens of beautiful vineyards down Rota 7, we turned into a narrow street, pathed by a long line of tall cypress trees. At the end of the road, a small sign reads “Bodega Alta Vista”.
The long path at the entrance is outlined by trees, giving it the feeling of going through a green tunnel and making you feel completely transported into a new and magical place. I can start making the outline of big brick building after the trees and as soon as I am there, the grape vines on the left catch all my attention. It is December, which means the grapes are not yet ripe, which makes the vineyard a see of green, going on as far as the eye can see, and blending into the blue sky.
The winery is small, the brown bricks in the main building look centuries old, with colonial doors and wood floors, and the hundreds of litters of wine being made fill the place with the smell of sweet grape and alcohol. In the corner of the big room, past the giant reservoirs of wine , a staircase leads to an underground space. After barely walking down a few steps, the drop in temperature is noticeable, it is a lot colder here. At the bottom of the stairs, a corridor, illuminated only by weak orange lights dangling from the ceiling, is filled with lines and lines of barrels full of aging wine. This is where the best wine is kept, the older bottles, the expensive ones and the owner’s private collection. The smell of wine and aging wood, mixed with the cold and the dim lights gives this place a an eerie vibe, almost as if the walls are whispering secretes of the century-old stories that happened here.
After coming back up the stairs, the warm air feels like a comforting hug, dissipating the coldness of the basement. We head outside to the garden, where a beef flank steak is being made in traditional Argentinian fashion, its smell filling the air, making my mouth water and my stomach rumble. We sat at a little white iron table underneath a huge tree, with its dripping branches creating the most pleasant spot for a picnic lunch. The entire garden is covered with these white iron tables, with tall trees and flower beds, the peace and quiet is unmatched. Within a minute my glass is filled with chilly rose wine and everything is perfect.
I don’t know if it was the many glasses of wine, the amazing food or just the thought of having a garden picnic in a winery surrounded by mountains in Argentina, but everything about this moment is magical! The light summer breeze coming from the trees, the mountain shapes on the horizon, the different languages being spoken around the garden and the wine flowing is making the many conversations progressively happier and louder.
After a few more glasses of wine, I make my way out of Bodega Alta Vista and back to Rota 7; there are a few miles along the Mendoza river, where we pass by other vineyards, local restaurants blasting loud music, fancy hotels with guests unloading bags and others making their way out and dozens of small cabins, all filled with people, tourists and locals enjoying the summer months. After a few more miles, we turn left on a little dirt road and we drive yet longer, getting further and further away from the busy streets and the loud music. we are almost at the foot of the first mountains of the Andes Mountain Range when the road is blocked a small iron gate. “Cabanas Alpinas” the sign pointed, which means Alps’ Cabins, and it is where we are staying for the next couple of days. The late afternoon sun, which was at full heat just a couple hours back, is now easing into a gentler warmth, and the proximity to the mountains bring a cool breeze that will surely keep turning colder as the day dims.
Passing through the gate I can see a small A shaped cabin at the end of the lot, its burnt orange front facing the imposing mountain range ahead. It is charming and cozy, with a couple of chairs and a small round table in front of it, the whole scene, combined with the line of pine trees around the cabin, made me think of fall. The inside of the cabin is just as beautiful as the outside, the A frame making it feel like the whole place is curling up on you. A candle was already burning and the smell made me instantly smile. I never thought that a mix of vanilla and pine trees could smell so good. After getting our things unpacked and organized, I can already see the sky starting to change colors, so I make myself a cup of coffee, to wash away the rest of the dizziness from the wine, grab a thick red blanket from the couch and my half-read copy of Jane Eyre and had outside. Rays of golden and pink are taking over the blue and making the mountains glimmer and change colors in a synchronized dance with the setting sun; signaling that the day is coming to an end.
Looking at mountains has always made me feel contemplative, life feels at once smaller and bigger when you are facing such a majestic sight. If I close my eyes now I can still feel the cold air against my face, I can hear the birds flying in the air, disappearing and reappearing on the horizon, I can hear the leaves of the long cypress trees rustling in the wind and smell their fresh scent, mixed with the crispy air. It was a moment of complete peace and fulfillment, as if God himself were humming a soothing melody and reminding the world of the perfection of His creation.