Leaving the chocolate capital of Bariloche was tough to do, but our arrival in Mendoza and the next four days definitely did NOT disappoint! After landing in Mendoza, our driver brought us out to the neighboring town of Lujan de Cuyo to our new home,
Lujan de Cuyo B&B https://www.lujandecuyobyb.com.ar/en/ with stellar host, Nacho. After we settled into our room we joined other guests from Poland and Brazil at Nacho’s outdoor dining room and parrilla for a lovely welcome dinner of chicken and rice, accompanied by LOTS of great wine. Prior to our visit, I had had a great deal of communication with Nacho and he arranged all of our activities for the coming days. He is a real find! The next day, Good Friday, our driver took us out to Uco Valley, where our first stop was a break to overlook Tupungato Volcano and the Cristo Rey statue and its Way of the Cross procession. After that, it was onto a fine day of wine!
Our first winery was the gorgeous, old world Andeluna https://www.andeluna.com.ar/en/home/ where we got a tour of the vineyard and a tasting session with aroma testing. 
We really could have spent the entire day there taking in the Andes Mountain vistas, but our lunch reservation was calling, so off to our next stop: Tupungato Divino http://tupungatodivino.com.ar/. We were welcomed by a fabulous menu with gazpacho, breads and dipping sauces and mini crostini. I had the salmon and barley risotto, but Russell totally splurged on the enormous filet mignon 
and we both shared an excellent wine from Gomez Bodega while taking in more vineyard and mountain views. 
Once we polished off a dessert sampler suite, 
we were off to our next tour and tasting in the grandeur which is Bodegas Salentein https://www.bodegasalentein.com/en/home.html . The architecture and setting of Salentein is absolutely stunning! Unfortunately our time schedule did not allow us to visit the famous chapel, but the cellar with its grand piano was more than enough to impress (although my rusty rendition of “Für Elise” was perhaps less impressive…).
The wine, however, was really the least impressive part of it all. Don’t get me wrong! I would have been over the moon about their wine back home, but we were getting so spoiled with the extraordinary offerings in Mendoza that we had become wine snobs within 24 hours.
The most impressive wines of the day were to be had at our next, and most humble stop: La Azul https://bodegalaazul.com/la-azul–english.html where we toured the quaint production building and met the owner. We definitely could have stayed awhile there—it was pure magic. But once again our ambitious schedule kept us moving and we needed to get back to Lujan de Cuyo. After a VERY satisfying day, we slept all the way back and had a very early bedtime. We’d need our energy for another day of wine and great food!
The following day we stopped by for a quick tour and tasting at the locally famous Carmelo Patti https://www.elixirwinegroup.com/argentina/carmelo-patti.html before walking over to Lagarde http://www.lagarde.com.ar/en/home for our private tour of the production and harvest areas. 
What followed was one of the greatest meals of my life: an outstanding six course lunch with wine pairings, enjoyed at the very best table (at the edge of the vines) in the outdoor dining area. 
After this culinary extravaganza, we got a taxi back to our B&B to “recuperate” before our next and final excursion of the day. Destination: Entre Cielos Spa https://www.entrecielos.com/ where we ended the most perfect day EVER with their wine spa treatments of a grape seed body scrub, wine soak, and hour massage. I assume it goes without saying that it was another early night!
The next morning was Easter Sunday so we attended mass in Mendoza at the Basilica San Francisco 
where we were also treated to a pipe organ and soprano concert afterward as part of their Música Clásica concert series. After strolling around picturesque, tree-lined Mendoza, 
we stopped for lunch at María Anoneta where Russell continued his steak-a-day quest with a ribeye 
while I enjoyed gazpacho and linguine with shrimp, tomatoes, and pesto, paired with a terrific Tomero 2017 sauvignon blanc. We continued our strolling after lunch with the rest of the Mendocinos on Calle Sarmiento where we stopped for a dessert trifle and cappuccinos.
We returned to the B&B for a relaxing afternoon of reading and yoga and decided to partake in another of Nacho’s wonderful dinners on this, our last night there. We were joined by a couple from Florida and a family from Denmark that were traveling in South America for seven weeks. Dinner conversation was riveting, to say the least! We had a superb dinner of homemade tomato soup, three salads, and a delicious chicken breast in gravy with a sweet potato/squash puree and orange cake for dessert. The wine was excellent and free-flowing, and Russell got to speak English all night! He was in heaven.
After checkout on our final morning, we profusely thanked our host Nacho for all of his assistance in making our time in the Mendoza region so magical. And even though we were leaving, he left us with one last treat, having our airport driver stop at the Pasrai Olive Oil factory http://www.pasrai.com.ar/#!/-bienvenido/ on the way to the airport for a tour and tasting. 
So now the visit was officially complete and we were off to our final stop of our Argentine adventure—Buenos Aires. Thanks for the malbec and the memories, Mendoza—you’ve now spoiled us for all other wines! And all other steaks too, for that matter.
Trippin' with Señora 