Tupengato Divino

George and driver picked us up at the hotel in a 15 passenger van and then drove us toward Tupengato in the Uco Valley south of Mendoza.  This wine region is in the Andean foothills.  Much of the area appears to be desert like but with lots of water from the moutain snowmelt, they have lots of irrigation.  Almost every square mile of land is covered with vines or fruit trees.

George was able to get us into a winery tour at the Tapiz Winery which is a mid-size winery specializing in Malbec but also has several other varietals.  It was an extensive tour with tastings from vats before tasting from the final product.  Unfortunately we were not too impressed.  One interesting thing we learned though was that they fertilize their vines with llama poo.  During the fall and winter when the vines are dormant they let herds of llama graze between the rows and leave their poo to work into the soil.  During the growing season the llama feed elsewhere.  They then sheer their wool and make blankets and shawls from that wool.

Lunch was again an extended affair with wine pairings with the food.  This time we had wine from La Azul, a very small boutique winery, at their restaurant.  The food was either baked in a clay oven or grilled over an open fire.  We had  pickled chicken, a cheese and olive quesedia, a meat empanada, steak and caramel crepe.  All wonderfully paired with wine.

Our lodging is at Tupengato Divino lodge which has only 4 rooms but a well known and visited restaurant.  Each room has its own patio, there is a pool and outdoors dining with great views of vineyards and Andes mountains.  There are also 3 dogs, 8 puppies, 1 cat and a horse. Luckily they were agreeable to fixing us a very light dinner but again we ate late between 9 & 10. We watched a huge lightening storm to the south and in the middle of the night it rained hard. Considering they have about 320 sunny days a year it was a rare occurrence.