Argentina

Mike and I had the opportunity for an amazing trip with his company. They flew us and 15 other couples down to Mendoza and Buenos Aires, Argentina for a week to learn all about some new brands of wine. It was a spectacular trip.

#1 - we had 7 days to just be with each other

#2 - we got to sip and taste some of the best wines the country has to offer

#3 - we attended a private polo match just for us

#4 - we met some fabulous wine makers

#5 - we visited some great cities and saw some amazing scenery

We started the trip in Mendoza to visit 3 wineries that mainly export Gascon and Alamos to the Gallo brand. This area is really famous for Malbec and Torrentes!! Both AMAZING wines. We toured the vineyards of both Alamos and Gascon and got to meet both winemakers. We learned about what goes in to the final product of the wine and how it gets from the grape to our wineglass. Very interesting stuff.

This is at Gascon

Our private polo match with some famous players from Argentina

Posing in front of the field

Again, the polo players

Alamos vineyard

Wine tasting at Alamos with the winemaker

Atop the Aztec facility at Alamos

The wine cellar at Alamos

Up in the hills with the Andes in the background for another type of grape grown for Gascon.

They use grapes from 4 different regions - high altitude and middle altitude and then 2 other locations to provide 4 different flavors of the same grape to be blended together into the final product that we actually taste. If you haven't had an Argentine Malbec, try one. Both Alamos and Gascon are great wines to sample.

Another picture of high altitude, rocky soil vines.

Buenos Aires - they have a monument just like our Washington Monument in DC.

This tree is insane. 200 years old and big enough that a whole homeless family lives inside. Is that crazy or what? (actually you can see some blue in the right side of picture -- that is from the family's things.)

I have never seen anything like this (top and bottom) This is a cemetery that is like small buildings. Each one has an altar and a door to go in. Then you go down these steps to the crypt. There are currently 40,000 people residing and each space has been purchased. Some are large meant for family for many, many generations to come. Others are just big enough for a door leading down to the crypt and maybe generations of family if everyone is cremated. Very creepy, but so interesting to a history person like me.

Down one of the "streets" of family plots. The whole cemetery was like this with streets and avenues winding through.

The stain glass in one of the crypts that is more modern day.