We awoke at the Viñas de Cafayate Wine Resort. The breakfast buffet was the best that we have encountered so far, with the option of eggs of any style.

On our original itinerary, I had put together a list of bodegas that we wanted to visit in Cafayate. As with those in Mendoza, the selection criteria included award winners, popularity in wine publications, and recommendations from friends.

As we did in Mendoza, we decided not to schedule everything ourselves, but to reach out to a guide service. We found one with availability for a private tour of four locations.

Our guide Valeria picked us on time at 9:45 and headed into town to visit our first bodega.

Bodega Domingo Molina

The drive to Domingo Molina took us for several km over a gravel road. Domingo Molina is a boutique winery, which means they produce far less than the commercial producers in favor or producing much higher quality wines. Unfortunately for us, as it is with many boutique producers, the wines are only available locally and in Buenos Aires.

We tried some very nice blends of Malbec, Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. For this part of the trip, we were more interested in the Torrontés.

Our primary draw to visiting the wine regions in Argentina was for Malbec, just as we were drawn to the Marlborough region in New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc. Malbec is not native to Argentina, having been produced long before in Europe, specifically in the Cahors region of France. Malbec was originally introduced to Argentina in 1868 because of the terroir conditions (soil, wind, rain, etc.) that made a much softer Malbec than that produced in Cahors.

However, the Torrontés grape, a white varietal, is native to Argentina. We did not see a lot of  Torrontés in Mendoza, but starting in San Juan province and more so in Cafayate, most vineyards produce Torrontés. Torrontés is very dry and crisp, similar to Pinot Grigio or Vermentino from Italy, or Albariño from Spain and Portugal. Also, Torrontés can be strikingly different depending on whether it was aged in concrete, which is most common, and oak, which gives it buttery notes that you might expect from a California Chardonnay.

At Domingo Molina, we tasted two expressions of Torrontés, one aged in concrete and another in oak, and found them both the be amazing and very different from one another.

We also tasted an amazing blend of Malbec, Tannat, and Merlot, named “Rupestre”, that not surprisingly, had won several gold awards.

Before leaving Molina, we purchased a bottle of Rupestre and a bottle of oaked Torrontés.

Viñas en Flor

Our next stop was at Viñas en Flor, for a four-course pairing with lunch. Empanadas, steak, and soup, accompanied by pairings of Malbec, Torrontés, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Viñas en Flor is a newcomer to Cafayate, but gaining popularity with its Malbec blends, classic Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and Torrontés. The facility was enormous with a commercial look to it, to which we usually are not attracted, but the lunch pairing was satisfying.

A note about music - In many bodegas, restaurants, and hotels that we have visited, the playlists have been of American music. This was particularly surprising in our hotel stays along the way where nobody spoke English. Occasionally the playlist would include something else, local or international, but the playlists were predominantly American classics, covers of such, or instrumentals of American rock. We would have preferred more of an international variety, but I suppose what we heard appeals more to the tourist demographic.

El Esteco

After lunch, we went to our last visit of the day, El Esteco.

El Esteco is one of the most popular bodegas in Cafayate. The main facility was very old, featuring concrete aging tanks that had been decommissioned decades ago, alongside newer tanks that don't leak dangerous chemicals as the old ones do.

We waited for our tour in a beautiful Spanish-style courtyard with a view of a collection of old wine-making equipment.

When our tour group reached the appropriate density, we were led on a short tour of the vineyards and interior wine-making facilities. The tour was conducted in English with several others, most of whom could have done with the Spanish version, although we had a couple from Australia and New York who were in our language camp. The tour walked us through the history of El Esteco, fermentation methods, and El Esteco wine production.

The tour concluded with a tasting, including an interesting bit of lore about the source of Malbec. Evidently, a Hungarian monk brought Malbec over from Europe to Argentina. The monk’s name was Malbeck, which led to the varietal's name, but without the trailing K. The French may dispute this story, as Malbec has deep roots in France, which may not have involved a Hungarian monk.

The tour completed, we returned to Viñas to decompress over a bottle of espumante, as we traditionally do during Happy Wine Time.

For dinner, Lorna had a filet mignon and I the teriyaki salmon. The moment reminded me of the satisfaction of completing a challenge. As I tell my teacher Oscar after having figured out some point of Spanish grammar, sin duda, sin pregunta (without doubt, without question).

Next up - Day 11: Cafayate to Salta

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