Aloha and Holo Holo: Wine, Olive Oil, and Chocolate Tour

Jeff's school provides all kinds of opportunities for the students to get to know the city and continue practicing their Spanish even outside of class time. And many of these activities are open not only to students but also their families and friends. Today's activity was a tour that visited two wineries (out of some 1200 in the area), an olive oil factory, and a tiny chocolate shop, which was right up our alley, so we signed up right away. Wine is Argentina's second-largest industry (after petroleum) and olive oil is the third, so the tour was a great way to become more familiar with the heart and soul of Argentina, particularly the area around Mendoza, and it was also a delight for our taste buds.

The first winery was a pretty large one called Baudron. In the tasting room, they served us one white wine (a Chardonnay) and one red (a Malbec, for which Mendoza is most well-known). Jeff and I are never much for white wines, but the Malbec was truly wonderful--the best we've tried since we've been here...And we've tried a few!

Baudron Winery

My favorite room on the tour!

For reference as to how big each of those barrels is

The two wines we got to taste.
That Malbec is amazing!

From there we headed over to Pasrai, an olive oil and raisin factory. The name is a blending of the Spanish word for raisin and the English word for raisin because raisins were their first product and first export. They have since added the olive oil component to the business, which is the only part we visited today. We got to see the olives being processed, and then we got to try some of their lotions and sample many of their oils, everything from straight up extra virgin olive oil to many different flavors like lemon, garlic, rosemary, oregano, basil and aji. Our favorite was the aji oil, which is made with a red pepper for a little spice (or a lot of spice if you're Argentinian). We were also able to try some of their raisins, both golden and regular. We thought everything was wonderful!

Pasrai

A batch of olives ready to be processed

The making of olive oil

So many wonderful goodies!

I loved the beautiful murals that lined the entrance.

Then we visited another, smaller winery, Cavas de Don Arturo, that only produces red wine, which is not sold in stores but is only available to purchase on site. We tasted three of their wines, but we did not particularly enjoy any of them, though we did enjoy the experience.

The tasting room at Cavas de Don Arturo

My favorite feature of this winery

The final stop on our tour was a tiny artisanal shop, which could barely hold our entire tour group. It was like someone's grandma had just set up shop selling all her goodies out of a spare room in her house. You had to be going there to get there, so I imagine someone in the tour company knew the owner and made this arrangement. The owner, who claims to use old family recipes for most of her items, was very enthusiastic and charming and had many products for us to sample, including some savory things like balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and spreads, as well as some sweets, which was definitely the focus of the shop. The most unique for me was the spaghetti squash jam. There were all kinds of jams and chocolates and a whole selection of liqueurs. Everything was delicious, and it was such a fun experience!