After a day of biking vineyards, we wanted to enjoy some wineries without physical exertion. The first obstacle to visiting the renowned wineries of Lujan de Cuyo is finding their phone number, calling the winery, and scheduling a tour. The second obstacle is getting there on time. Technically, tour agencies can arrange all of this for you, but what´s the fun in that. Bus 380/850 leaves from platform 53 at the main bus terminal for a sluggish ride out of the city and into the country. After about thirty minutes, we started to pass some of the grand bodegas with their imposing gates, security guards, and acres of surrounding vineyards.
Bodega Chandon was our first stop of the day. This Argentinean outpost was the first foreign outpost for this famous French winery and has been making quality sparkling wine for the Argentinean market for the past 50 years. After being grilled at the gate by security guards, we were allowed entrance to the complex and proceeded on an extensive private tour of the facilities. Of course the best part of the tour was the tasting when we chatted with our guide in a lobby overlooking the vineyards for 45 minutes until we realized we were going to be late for our next scheduled winery visit.
Our chauffeur (read: bus driver) showed up promptly to whisk us to Bodega Norton where we were once again grilled by security guards and allowed entrance into the complex. Our tour there was delayed because the previous couple chatted with their guide for 45 minutes until they realized they were going to be late for their next tour. We were planning on indulging on lunch at the winery so we were content to wait over carpaccio, marinated trout, rabbit lasagna, and leg of lamb washed down with a bottle of the Norton malbec. Two hours later, we were well ready for our planned tour. After a whirlwind golf cart ride through the vineyards, we were on to sampling young wine direct from the spout of the massive stainless steel holding tanks. After a walkthrough of the cellars we enjoyed tasting from their Collecion Roble (wines aged in oak).
At our final stop of the day, Bodega Lagarde, the security guards once again grilled us. They were not happy that we were one hour late and turned us away at the gate. Our chauffeur (read: bus driver) picked us up off the curb and brought us back to the city.
Both of the wineries that we visited produce over 20 million bottles of wine per year, and we were amazed that they took hours of our time to give us excellent insight into their operations. We suspect it was because of the awesome wheels we showed up in.
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