Mendoza has always been a destination at the top of my list. Partially it's because we enjoy malbec wine, partially from stories we've heard, and partially from alluring pictures of mountainous vineyards.

Mendoza didn't disappoint, but it wasn't exactly like any other wine region. It is more laid back and less pretentious, but far more disorganized than you'd expect from an internationally known destination.

We rolled into Mendoza after a 20 hour journey beginning the previous day in Cafayate. The overnight Flecha bus was plenty nice, but the air conditioning cut out in the middle of the night and the bus rocked back and forth far too much for being on flat roads.

Fortunately, we were able to check into our hotel room around 10 am and decompress. We stayed at the Petit Hotel on Peru street in the city center. It was a great location near to the parks, restaurants, and main commercial streets.

The cleanliness and organization of Mendoza was striking. After spending the past 5 weeks in various parts of South America, the smell of trash became a natural odor and stepping over dog poop on sidewalks was an afterthought.

Mendoza is modern. It is clean. They even have lighted crosswalks and handicap ramps. And not a stray dog in sight.

That being said, it's not the greatest city in the world, but it has its share of fashionable people, classy restaurants, and upscale amenities.

After resting up a bit, we went to Maria Antonieta for brunch just a few blocks away. It's one of the best ranked spots in town and we see why. The brunch was excellent, and the standout was a caprese of fresh heirloom tomatoes and mozzerrella in cream - known as burratta. It was life-changing (although overpriced for a brunch).

That night we had a simple dinner of salami and cheeses from the local grocery store and some much deserved sleep.

The next afternoon, we visited the Vines of Mendoza. (You can read more about the full experience on our Global Spirits blog.) VoM was a really fun experience. Julia, the sommelier, was very helpful, the wines were all top-notch, and we made friends with Justin and Kate - an American couple from D.C. on their honeymoon. We highly recommend going to VoM if you visit Mendoza.

We joined Justin and Kate for dinner that night and a bottle of wine in our hotel lobby. Even though we love meeting locals and other travelers in all the places we visit, it was comfortable to hang out with some other Americans for a fun night.

After two nice days in Mendoza, we were excited to go out to wine country for rest and relaxation - the real reason we came to Mendoza.

There are three major wine areas in the Mendoza region: Maipú, Uco Valley, and Lujan de Cuyo. Each are pretty accessible to the city, but Maipú is the easiest to get to. We rode the Metrotranvia light rail to the station on the edge of town, and then walked 45 minutes to the town center. We kept searching for taxis along the walk, but there was a general workers strike that day, so no taxis were running. Supposedly all public transportation workers were on strike, but we still rode the rail and saw a few buses running. Nothing is predictable about a South American strike.

Finding ourselves stranded after lunch in the town center, we called Hans, the owner of our next lodging, who quickly picked us up in his Land Rover Defender. This was just the beginning of Hans' unmatched hospitality.

We arrived just in time to see the finishing of the harvest. The workers were hustling and dumping bucket after bucket into an old Mercedes truck bed. We were so excited to see the process and enjoyed wandering around the vineyard eating some of the grapes still on the vines.

We headed to the pool, but it wasn't very relaxing. We were trying to get a reservation for dinner to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary as well as reservations at a few wineries, but Brian wasn't having any luck. Each call became increasingly frustrating for both of us. Note - if you travel to Mendoza, make reservations for lunches, dinners, and wine tasting ahead of time.

We ended the night at Posada Cavieres with Hans making us a chicken and spinach tarta and trying two of his homemade wines. His three bedroom guesthouse is very comfortable and you can't beat staying at a gorgeous working vineyard.

The following day we rented two mountain bikes from Hans and visited Tempus Alba winery for lunch. They are a 10 minute ride up the road. There is rarely a shoulder to the road and the cars fly by, so it can feel quite intimidating.

Lunch at Tempus Alba was good, but the wine was mediocre. Pretty lackluster for such a fancy place, but at least the view over their vineyards from the rooftop dining deck was good.

We roder further into town (on a section of road with bike lanes!) to Bodega La Rural. Their wine was good, but the tasting is way overpriced. The ride up there was 8 km, so by the time we got back to the Posada, we needed to relax.

On our second full day, we hopped our sore butts back on bikes and rode down the street to Carinae winery. Everything about the experience was wonderful and the wine was excellent.

Lindsay's tire mysteriously popped while we were there, so we had to trudge back to Posada Cavieres, stopping for a lackluster lunch at the family-run Di Tommasso winery along the way.

That night, Hans made us a reservation for our delayed anniversary dinner at Restaurant Terruno at the Club Tapiz winery.

The grounds are incredibly cool with an old cellar that is now an event space with wooden chandeliers.

Like most Argentine restaurants, the service was incredibly slow. We waited nearly 20 minutes to have a drink order taken. We both ordered cocktails to start and the quality of Lindsay's margarita made her laugh so hard. She had been really craving a good marg and this was hilariously awful. Frozen, with mostly triple sec, lime juice, and a dash of tequila.

Lindsay had the 4 course tasting menu and Brian a lamb ravioli. The highlights of our meals were the ribeye with chimmichurri and the lamb ravioli along with a fantastic Benegas Malbec. We finished our meal with a rich Torrontes creme brulee. This meal was definitely worth waiting for, especially given the difficulty of procuring a reservation at ANY restaurant in the area.

Our plans for the final day in Maipú included: sleeping in, laying by the pool, and booking a place to stay in Buenos Aires.

The internet foiled our plans, though, and it took nearly 5 hours to finally confirm an AirBnB in Palermo Alto. Brian was so intent on completing it that he hardly relaxed at all. Finally, at 4 pm, Hans reset the Wifi and that helped speed up the process.

We lounged by the pool talking to a Dutch couple staying with us, Phillip and Saskia, and then walked down the road to see the sun setting behind the mountains.

Hans and his friend Alberto cooked a huge Asado for us all which included: chicken, beef, sausage, morcilla blood sausage (Brian's favorite,) corn with cheese, salad, homemade mayo, wine and homemade ice cream for dessert. It was quite the feast!

We were sad to leave behind Maipú and all its relaxing charms and perfect weather. By far the most enjoyable part was staying at the cozy guesthouse at Posada Cavieres.

We visited warm, sunny Cafayate for three lovely days. It was a nice change after the dreary weather in Salta. This town is the epicenter of Salta Province's wine area and is located 200 km south the big city. (See our Global Spirits page for a full, lenghty review on the wine and wine tasting experiences.)

Cafayate is the perfect small up-and-coming wine region. The weather is fantastic, the cuisine is authentic, and it is one of the few wine regions accessible without a car. All the bodegas (cellar doors) are located in the center of town or within walking distance of town.

We stayed at a pretty decent hotel, Los Toneles, half a block from the town square. The room was acceptable, but the setting was the star. The hotel had a large front lawn adorned with flowers and littered with benches. The rooftop had lounge chairs and hammocks. With the good weather in Cafayate, it made for great lunching and hanging out.

The regional cuisine of Cafayate is similar to that of the rest of northern Argentina. We had plenty of empanadas, a hearty beef stew called locro, and another delicious type of stew called carbonada, made with squash, meat and cheese. Steak is plentiful, as are lomito beef sandwiches - fully loaded with fried egg, cheese, and ham.

At the artisan market located across from the main plaza, Lindsay found a guy who makes honey, sauces, and pickled vegetables. We bought a jar of olive tapanade and one of pickled white beans with carrots, onions and spices. The pickled beans were addictive. We put them on bread for lunch and snacks the next two days and seriously considered buying a couple jars to send home.

On our winery trek, we visited the Cabras de Cafayate, a locally-renowned goat farm. Their cheese is different from the soft, sharp goat cheese we're used to. It is firmer and less gamey, but still quite tasty. They produce several varieties like garlic or oregano cheese, and we later found it available in other parts of Argentina.

Cafayate's natural scenery is stunning. For right or wrong, we were mostly there for relaxation and winery hopping. But you could fill many days with outdoor excursions to nearby locations. The setting is very much like southwestern Bolivia or northeastern Chile, where all three of these countries converge in the Andes. Mountains painted in a dozen colors, 10-foot-tall cacti, and otherworldly glacier-carved rock formations are omnipresent. Since we had seen many of these natural wonders in Bolivia, we didn't mind skipping them or admiring them from a distance this go-around.

We had a great outdoor experience walking the rocky road to Finca Las Nubes an hour and a quarter (4 km) outside of town. This vineyard has to be the most stunning we've ever seen. It is set right between the mountains and offers views across the valley. Its name, the Estate of the Clouds, is fitting. Along the road there, you can take a detour to find some supposedly impressive cascadas (waterfalls). Coincidentally, we ran into British Gabe and Canadien Simon along the road, who were heading to the falls. We met them at our hostel in Arequipa, Peru and had an entertaining dinner with them. (Simon still smokes because he believes positive thinking and karma can prevent lung cancer.) So unexpected to randomly run into these guys a month later!

Once back in town we headed to the "original" wine ice cream shop, Helados Miranda. The owner is a sweet, talkative lady and she let us try both flavors of Cabernet and Torrontes ice cream. As expected, they taste exactly like wine, but not so much like cream. It's like frozen wine, period. Brian ended up getting the Torrontes and Lindsay got plain chocolate, which was terrible. Helados Miranda is a local "institution" with rankings on many travel websites, but I'd skip it next time and go somewhere else.

At the Domingo Hermanos winery we made buddies with an English/Irish couple, who were already drunk at 3:00 for sure. They invited us to join them afterward for beers, but first we needed to check on how to buy our bus tickets to Tucuman, the midpoint between Cafayate and Mendoza.

We agreed to meet them at a place on the square and headed to Flecha's office (the bus company) for info. Flecha doesn't drive south, so we were pointed to another company around the corner and of course, they were closed. Hours 10-12 and 7-9... typical Argentina. But at least we knew the times, so we headed back and met Keith and Rachel at a bar on the main plaza. They had also met up with a few others from their hostel. We spent several hours relaxing on the square and chatting with the group about the most ridiculous topics, including international foodservice job-hopping, drugs, and music festivals. We've concluded all Brits love mind-altering experiences and heavy drugs.

This was about the time we both realized we are not the stereotypical world travelers - no drugs, and not seeking strange experiences. We don't fit in with many of the bohemian, drifting travelers we meet, and we don't want to.

We caught our bus to Tucuman at 2 pm and sat in the very last seat of a fairly very empty bus. This bus ride was Lindsay's favorite. We drove through vineyards and lush horse country, and then finally through the mountains up and down hairpin turns, with a new picture of beauty with each turn.

We stopped at a quaint, wealthy town called Tafi de Valle, which was incredibly modern. It was horse country, and horses and donkeys wandered the streets freely. The most surprising thing was how big the houses were. Huge, American-style homes!

We arrived in Tucuman at 7:30 pm (a bit early for once!) and after sticker shock and a bit of debate, bought full cama tickets via AndesMar to Mendoza - another 13 hour bus ride which cost us over $100 each. We had some time to kill while waiting for the bus to leave, so we entered the bus station, which was more like a mall, and grabbed a Budweiser at the food court.

AndesMar is actually the same company as Flecha Bus, which confused us after buying our tickets. The bus was nicer than any we had ridden before, with fold-flat leather seats and movies on-demand in English. The stewardess even greeted us with champagne as we were seated. We each watched a movie before settling into a restless and hot sleep because the air conditioning shut off in the middle of the night. For such a luxury bus and good start to the journey, the experience was miserable. Overnight bus travel is just the pits, and it's impossible to get a good night's sleep.

Once we arrived in Mendoza sweaty and exhausted, we both started giving serious consideration to flying from Mendoza to Buenos Aires. (Which we later decided to do. Totally worth it!)

When in America, vineyards are happy to offer tastings upon arrival.  Only the nicest tastings and tours require a reservation.  Not in Chile.  Chilean government permits very little wine to be imported, so the domestic wine is taken very seriously.  

We, of course, had a very American mindset of simply stopping by for a quick tasting at a few vineyards on our way to and from Valpo.  Time and again, we were proved wrong.  

On our way to Valpo, we finally got lucky at Vina Casa del Bosque and landed an impromptu lunch reservation!  What an incredible vineyard with an amazing ceviche and the best caramelized onion jelly.  You could spend a lot of time here just relaxing on their cabanas on the lawn.
  

Knowing better on the way back from Valpo, we made a reservation at Vina Loma Larga, which is tucked away in Casablanca's countryside.  Alejandra gave us a superb tasting of their Malbec in the predominantly Sauvignon Blanc region.  Due to the location of the hills surrounding the vineyard, they are the only vineyard able to produce Malbecs in the region.  She gave us a great history of Valpo throughout the tasting.  

Alejandra was also kind enough to make us a reservation for lunch at Macerado, with an exceptional seafood stew.  

When traveling to Chilean wine country, you won't be disappointed, as long as you make a reservation.