Argentina – April 2018
During my trip to Latin America, my parents joined me for the journey from Santiago de Chile to Argentina. For two weeks they gave the backpacker‘s life a try and even enjoyed the 17-hour bus ride from Bariloche to Mendoza. The latter is known as Argentina’s wine capital. So naturally, we had to visit some of the wine estates surrounding the quaint town. The easiest and most convenient way of making the journey from one wine-tasting to another is to rent a bicycle for the day. So we take the tram all the way to the suburb called Maipú and rent 3 basic bikes for a few dollars each. Together with our rides, the friendly owner hands us a map of the area, where all the wine estates are marked. We figure out a circular route that first takes us all the way to the city’s southern edge, then east and back up north to the bike shop.
Well-prepared, we head off along the main road and are surprised to face quite a bit of headwind, which makes the ride on the flat asphalt street rather exhausting. After a good 30 minutes, we still haven’t reached any winery, but we find a local restaurant where we take a break and stuff ourselves with some base for the wine we hope to consume soon. Fully satisfied, we continue our trip and after another 30 minutes reach the first Bodega. It’s located on a big estate, and we feel kind of underdressed for the fancy tasting room. But after all, this is partly a sporty outdoor activity. We treat ourselves to a tasting of 3 different wines. 1 white, 1 red, and 1 rosé. The glasses are filled generously, and the resident sommelier gives us a bit of background information about the vineyard while we enjoy the grape juice.
After this first tasting experience, we are ready for more. My mom chooses the next Bodega, and we head off on our bicycles for the 1-kilometer ride down a beautiful street lined with big trees covered in colorful autumn leaves. The street is well maintained, but there are still some uneven parts and on one “speed bump” my phone jumps out of the basket fixed on the handlebar and falls to the ground. I brake as quickly as possible and only have to walk back a few meters up the hill to pick it up. Fortunately, the screen isn’t broken. But of course, the incident leads my dad to joke that I’m already drunk. Though I do feel a little tipsy by now, I deny the accusation, and we continue our journey. At the next estate, we join a small tour around the premises, which is of course followed by a generous tasting of the local Malbec.
By now, we’re 6 big glasses of wine in, and all three of us clearly feel the effects of the alcohol. Nevertheless, we head to a third vineyard, located a bit further in the countryside. Unfortunately (or maybe luckily), the tasting room is already closed. However, the premises and rows of vines are still accessible, and we go on a quick photo tour. Joking and laughing, we make our way back to town. With the wind now blowing from behind, we race through the streets, and on yet another speed bump my helmet jumps out of the basket and into the ditch on the side of the road. It’s used as a drainage system for the rainy season and is quite deep. So I make my dad climb down to retrieve the helmet. Of course, this doesn’t go uncommented either.
Fortunately, we’re almost back at the bike rental shop and no more things go flying. However, to our (or at least my dad’s) delight, we spot a sign on the side of the road which says: “Free drinks for tourists”. So obviously we have to stop and investigate further about this generous offer. The owner of the small bodega is pleased to welcome us and sits us down at a table in the sun. We select a bottle of red wine, from which we are all served a big glass. My dad insists on buying a platter of cheese and cured meat to go with the drinks, and we spend a solid hour basking in the late afternoon sun before finally returning the bikes a few minutes before closing time. Still very tipsy, we return to the city center by tram and make a poor choice for dinner. The greasy hot dogs we all crave are overpriced and not of very good quality. However, this doesn’t bother us too much at the moment. I guess that means that the wine tastings were a success.
thattravelstory 
3 thoughts on “Wine & bike gone wrong”