Tasting my first empanada on a roadside with the Andes as a backdrop while impatiantly waiting for my first gulp of Malbec almost made me forget the nightmare that it was to get here.
Where? Mendoza, Argentina.
How fortunate I felt later that day to be on horseback, breathing the crisp clean air that blows from the snow-capped moutains while tasting the magnificent wines crafted in such extreme conditions.

The whole area around Mendoza would still be a high-altitude desert if it wasn't for the canals built so many centuries ago to capitalize on the melting snow and irrigate this magical valley.
Rested against the Andes and closer to Santiago, Chile than to its capital Buenos Aires, Mendoza is the center of a booming wine producing region with magnificent wineries, luxurious hotels and spas, fantastic restaurants and very hospitable people.
The hard work of five generations of the Catena family and the curiosity of wine consultant extraordinaire Michel Roland has brought international attention and investments to the area.
Contrary to many famed wine producing areas, the joy here is not to find older vintage wines but, rather the newest, because the industry is still in its infancy and leaping forward with each new harvest. Amazingly enough throughout our stay there, the newer the wines the more sophisticated and deliciously decadent they seemed.