What we ate last night.

Cocina Cuyana de Autor “Menú Degustación Verano 2010 - 2011”

Tortita con chicharrones, chorizo de cerdo, tomates quemados y queso pepato ahumado Mendocininan tortita (local flat bread), pork chorizo, burnt tomatoes and smoked "pepato" cheese

Pastel Mendocino con salsa Milcayac Our own version of a Mendocinian Empanada with Milcayac sauce

Queso de cabra tipo camembert tibio, carpaccio de remolachas e higos blancos con vinagreta de pomelo y nueces tostadas

Goat cheese duo, beat root carpaccio and figs with a grapefruit and toasted walnuts vinaigrette


Ossobucco 10 horas, crema de papas y ajos, verdes y chutney de alcayota

"Ten hours" beef shank, potatoes and garlic cream, greens and "malabar melon" chutney

Húmedo aireado de algarroba y aceite de Oliva, frutas quemadas y salsa cremosa helada de Cedrón.

“Algarroba” and olive oil moist cake, burnt fruit and creamy Cedron sauce .

Café o té y acompañado de petit fours.

Coffee or tea selection with petit fours.

Each dish is carefully paired with premium wines from Mendocinian Wineries by our sommelier. Water service and “fresh out of the oven” home made bread also included.

Time to stop overanalyzing everything and live spontaneously.

So Monday I started the job. It's a 9-5'er for sure. No lunch break. More proposal creating, CRM developing, shared inboxes, invoices. What? Have I gone back to 2008? What did I get myself into??

With Jo having left Mendoza on Tuesday, seeing a few shit apartments (which are pretty much what my new paltry salary allows) and having radio silence on the winery consulting gigs, the turn of events last night made me believe it is time to say the hell with it, go with the gut, and not do what Lindsey would normally do.

In my head I have made the decision, but have not made it official in the real world, so I will hold off on saying anything concrete just yet because I'm not exactly sure who is reading this. But I may be seeing Chile and Bolivia earlier than planned.

Last night Dan and Yvonne, friends from NYC, arrived with their newly made friend Ian, a Brit. D and Y have been traveling the world for about a year and been in BsAs for a few weeks. We had an amazing dinner at Francis Mallmon (they say the best restaurant in Mendoza), thanks to Dan's expense account at Astor. (Thanks, Andy!) Having written 6+ blogs for them on my own good will, I thought a nice dinner and a few bottles of wine were nice payment. The steak for 2 was ridiculously large, could have easily fed a family of four, will post the pictures to prove it. Sirloin was quite nice as well. Dessert for 4 put us over the top. Which is why I woke up early to run run run this morning (and help clear the head to make life decisions).

Today went to Chandon for a champagne tasting and multi course lunch with work. Not recommendable at all, for a variety of reasons, but left with a bottle of Latitud 33, the go-to Malbec when you want something easy and cheap. So I guess that's worth something!

Tonight it's another big dinner with Dan and Yvonne and Ian, at one of my favorites, Ocho Cepas and tomorrow we hit a few wineries (only going to the places where I know people, I'm such a big deal now, you know). Of course Altocedro is on the list. And El Cielo!

Tomorrow night we've got last minute rezzies at one of the closed door restaurants here, ranked #1 on TripAdvisor, thanks to my coworker being friends with the chef's boyfriend. And I'm in for free!

I'll post more later, when I have officially made my next big life decision. So dramatic. It's South America! Why do I overthink everything so much?! I'm just going to do it. Yes.

New job starts today!

The work day starts at 10 am... not too bad! Quite Argentine I might say.

This weekend I got my good share of local Mendoza culture. Leo came up from La Consulta to hang with me and Jo as it was Jo's last weekend here before her boyfriend comes in from London for a few weeks.

Friday night got my first taste of Mendoza night life, which pretty much centers around one strip of bars and restaurants, on a street called Aristedes. It's a small town and you're bound to run into people you know, whether you like that or not. Bars stay open quite late and we called it an early night, around 4am.

Saturday was spent sleeping in, watching movies, drinking coffee and Saturday night was a chill one in the hostel's bar, with pizza and Malbec. Perfect.

Sunday Jo and I caught a ride back down to la Consulta to spend the day at the winery, tasting the wines (almost all are completely finished fermenting). I tasted the Syrah that's been my favorite, and it's still quite interesting. Had an empanada and ensalada especial at El Cielo for old times' sake and said hi to Mili and Yamil after they got back from his futbol tournament, where his team came in second place, just one game shy of going to the championships in BsAs. He scored ten goals over four games and was in good spirits.

Ok I have 17 minutes to get to Carolyn's house/office. Wish me luck! First day jitters. Ha.

Think I'm taking the job...

At least for 3 months. Carolyn couldn't raise the salary, but she did agree to less hours so I can do some consulting work with other wineries if I want to, as well as travel. (Machu Picchu in July anyone?). Also, this salary would only be for 3 months, and then we'll reassess how it's working for both of us. I'm thinking I'll change my ticket home to mid-August so I can go to Gena's wedding, enjoy NYC in its awful August humidity, and get a wardrobe update. Oh, maybe see some of you guys, too...

I sent an email to Guillermo, in the Altocedro office, asking his advice, since he's got a lot of the potential winery opportunities for me...

What else... since I've been back in Mendoza as of Saturday night, I've had more than my share of wine... Sunday was a big asado at Myfawny's sister's house (she the Welsh/Argentine who started a tourism company with her American boyfriend Adam), and we spent the day jumping on her niece's trampoline, me showing off my skills from the 6th grade. (I can still flip!) Dangerous after consuming a lot of Malbec, however.

Monday and Wednesday I went back to the Altocedro office to wrap up some projects and I'll go back tomorrow to get paid and talk to Guille about possible other winery opps. Monday night was the weekly tasting and we had 6 different Bornadas. My fave ended up being the cheapest of the night ($33 pesos) - Los Perdices.

Tuesday afternoon Katie, Jo and I got a private tour of Don Manuel Villafañe winery with Federico, one of Karim's best friends and head winemaker. They're not open to the public, so he picked us up at our hostel and we joined him on his weekly rounds of tank and barrel tastings. He had some refreshing whites (Chardonnay and Torrontes, some sparkling), which was a nice change from the overload of reds we've been drinking. After three or so hours of tasting (and spitting out almost half, so we weren't completely drunk), we were still done for and had an easy night at a cafe after some disappointing empanadas from Mercado Central. Also scored a bottle of DMV's Gran Reserva Malbec and a bottle ofTorrontes, courtesy of Federico.

Last night was Winemaker's Night at the Vines, and yet another tasting. Domaine Santo Diego. The winemaker, a man of about 65 years old, under 5" tall, was more entertaining than his wines. We tasted only 3, and obviously 9pm is too early to go home so some of the girls from the weekly tasting group went out for a beer on Aristedes (the main strip of bars with nice outdoor seating) and I got some advice for this morning's meeting.

After my meeting with Caroyln, I went for a nice run around the lake in the big Central Park like park then met Jo back at the hostel. We made an awesome salad for lunch (the equivalent of $1.50 US for everything in the salad plus a pound of grapes. I paid about $0.50 US for 4 mandarines and an apple earlier). You know I love my cheap produce.

Now it's off to the hair salon so I can stop wearing my hair in a ponytail 24/7. About three people have seen my hair down in the past month and each commented on how I need to do it more. Oops, guess La Consulta let me slip on a few things beauty-wise. Back to city living!

The 2011 Harvest has come to an end: some farewell thoughts. (Apologies for any sappiness).

(Copying this from the Altocedro FB page as I think it's relatively well-written, if I don't say so myself. As for my last posting, no job decisions have been made yet. Asked for more money... should know more next week).

This morning Leo took me along for one last long round of tank tastings (after 26 sips on an empty stomach, I may have had a slight buzz before noon, don't judge). After lunch, Guillermo joined us for a few barrel tastings (some of which I think would be great bottled as is, and can't wait to try them two years from now). And tonight there's a final celebratory asado with the winery staff. The past month has flown by, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready to say goodbye.

I'll miss the winery's ever-present sound of hoses: rinsing down equipment, pumping over tanks, warming up barrels. The surprise visits from local winemakers, agronomists, suppliers, tourists, friends. The overwhelming, yet comforting smell of fermenting yeast. The plethora of fresh grapes at my disposal to snack on when hunger set in between meals. The thrice daily mate sessions, especially vital in the brutal cold evening hours as we waited for the day's sorting to end.

I have written mostly of the winemaking techniques I was exposed to, and the various processes a grape goes through before it becomes wine. But I haven't had a chance to explain what it was like to live here; life outside the winery. Which of course is just as important to the final outcome of the wine as what goes on inside the winery.

The immediate thing that comes to mind that I'll miss is the jaw-dropping, pinch-me-I'm-dreaming, gorgeous scenery. The depending-on-the-weather mountain views (can go from dusty pink to brilliant blue in minutes), the random horses I pass on my bike rides around town, the ubiquitous vineyards on every road, sometimes in people's front yards. Of course there are the long lunches at El Cielo, La Consulta's very own Cheers, where everyone knows your name. The town's one stoplight that is the starting point for any directions you're about to receive. The fact that anyone and everyone you see will say hi to you, regardless if you know them or not.

Above all, I'll miss the people. Coming from NYC by way of Buenos Aires, I was warned many times of the tranquility of such a small town as La Consulta and that I may get bored or lonely. But there was never a meal I was forced to eat alone for lack of eating companions and I was never stranded, regardless of not having a car. I was showered with local fresh produce for my cabaña, a bike was loaned to me for the month, I attended birthday dinners and Sunday family lunches.

When Karim talks about the specialness of La Consulta's terroir, he speaks not only of the actual land, but of the people that contribute to the history of this unique winemaking region. I can personally vouch, as an outsider, that I have never felt so at home and so welcome. They say if you don't bake with love, you can taste it in the cookies. I think the same goes for wine. And fortunately, here in La Consulta, they bake wine with love.

Mendoza Job Offer... Oh hell. Life Decision Time!

I got the job with Carolyn, if I want it. What I was thinking would be just few months has turned into a year commitment. A year in Mendoza. A year in Argentina. I don't know! At first, I was absolutely 100% in, but now, 24 hours later, I'm rethinking things. It would be a great learning opportunirty, both on how to run a small business, as well as with the Mendoza wine and tourism industry. And of course more time to perfect the Spanish.

But on the other hand, it's an office job, a 9-5, a Monday-Friday... am I ready for that just yet? And what about trying other wine countries, other cultures... a year from now I'll be almost 29. These are the things running through my head. At least the Sirius stock is on the up! Maybe that will take me through my old age.

Had three hours on the bus back from Mendoza to over-analyze as I tend to do, and have talked to the girls in Mendoza (during the above pictured going away wine picnic in the Plaza for Cara), my parents, Leo, Mili... the common answer tends to be one of two things: follow your heart OR just try it for a few months, and if you don't like it, you can always leave.

Hmm.

Hmmmm.

Help.

Sunday lunch, my favorite meal of the week.

In addition to the obvious Spanish history, Argentina has a large Italian influence and population as well. It is very apparent in the cuisine, from the abundance of homemade pastas and pizzas to the ridiculously good gelato to the favored aperetif found on every restaurant and bar shelf, Fernet. With time, this has morphed into the cocktail of choice among Generations X and Y: Fernet and Coke. The majority of Argentines either have a Spanish or Italian last name, and there's a running joke about a newlywed Argentine couple that went to Italy on their honeymoon, and upon returning, exclaimed, it's really weird, all the streets in Italy have Argentine names!

Leo, the junior winemaker, comes from a 100% Italian family, and the roots are strong (last name, Morgani). I was invited to lunch at his grandmother's house yesterday, an invitation that came with instant excitement. Of course, it being Sunday and yet another Argentine holiday (Dia de los Trabajadores!), almost his whole family was there, from grandparents and parents, to aunt and cousin, to brother and sister and sister's husband.

When we walked in, I was instantly transported to what I felt was a house in the Italian countryside. Leo's mom, cousin, aunt and grandmother were all at one side of the kitchen table, covered in flour and dough, and working away on homemade gnocchis. (Dad, grandfather and brother were on the other side, watching whatever futbol game was on).

Did I want to help? Hell yes I did!

Leo's mom, Monica, showed me how to roll out a bit of dough, cut it into tiny squares, and use my thumb to roll each square down a long wooden spoon-like tool that had long ridges indented on one side (the yellow thing in the picture). The first few came out looking like lumpy messes, and Leo laughed and told me to press harder. I finally got the hang of it, using my crazy hitchhiker thumb to its fullest extent.

Once we made what I'm sure were over 1,000 gnochhis, they went to the pot of boiling water in batches, getting cooked until they began to float. They were then placed in a dish and smothered in Salsa Portuguese, a homemade tomato sauce (tomatoes from the Morgani plantation of course) with mushrooms, beef, onions, thyme, and a little cream. Topped off with grated parmesan. Then came the roasted chicken and vegetables (eggplant, peppers, onions, sweet potato, white potato), all from the family plantation. Store bought empanadas were the disappointment of the meal.

But no Argentine meal is complete without some form of sugar. First came the baked apples, topped with dulce de leche. Wait, there's an interesting flavor in these apples, I said. What is it? A few people shrugged, with Leo's sister saying, baked apples and dulce de leche! No, no, there's something else in there. Then Leo's grandmother came over, chuckling. Whiskey! She pantomimed drinking the whole bottle. This is the same grandmother that put Fernet in her coffee the last itme I had lunch there. I like this woman.

After the apples, which I think may be my new go-to dessert for dinner parties (so easy and SO good!), came boiled and semi-candied membrillo, the ever-present quince. This I actually did not like, and only had a bite of. Then came the strong coffee, served in espresso cups. And of course the Fernet. After having a few Fernet and Cokes the night before, I passed on it, and Leo's dad was the only one seen pouring it into his coffee.

I wasn't hungry until about 10:30 last night, at which point I had a few crackers and called it a day.

Today is the last day of grape crushing, and we have an end of harvest asado to celebrate. After, I'm catching a ride back to Mendoza city with Karim, who is leaving for a three-week European vacation on Wednesday. There's a wine tasting tonight with the old group, and it's Cara's last one before she goes back to the States. We'll be tasting bubblies! And tomorrow morning I have an interview with Carolyn, who has an office position for me with her company. If all goes well, I may be staying in Mendoza another few months.

I'll come back to La Consulta tomorrow evening and stay through the end of the week, as the harvest is nearly finished and my time here is almost up. Sad! I moved out of my picture perfect cabin today, and will either stay at the B&B where Karim had stayed or at Leo's house... still TBD. My bags will hang out at the winery until I know. Yes, Dad, I am living the life of a gypsy!

(Picture to the right is of Jo, Karim and me after our last lunch together at El Cielo on Saturday.)