The Caribbean Quickie

Take notes at your tastings because wineries in Mendoza can't send cases of your favorite malbec to you. Argentine regulations allow the shipment of wine from the region only through an exporter. Two reputable companies: vinesofmendoza.com delivers boutique wines to 23 states, and southernwinegroup.com carries wines from large and small vineyards, including one of my top picks, El Lagar Carmelo Patti. Planning to fly with a few bottles? Although I unwittingly carried two bottles onto my plane, the rule is one duty-free liter—in your checked luggage.  

After several days of winery visits and decadent lunches, I was ready to work off some calories in the mountains all around the province. If, like me, you need a reward for your adventuring, Trekking Travel leads afternoon horseback rides into the rocky foothills near Cacheuta Hot Springs, where you can soak in mineral waters before heading back to town (011-54/261-421-0450, trekking-travel.com.ar, two-hour tours from $80). Or sign on with outfitter Argentina Rafting Expeditions for a day of hiking or white-water rafting down the Pueblo del Rio (011-54/262-448-2037, argentinarafting.com, half-day trips from $25). At the end of my stay, I rented a car and drove about three and a half hours to take in Aconcagua, South America's tallest mountain. Near the entrance to Aconcagua Park, you can hike around a glacier lake and swim in the hot springs at Puente del Inca. Longer treks require permits, and you'll understand why when you come to the Cemetery of the Andinistas—the final rest stop for the many climbers who've died trying to scale the 22,841-foot peak (aconcagua.com, entrance fee $20).

The last person I expected to sit next to on the plane is a rancher from Idaho. But here he is, with his 1970s-style handlebar moustache and cowboy boots. Intrigued, I ask what brings him to Mendoza, a wine region on the eastern flank of the Andes that's almost as big as his northwestern home state. "It's the land, darling," he says. "Very cheap land." After years spent herding cattle to greener pastures, his retirement game plan is to find a vast tract of earth where, from his house to the horizon, he won't be able to see a soul—and where he can dabble in the dream of bottling his own wine. The fact that he knows little about viniculture doesn't deter him for a second. He's not alone. In the past 10 years, third-generation Argentine winemakers and expats from Europe and the U.S. have been snatching up farms throughout Mendoza and converting them into wineries that are small in size but big on experimentation. Thanks to the region's diverse terrain, altitude, and terroir (or flavor of the soil), these vintners are now producing the same high-quality varietals—sauvignon blancs, viogniers, Syrahs, and pinot noirs—found in Napa Valley and Sonoma, but at a fraction of the cost. This entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with the chance to hike in the Andes, is what's brought an oenophile like me here for a visit. There's also the Latin allure: I'll travel hundreds of miles for a good glass of vino—my last venture was to the remote wine country of Tasmania—but I especially love a place where they take the time to pronounce Laura with three long syllables. After the rancher and I wish each other success, I head to the colonial capital, Mendoza City, a town with about 130,000 residents and a rich history. Before the Spaniards arrived in 1561, the Huarpes Indians built the city's network of stone gutters, which still irrigate the town with runoff from the Andes. In 1813, Argentine general José de San Martín holed up in Mendoza City with his army—and went on to liberate neighboring Chile and Peru from the Spaniards. My home base is the slick 26-room Villaggio Hotel Boutique near the central Plaza Independencia and several of the city's liveliest restaurants and bars. Over lunch at Azafrán, a classic Argentine restaurant with a 500-bottle wine menu, I tuck into a trio of meat empanadas and a tender pork loin drizzled with blueberry sauce. The sommelier keeps pace, serving me a different wine with each dish, as I watch locals stroll the cobblestoned streets arm in arm. Some carry tango shoes in cloth bags—a sign that they're en route to a milonga, a tango hall where musicians play live guitar music into the early morning hours. Part of the charm of Mendoza City is its proximity to several of the region's main wine areas—Luján de Cuyo, Valle de Uco, and Chacras de Coria are within day-trip distance. There's just one problem: I have over 1,200 wineries to choose from and only four days in which to see them. Michael Evans, a former political consultant from Washington, D.C., faced the same conundrum when he arrived on vacation nearly five years ago. He never left, and today he co-owns Vines of Mendoza, a tasting room just off Plaza Independencia that pours over 90 local wines and organizes vineyard tours for flummoxed visitors like me. "This isn't like Napa Valley, where you can jump on a bus and go from winery to winery," Evans says, pouring me a Bordeaux-style Carmelo Patti Gran Assemblage from a vineyard in Luján de Cuyo. Mendoza's wineries are spaced far apart on unmarked dirt roads, and few let you stroll in without an appointment. Evans explains that I should either hire a driver or sign up for a group tour. "Regardless, it's a more intimate experience here," he says. "Most often, the guy who opens the door will be the vintner himself." ROOTS OF THE REGION: Luján de Cuyo The following morning, I decide to hire a remis (taxi) to drive me to the heart of the wine country. Luján de Cuyo is where the first grapes were planted by the Spaniards in the 16th century—and where some of the most beautiful wineries are, including Bodega Benegas. Constructed in 1901, the adobe building is one of the oldest in the region, with antique gaucho ponchos framed and displayed on the walls. True to Evans's word, I'm greeted by owner Federico J. Benegas Lynch, whose great-grandfather introduced French grapevines to Argentina in 1883. In the whitewashed tasting room, Benegas pours a Syrah with violet and blackberry notes, and after taking three sips, he gives me a wink when I notice him spitting out the wine. "I think Perón had a saying about dividing the day into two mornings because you work best early in the day," he says. "If I want to have a productive second morning, I need to watch myself!" Unlike Benegas, I wasn't spitting, but I'm ready for more. Bodega Elvira Calle, a few miles down the road, is in a refurbished Spanish colonial house owned by Kirk Ermisch, whose story is something like Evans's. In 1999, while working for Kendall Jackson, Ermisch came to Mendoza to help the company set up shop—and ended up opening his own winery. "At the time, Argentineans were known for making cheap wine that they drank like soda pop," he says. "But what I saw were upstarts producing exciting appellations, using old-vine vineyards and inexpensive methods of farming." To prove his point, he offers me a glass of bonarda, an inky red that costs $15 but tastes like it could go for three times as much. After giving me a tour of his soaring concrete rooms, Ermisch suggests visiting a fellow winemaker who is a bit of a legend in Luján de Cuyo. It turns out to be Carmelo Patti, whose wine I tried at Vines of Mendoza. Compared to the chic Bodega Elvira Calle, El Lagar Carmelo Patti looks like a big garage with stacks of boxes strewn about. Despite the chaos, it's known for producing some of the best wines in Mendoza. The secret: Patti controls quality by running the operation single-handedly, and he ages each wine for at least three years. He gives us direct-from-the-barrel samples of a 2004 and a 2006 malbec so we can compare the two, and instructs me to look for the tart cherry and black olive notes. As I puzzle over the flavors, Patti takes a sip of each. "The wine talks, and we understand," he says. "Things should be this simple." A TASTE OF WHAT'S NEXT: Valle de Uco If Luján de Cuyo speaks of Mendoza's past, Valle de Uco is its future. An hour outside Mendoza City, this cool valley is home to sprawling wineries that are close to 4,000 feet above sea level—ideal conditions for producing one of my favorite wines, tempranillo. This time, I've joined a group outing led by Ampora Wine Tours. Along for the ride are four men from Texas who are all scouting property. Two of them have already purchased fincas in the area and have plans to open the first luxury resort in Valle de Uco. The other two—a fertility doctor and an Oxford-educated entrepreneur—are hoping to launch their own wineries. "It's a land grab," says the doctor, gesturing at vast fields that stretch clear into the surrounding mountainsides. "Of course, prices have gone up. A few years ago, they were practically giving this away." Against this epic backdrop, Valle de Uco's wineries are spectacular, many of them designed by some of South America's top architects. Our first stop is Bodegas Salentein, a cross-shaped building planted in a nearly 5,000-acre vineyard that abuts the eastern slope of the Andes. Designed by Bormida & Yanzon—a Mendoza-based firm with a long résumé of winery buildings in the region—each wing of the cross is devoted to creating a different product, from chardonnays to malbec-cabernet blends. But the winery's most surprising feature is the temple-like Killka Gallery, which houses the owners' contemporary art collection, including giant canvases by Argentinean painters Antonio Seguí and Miguel Ocampo. Before returning to Mendoza City, we drive about 15 miles deeper into the valley to O. Fournier, a winery the Texans affectionately dub "the Bat Cave." The building looks like a giant gray spaceship poking out of a field of grapes. We're ushered into a cavernous stone tasting room decorated with paintings of Madonnas and queens. Sipping the winery's signature tempranillo, the men debate the best places to buy land. "Valle de Uco has the finest terroir in the country, hands down," says one of the aspiring hoteliers. His business partner turns to our driver and says, "I saw a FOR SALE sign on the way. Do you think we could double back?" That night, I eat a delicious smoked salmon soufflé over tabbouleh at La Sal, an Argentine, Asian, and Italian fusion restaurant. I have one last stop to make before I leave for a weekend in the countryside: Everyone has told me not to miss Winery, a bar with a series of rooms, each devoted to a different varietal. (Malbec, the region's best-known varietal, gets the largest space.) Just after I arrive, my waitress pulls me into a game of bocce taking place outside on Winery's full-size clay court. I play several fierce rounds as an elderly patron shouts strategic advice: "If you shoot from the left, you'll smack her ball away!" NO TIME LIKE RIGHT NOW: Chacras de Coria After hanging out with serious investors, entrepreneurs, and vintners, I'm delighted to meet a hotelier who understands how I like to drink wine—on a comfy sofa, with a cheese and olive plate in front of me. This is Finca Adalgisa, a century-old manor-house inn and winery in Chacras de Coria, just 20 minutes outside Mendoza City, that's belonged to Gabriela Furlotti's family for three generations. Once I've settled in, she plops down next to me on the couch and tells me about her grandparents, who bought the vineyard in 1936. The couple used the sandy soil to their advantage, growing some of the best malbec grapes in the area. To keep the Furlotti legacy going, Gabriela bottled the family's first estate wine, Finca Adalgisa Malbec, in 2004 and built the hotel and a private eight-room guest cottage. Chacras de Coria still has plenty of farmland to snap up—at least for now. Furlotti's latest project is Soluna, a fair-trade winery she hopes will jump-start a trend in Mendoza. With a partner, she's been traveling from finca to finca, negotiating with vegetable farmers to join her collective and harvest grapes. "Our natural resources shouldn't just benefit foreign investors," she says. "I want to make sure the children of these farmers have a future on this land." At dusk, Furlotti encourages me to stroll into the village—and to bring my dancing shoes. Sure enough, there's a group tangoing in the tiny plaza to accordion music playing from a boom box. An older man offers me his hand. "Muy bien," he says politely as we whirl. A couple pantomimes raising wineglasses for me. That's when I realize that even though I came for the superb wine, I would come back for the people. LODGING Villaggio Hotel Boutique 25 de Mayo 1010, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-524-5200, hotelvillaggio.com.ar, from $130 Finca Adalgisa Pueyrredón 2222, Chacras de Coria, 011-54/261-496-0713, fincaadalgisa.com.ar, from $235 FOOD Azafrán Sarmiento 765, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-429-4200, entrées from $10 La Sal Belgrano 1069, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-420-4322, lasalrestaurante.com, entrées from $6 ACTIVITIES Vines of Mendoza Espejo 567, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-438-1031, vinesofmendoza.com, tastings from $3 Ampora Wine Tours Sarmiento 647, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-429-2931, mendozawinetours.com WINERIES Bodega Benegas Cruz de Piedra, Luján de Cuyo, 011-54/261-496-0794, bodegabenegas.com Bodega Elvira Calle Alberti 154, Luján de Cuyo, 541/388-5223 El Lagar Carmelo Patti San Martín 2614, Luján de Cuyo, 011-54/261-498-1379 Bodegas Salentein Ruta 89 s/n, Tunuyán, Valle de Uco, 011-54/262-242-9000, bodegasalentein.com O. Fournier 5567 La Consulta, Valle de Uco, 011-54/9-261-467-1021, ofournier.com NIGHTLIFE Winery, Bar de Vinos Chile 898, Mendoza City, 011-54/261-425-1716, winery.com.ar

1. Breakfast is a religion Eight years ago, Taco Xpress owner Maria Corbalan invited the Harmonizers, a local gospel band, to entertain Sunday brunch patrons on the back patio. It was the first gathering of her hippie church, as she likes to call it. Now, an eclectic crowd of bikers, college students, and parents with flush-faced kids shows up each week to nosh on Corbalan's divine chicken tacos and listen to gospel. It's for a good cause, too: Once a month, in lieu of tips, the band collects donations for homeless and women's shelters. 2529 S. Lamar Blvd., 512/444-0261, tacoxpress.com, tacos $2.25. 2. You can always make a splash When the summer heat hits, Austinites cool off in the dozens of watering holes around town. Among the most popular is Barton Springs, a three-acre pool set amid pecan trees in Zilker Park, where the water is 68 degrees year-round. 2101 Barton Springs Rd., 512/476-9044, www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm, $3. 3. The bands play on Austin touts itself as the Live Music Capital of the World, with good reason—it has nearly 200 concert venues. Only in town for a night? Look no further than The Continental Club, a 1950s music hall that hosts every sort of band from rockabilly to punk (1315 S. Congress Ave., 512/441-2444, continentalclub.com, cover from $5). Not surprisingly, the city also has a beloved radio station, KGSR (107.1 FM, kgsr.com), which plays area artists like Patty Griffin and James McMurtry. When the DJ says, "Sounds like Austin," it's the tip-off that you just heard a local. 4. People don't honk their horns Austin is consistently rated one of America's most livable cities because of its fast-growing economy, abundance of green space—and perhaps the fact that road rage is a rarity. Once, when a driver fell asleep at a red light on a busy street, a line of cars patiently waited for him to finish his nap. 5. Everybody's flexible What accounts for Austin's deep calm? As all those I'D RATHER BE IN SAVASANA bumper stickers suggest, this is a yoga town. You'll find a place to unroll your mat on nearly every corner, but the granddaddy of studios is Yoga Yoga, which was started in 1998 by husband-and-wife team Mehtab and Guru Karam Benton, who used to teach out of their spare bedroom. They now have five locations around Austin and offer over 400 classes, including one for toddlers. 512/490-1200, yogayoga.com, single class $17. 6. Weirdness is a way of life Librarian Red Wassenich coined the phrase Keep Austin Weird on a radio show in 2000. Ever since, it's been the rallying cry of residents bent on preserving the city's funky flavor. In addition to a book, Keep Austin Weird, Wassenich has a website that pays tribute to strange places around town, such as the Cathedral of Junk, a 60-ton sculpture of car parts, furniture, and bric-a-brac that a South Austin man has been amassing in his yard for 20 years (4422 Lareina Dr., 512/299-7413). "There's so much conservatism in the world," says Wassenich. "It's nice that weirdness is rewarded here." keepaustinweird.com. 7. The battle of the cupcakes Some claim that the buttercream classics at Polkadots Cupcake Factory are tops (2826 Rio Grande St., 512/476-3687, polkadotscupcakefactory.com, from $2.50). Others insist the red velvets with cream-cheese icing at Hey Cupcake reign supreme (1600 block of S. Congress Ave., 512/476-2253, heycupcake.com, from $2). The great thing about a cupcake war? Everybody wins! 8. Rock stars sleep here The best place to park your bags is the chic Hotel San José, a 1930s motor court transformed by owner Liz Lambert into a boutique hotel. A favorite hangout of visiting musicians, the San José has 40 rooms with reclaimed-pine platform beds and Frette linens, as well as a courtyard blossoming with jasmine. 1316 S. Congress Ave., 512/444-7322, sanjosehotel.com, from $95. 9. Great-great-grandpa's barbecue The secret to the world-famous 'cue at The Salt Lick restaurant is the vinegar-based sauce recipe that owner Thurman Roberts's family has passed down for generations. The pork ribs, sausage, and brisket are also smoked for 20 hours before they land on a giant platter at your picnic table. 18300 FM 1826, Driftwood, 512/858-4959, saltlickbbq.com, barbecue plate $12. 10. You can read all about it Any newcomer eager to get oriented should grab a copy of The Austin Chronicle, the free alternative weekly known for its liberal bent and in-depth reports on local politics. There's no better source for spotting what's hot, from the best 24-hour café to the hippest gay bar. austinchronicle.com. 11. The weekend starts on Thursday A street party breaks out on South Congress Avenue on the First Thursday of each month, with restaurants, galleries, and shops staying open late and vendors selling tooled Western belts and onesies printed with armadillos. This being Austin, the festivities wouldn't be complete without music—there's always a band playing under the oaks at Güero's Taco Bar. firstthursday.info. 12. No need to leave empty-handed The antiques, vintage duds, and curiosities at Uncommon Objects attract all manner of shoppers: "We have well-heeled congressmen browsing next to tattooed hipsters," says owner Steve Wiman. Among the attention getters are silver longhorn tie clips and 1920s cowboy boots adorned with the Texas star. 1512 S. Congress Ave., 512/442-4000, uncommonobjects.com. 13. Dogs rule Nobody has it as good as a pooch in Austin: With all of its grassy preserves, this city is an off-leash paradise. Dogs have the run of 13-acre Red Bud Isle between Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake, but there's plenty for their owners to do, too, including fishing, swimming, and walking the wooded trails. redbudisle.org. 14. Cowboys know how to dance The Broken Spoke has been serving chicken-fried steaks and showcasing country acts since 1964. While owner James White holds court in a pearl-snap shirt, his daughter Terri teaches country dancing. "Ladies, let him lead!" she hollers. "Now fellas, dance her, dance her." After you learn to two-step, stay for singer Dale Watson's set to show off your moves. 3201 S. Lamar Blvd., 512/442-6189, brokenspokeaustintx.com, cover from $5, lessons $8. 15. The big house awaits Built in the late 1800s, the 48-room Mansion at Judges' Hill, with its wraparound porch, four-poster beds, and granite-topped desks, is one of the city's most elegant hotels. But snooty it isn't. The snickerdoodles at the front desk are there to be devoured. 1900 Rio Grande St., 800/311-1619, mansionatjudgeshill.com, from $169. 16. Underdogs prevail When Borders tried to open a mega store across the street from BookPeople (603 N. Lamar Blvd., 512/472-5050, bookpeople.com) and Waterloo Records & Video (600A N. Lamar Blvd., 512/474-2500, waterloorecords.com), the community raised a ruckus. Borders retreated with its tail between its legs, and both indie shops are going strong, championing the works of local talents, such as satirist Sarah Bird and fiddler-singer Carrie Rodriguez. 17. It's blooming wild At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, cofounded by the former first lady to preserve North America's native flora, some 650 indigenous Texas species are spread across more than 20 gardens and meadows. Visit in spring when the bluebonnets are at their peak. 4801 La Crosse Ave., 512/232-0100, wildflower.org, $7. 18. The Austin diet Barbecue and tacos may be the city's staples, but for a big meal out, there's Wink Restaurant & Wine Bar. Stewart Scruggs and Mark Paul, the chefs and co-owners, gather their ingredients from area farms and tinker with the menu daily. You might find antelope with white Siberian kale, or Gulf of Mexico triggerfish and littleneck clams over homemade pasta. 1014 N. Lamar Blvd., 512/482-8868, winkrestaurant.com, entrées from $18. 19. Art without pretension Walking into Yard Dog, one of Texas's premier folk and outsider art galleries, is like entering a Eudora Welty story: The room is crowded with curious paintings, furniture, and constructions that celebrate Southern life. Owner Randy Franklin's collection spans from well-known figures like Mose Tolliver to his own discoveries, such as Ms. Wild, a transgendered painter he met at a homeless artists' show. 1510 S. Congress Ave., 512/912-1613, yarddog.com. 20. Tough Texans The TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls leave it all on the track: After every match in the women's five-team Roller Derby league, the combatants are bloodied, bruised—and pumped up. "The hits you see are real," says Audrey Butera-Young, who skates under the name Ali Mony for the Rhinestone Cowgirls. "I've broken a rib, dislocated my kneecap, and ripped a muscle. But I've always been back on the track as soon as possible!" The Roller Derby season runs from February to October at the Austin Convention Center. 500 E. Cesar Chavez St., txrd.com, $15. 21. There's a party going on right now Austin is serious about its festivals. Thousands of indie rock, country, and bluegrass fans converge on the city each year for South by Southwest (sxsw.com, Mar. 19–21) and Austin City Limits (aclfestival.com, Oct. 2–4). For the literary crowd, Austin hosts the annual Texas Book Festival, which draws more than 200 international authors (texasbookfestival.org, Oct. 31–Nov. 1). 22. You can run a bar tab at the theater Once you watch a movie at an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema with a Texas-brewed Shiner Bock in one hand and a basket of fried pickles in the other, you'll never go back to the multiplex again. Drafthouse has four outlets in town, each of which hosts special events like Kung Fu Sundays. drafthouse.com, movie from $6.50. 23. No gym membership required Runners eschew the treadmill for the Greenbelt, a park along the dry bed of Barton Creek that has eight miles of trails, plus a few cliff faces for rock climbers. Another favorite workout spot is the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, 10 miles of paths on the waterfront. www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/trails.htm. 24. Tequila sunsets The perfect place to end an Austin stay is the terrace bar of the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin hotel, overlooking downtown. Order a Stephen F. Top Shelf, the house margarita, tip your cap to the mounted longhorn on the wall, then watch the Texas Capitol turn pink as the last rays of the sun hit it. 701 Congress Ave., 888/424-6835, austin.intercontinental.com, margaritas from $12. 25. The Livestrong lifestyle As is fitting for Lance Armstrong's hometown, Austin has a dazzling network of well-maintained bike paths. Rent your wheels at his new store, Mellow Johnny's—a play on the Tour de France's maillot jaune, or "yellow jersey"—and grab a peach-tea smoothie to go from the shop's Juan Pelota Café. 400 Nueces St., 512/473-0222, mellowjohnnys.com, two-hour rental $15.