Vineyard: Familia Zuccardi

We went on a trip with our program to the Familia Zuccardi vineyard. Not quite in Maipu, not quite in Mendoza, but somewhere in the middle.

Tasting room, which also had a ton of paintings.

My favorite painting in the room. Something very eerie about the emptiness of the room and staircase.

We were able to taste two different types of wine. In the past, the program was not allowed to provide students with alcohol. Past students had to do an olive oil tasting. Thankfully, things have changed, but we definitely weren't allowed to go overboard. This is a champagne. Really liked this. I wish I was better at describing flavors of wine, but I need some more practice.

Was not a huge fan of this red. Tasted...watery?

Torrontes is a type of grape specific to Argentina. There is apparently a debate going on about whether empanadas go better with Torrontes or red wine. My vote is Torrontes, but I'm partial to white wines.

Alisa looking pretty and angelic.

Huge breadsticks! After our wine tasting, we had lunch at the winery.

Lucky lady bug on my plate.

Cheers!

Pan casera <3

Lots of olive oils to try.

Eggplant tapenade. 

Beef with a horse-radishy sauce.

More beef. The bread was so good!!! 

We also had tuna sandwhiches, olives, sundried tomatoes, more tapenade, and fried balls of chicken.

Peaches, fruit salad, cream, and little cookies for dessert.

Hot drinks and a night out

Met up with some friends in the beautiful Parque Central and drank mate. Mate is a central part of the culture in Argentina. One person prepares the mate. The cup and straw are shared and passed around in a circle. A little strong/bitter the first try, but you can always add sugar :)

The wind was strong, so we decided to move inside to a cafe. I ordered a cafe dolce which is coffee and condensed milk at the bottom. Super sweet and yummy.

For the first time since arriving, my host family and I went out to dinner. The bread came with spreadable cheese instead of butter. Definitely prefer the cheese.

Water is not free. Most people drink agua con gas o "soda," but I'm sticking to my roots with this agua sin gas.

Bife con papas fritas. Very popular meal here. Everything was soooo good.

For dessert back at home: canned peaches (duranos) with dulce de leche. I'm really starting to become a dulce de leche fiend...