On Friday, the Godiks arrived. Zeev, Patsy, Greg and Jack (Georgina, their oldest, remained in London to work) stayed in a beautiful hotel close to the finca called Cavas Wine Lodge where guests are placed in small adobe houses interspersed throughout a vineyard (sorry, no pictures).
The next day, they came to the finca, where we had a relaxing lunch. Jack is an Argentine at heart and seems to love everything about the country -- the polo (which he is learning to play in London), the mate (an Argentine tea ritual - more about this later), the animals etc. You can see how he would easily fit into the lifestyle here on the finca with Pascual, Maria and the animals. In the afternoon, he went on a horse ride, and the rest of us relaxed, preparing for our busy week of "playing" ahead.
The next day, Zeev and Patsy arranged for us to have lunch and spend the afternoon with their friends the Zuccardis at Familia Zuccardi bodega. Julie, Mark, Annabel and Rebecca had previously met Julia Zuccardi, the daughter of Jose Zuccardi, the owner, when they went to visit the bodega a few months ago. Julia is lovely, warm and welcoming, and the rest of the family is the same. We ate a delicious, huge lunch in their beautiful garden outside of the restaurant. The olive harvest is coming up in May, and along with wines, the Zuccardis sell olive oils. Several of us went to see the new state-of-the-art olive press while others went to look at the new baby kittens that had just been born to one the bodega's cats.
On Monday, we drove the 1 ½ hours back up to the Uco Valley to spend the day with Walter, a gaucho, and his family. Walter and his wife own a large cattle ranch in the foothills of the Andes Mountains called Estancia San Pablo (http://estanciasanpablo.com.ar/). Getting to San Pablo is an adventure in itself. Much of the drive to the Estancia is on dirt road and, once there, one has to cross a precarious, broken bridge in the car. “You’ve got to be kidding!” was Mark’s response (and Jack said “We watched you cross the bridge and your tires barely made it over the slats” – we were in 2 cars). But, it was all worth it.
Walter is a true gaucho (multi-generation) and is committed to raising his two young children in the gaucho tradition of living off the land. Almost everything they eat is either grown or raised on their property. When old enough, their children will ride their horses to attend a small school (20 children in all, grades K-6) down the road. Their now 4 year old has had, and has been riding, her own horse since she was 1 ½ years old. Patsy, Zeev and their children have been to Estancia San Pablo several times.
As with many Argentines we've met, Walter and his family had many animals on the property - dogs, cats, horses and cattle (of course) and to the delight of us all, a newly adopted baby llama. They had taken the baby llama in when her parents had been hit by a car. Walter had bottle fed her, and now, predictably, she wouldn’t let Walter out of her sight (even inside the house). Walter's wife prepared an amazing asado for us (all of the food from their land): homemade empanadas, marinated eggplant and tomatoes, goat (a regional specialty), steak, trout, salad...it was a feast. After lunch, they saddled up the horses and we went for a long ride through the mountains. It was breathtaking - we crossed small rivers and road up into the hills. At one point we stopped to visit a cave in the side of the mountain and drink the water which ran down from the Andes. It was sweet and delicious. After 2 1/2 hours, the kids were ready to keep on going, and the adults were ready to keel over (Patsy and Julie were hobbling around for days). Needless to say, we all slept well that night.
The next day was fairly relaxed. That night, the Godiks, Pops and Julie went out for a very laid-back meal to one of Julie and Mark's favorite little restaurants called El Palenque (The Hitching Post). Pops was leaving the next day and it was the perfect end to his visit.
The Godiks stayed for a couple more days, and, unfortunately, Pops missed, by one, our visit to Zeev and Patsy's wine maker, Mauricio Lorca, where Vino Patricia (named after Patsy) is being made. It was so exciting. We saw the barrels and the cement tanks where Vino Patricia from this year and last year's harvest is fermenting. And then we had the wine tasting. How wonderful it was to taste the wine from the grapes growing in the finca....and it was delicious! By September, Gauchos will be selling two Vino Patricia Malbecs from last year's harvest. We all felt so proud and happy (see the picture of Patsy tasting her wine).
It was a wonderful visit. At the end, Patsy and Julie did get a little time together which was lovely, but is never enough. After they left, Julie, in particular, felt sad already missing her family and knowing that this was the beginning of the end of our time in Mendoza.
The next day, they came to the finca, where we had a relaxing lunch. Jack is an Argentine at heart and seems to love everything about the country -- the polo (which he is learning to play in London), the mate (an Argentine tea ritual - more about this later), the animals etc. You can see how he would easily fit into the lifestyle here on the finca with Pascual, Maria and the animals. In the afternoon, he went on a horse ride, and the rest of us relaxed, preparing for our busy week of "playing" ahead.
The next day, Zeev and Patsy arranged for us to have lunch and spend the afternoon with their friends the Zuccardis at Familia Zuccardi bodega. Julie, Mark, Annabel and Rebecca had previously met Julia Zuccardi, the daughter of Jose Zuccardi, the owner, when they went to visit the bodega a few months ago. Julia is lovely, warm and welcoming, and the rest of the family is the same. We ate a delicious, huge lunch in their beautiful garden outside of the restaurant. The olive harvest is coming up in May, and along with wines, the Zuccardis sell olive oils. Several of us went to see the new state-of-the-art olive press while others went to look at the new baby kittens that had just been born to one the bodega's cats.
On Monday, we drove the 1 ½ hours back up to the Uco Valley to spend the day with Walter, a gaucho, and his family. Walter and his wife own a large cattle ranch in the foothills of the Andes Mountains called Estancia San Pablo (http://estanciasanpablo.com.ar/). Getting to San Pablo is an adventure in itself. Much of the drive to the Estancia is on dirt road and, once there, one has to cross a precarious, broken bridge in the car. “You’ve got to be kidding!” was Mark’s response (and Jack said “We watched you cross the bridge and your tires barely made it over the slats” – we were in 2 cars). But, it was all worth it.
Walter is a true gaucho (multi-generation) and is committed to raising his two young children in the gaucho tradition of living off the land. Almost everything they eat is either grown or raised on their property. When old enough, their children will ride their horses to attend a small school (20 children in all, grades K-6) down the road. Their now 4 year old has had, and has been riding, her own horse since she was 1 ½ years old. Patsy, Zeev and their children have been to Estancia San Pablo several times.
As with many Argentines we've met, Walter and his family had many animals on the property - dogs, cats, horses and cattle (of course) and to the delight of us all, a newly adopted baby llama. They had taken the baby llama in when her parents had been hit by a car. Walter had bottle fed her, and now, predictably, she wouldn’t let Walter out of her sight (even inside the house). Walter's wife prepared an amazing asado for us (all of the food from their land): homemade empanadas, marinated eggplant and tomatoes, goat (a regional specialty), steak, trout, salad...it was a feast. After lunch, they saddled up the horses and we went for a long ride through the mountains. It was breathtaking - we crossed small rivers and road up into the hills. At one point we stopped to visit a cave in the side of the mountain and drink the water which ran down from the Andes. It was sweet and delicious. After 2 1/2 hours, the kids were ready to keep on going, and the adults were ready to keel over (Patsy and Julie were hobbling around for days). Needless to say, we all slept well that night.
The next day was fairly relaxed. That night, the Godiks, Pops and Julie went out for a very laid-back meal to one of Julie and Mark's favorite little restaurants called El Palenque (The Hitching Post). Pops was leaving the next day and it was the perfect end to his visit.
The Godiks stayed for a couple more days, and, unfortunately, Pops missed, by one, our visit to Zeev and Patsy's wine maker, Mauricio Lorca, where Vino Patricia (named after Patsy) is being made. It was so exciting. We saw the barrels and the cement tanks where Vino Patricia from this year and last year's harvest is fermenting. And then we had the wine tasting. How wonderful it was to taste the wine from the grapes growing in the finca....and it was delicious! By September, Gauchos will be selling two Vino Patricia Malbecs from last year's harvest. We all felt so proud and happy (see the picture of Patsy tasting her wine).
It was a wonderful visit. At the end, Patsy and Julie did get a little time together which was lovely, but is never enough. After they left, Julie, in particular, felt sad already missing her family and knowing that this was the beginning of the end of our time in Mendoza.
So, have the girls developed a taste for wine yet? :) We miss you so much! Your adventures sound wonderful. Take care of yourselves. Those of us on this continent can't wait to have you back.
ReplyDeleteLove, Andrea