Mendoza: Wine, Weird Vibes, and a Whole Lot of Dust
okay, so mendoza. it’s…a lot. i’m a freelance photographer, and honestly, i usually chase light, not vineyards, but a friend of a friend said the sunsets here were unreal. they weren’t wrong, but getting to the sunsets? that’s a whole other story.
first off, the air. it’s…dry. like, aggressively dry. i just checked and it’s hovering around twenty-five degrees, but it feels like someone’s constantly blowing a hairdryer on your face. humidity’s practically nonexistent, which is great if you hate sweat, terrible if you like, you know, not feeling like a raisin. the pressure’s a bit wonky too, feels like my ears are constantly trying to adjust.
spent most of yesterday wandering around the *plaza independencia. it’s pretty, i guess, in a colonial-era-slightly-faded-glory kind of way. there’s a fountain, a bunch of pigeons, and a lot of people just…existing. overheard someone complaining about the price of empanadas - apparently, inflation is hitting hard. someone told me that the best empanadas are actually from a tiny place called “La Vecindad” but you have to know someone to get in. Check out TripAdvisor for more local eats.
“apparently, the wine tours are a total tourist trap. like, you spend half the day on a bus and the other half being aggressively upsold overpriced bottles.”
that was from a guy i met at a bodega. i did the wine tour thing anyway, because, well, mendoza. it was crowded, and the wine snobbery was real, but honestly? the malbec was good. really good. i’m not a wine expert, but i know what tastes nice, and this tasted nice. i think i saw a review on Yelp about a smaller, family-run bodega that’s supposed to be way more authentic. might check that out tomorrow.
my neighbors are…interesting. they seem to spend a lot of time yelling at each other across balconies, which is honestly more entertaining than any tv show. if you get bored, the Andes mountains are just a short bus ride away, and i’ve heard the hiking is incredible. i’m not much of a hiker, but i appreciate a good view.
“don’t trust the street vendors selling alpaca sweaters. they’re mostly acrylic.”
that’s what the woman at the hostel* told me. she seemed very passionate about the authenticity of alpaca wool. i haven’t bought a sweater yet, but i’ll keep that in mind. i did find a cool vintage shop though, full of dusty treasures. This local forum has some recommendations.
overall? mendoza is…messy. it’s not polished or perfect, but it’s real. it’s dusty, it’s loud, and it smells faintly of wine and exhaust fumes. and honestly? i’m kind of digging it. i’m thinking of staying a few extra days. maybe i’ll even try that hiking thing. or maybe i’ll just find another bodega and drink more malbec. who knows? that’s the beauty of it, right? Here's a guide to Mendoza's wine regions.