Mendoza Local Customs

2 more images

You'll see the old custom of growing a rose bush at the end of a row of vines in places in Mendoza. White roses at the end of Sauvignon Blanc, Torrontes, Chardonnays and the other whites, red roses for Malbecs and Merlots, Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noirs. Not every row of course - there's far too many for that - but around the cellar door areas and the public parts of the vineyards they make a pretty show. They served a purpose other than simply being pretty though - roses are even more susceptible to mildew than vines and the rose bushes were rather like the canaries in coal mines - they gave a warning to the grower. These days, sulphur sprays keep mildew at bay very effectively, and it's never been a big problem in Mendoza's dry mountain air anyway, but it's a nice tradition and it certainly makes for a few nice photos.

1 more image

With only 7 to 8 inches of rain a year, Mendoza's wine industry survives in a desert due to a system of irrigation first developed by the Huarpe Indians long before the place was colonised by the Spanish in the 16th century. Just as the Indians channelled the runoff from the snow capped peaks into a complex network of irrigation channels to grow their crops of corn and vegetables, the wine growers even today use a complex system of irrigation canals that run though the vineyards to provide their vines with a precisely controlled supply of water that ensures optimum growth and yet protects the grape berries from becoming water-logged and fragile.

The combination of low rainfall, low humidity and high elevation combined with this method of flood irrigation keeps fungi and other agricultural pests at bay, allowing the vineyards to be free of pesticides with many being completely organic. A large, cheap labour market (many itinerate workers come to Mendoza from Bolivia at peak times throughout the year) allows the continuation of labour intensive vineyard practices such as the opening and closing of the individual channels and even hand picking at some vineyards that are long-gone from other wine-growing areas around the world.

Mendoza's wine industry is huge and commercially very successful. By far the greater part of the production is sold to the local market who are both appreciative and discriminating of the local product and some of these wines are very classy indeed, with price tags to match. Wine is a way of life here however, and not everyone can afford to buy the better stuff where overheads of elegant bottling and marketing increase the price way beyond a worker's pocket. There are plenty of people who make their own table wines on their own land and sell what they don't use to anyone who turns up at their gate. 5 litres of rough red may not be your idea of a souvenir of a Mendozan wine tour, but you have to admit, at 7 pesos, it's a bargain. I 'm not sure that you'd want to lay it down for the future though.

2 more images

Do what many locals do: run to the hills!
Mountain towns like Potrerillos, Cacheuta are good choices to avoide the heat in the city. They are located at 70 and 30 km away from the city respectivelly.
Potrerillos is a quiet town now growing thanks to the Potrerillos Damn and Cacheuta, smaller than Potrerillos has the Hotel Termas de Cacheuta with its swimming pools filled with thermal water.
Good and cheap choice to fight the heat wave on the city.

The "Tonada" is a very representative music style of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis. It is usually played by groups of 3 guitars.
The lyrics of the tonada are very poetic and usually talk about love to a woman, love to the own land or about enjoying life with friends.
The "cogollo" the part of the tonada in which the singer/s dedicate the song to someone, when the song finishes, that "someone" must pay the tonaderos with a glass of wine and the rest of the public can do the same. Not to pay a tonada or not to accept the glass of wine is considered really really impolite. I've seen many tonaderos finishing their shows just for not being "paid"

What I found really amazing in Mendoza (and this is for the entire Argentina as I understood)) is that if you want to dine out you have to do it after 9 p.m. Go out with your friends, with your family and you can share wonderful moments in a nice environment. 12 a.m. can sound as a very late hour in other countries, but here the streets are so full of life, with people of all ages just hanging around and having a good time.

Mendoza is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Argentina, and I now see why! Having been established by the Spanish almost 450 years ago, there has been lots of time for the shade trees lining it's streets to reach huge proportions. Our tour guide said that the type of tree shown here is called 'platano', which are actually Plane trees, specifically Platanus Acerifolia (a type of Sycamore tree). A very nice-looking choice for shade trees in Mendoza, if I say so myself!

The bark on the trees reminded me a bit of eucalyptus in that it is patchy, but it does not have the 'ragged' look of a eucalyptus. They have an amazing canopy of leaves, fulfilling their main mission of shading the streets. After all, the average summer temperature in Mendoza is near 35 degC (95 degF)! I was pleased to hear that the city keeps a data base on each tree to ensure that it is kept healthy and trimmed as necessary for public safety!

Even when the Spanish first arrived in Mendoza from Chile in 1561, they found an extensive irrigation system developed by the local Huarpe people. This large group of native Americans had realized that, since it rarely rains in Mendoza, they could take advantage of the large snow-melt run-off from the Andes mountains if they organized an irrigation system.

Recognizing a good thing when they saw it, the Spanish further adapted the system, allowing this desert region to sprout with vegetation. Their introduction of various grape varieties led to the development of Argentina's burgeoning wine industry.

The city of Mendoza is characterised by large ditches along both sides of most of it's streets, to funnel any water to where it is most needed. There are also major concrete storm channels passing through the city, sometimes marking the boundary of one area from another. Even though it was mid-summer when we were there, we saw one of these big channels flowing madly with water from somewhere!