After a pretty tough and tiring day yesterday, today has been a pleasure. A 9.30 am start and first stop was the San Rafael race circuit where we did a quick sprint. This would have gone quite well had we not had to stop to decide which way to go through some cones then we forgot to stop on a red line just before the finish which incurred a 10 second penalty. Nevertheless we were only a few seconds off the fastest time.
Then it was onwards across the Valle de Uco to the Salentein Estate Winery where we were given a guided tour of their vineyards and production facilities. Salentein is one of the most important wine producers and is owned by a 79 year old Dutchman who made his money importing Mercedes, Porsche and Audi cars into Holland, his family now produce 10,000,000 bottles of wine every year. All the buildings were state of the art and there was a contemporary art gallery housing a private collection, all highly impressive. After the tour we were invited for something to eat a few miles away on the other side of the estate. They had laid on a fantastic spread with a wine tasting and canapés on the terrace, then a 3 course gala lunch outside in the sunshine. The food, wine and location were exceptional and we would highly recommend Salentein Malbec to all our readers!
After a short argument over who should drive we set off the 100 kms to our hotel in Mendoza. The Mendoza region is very opulent by comparison to some of the poorer areas we have been through and produces around 2/3 of the entire Argentine wine production. The landscape is similar to parts of France. The city itself is quite cosmopolitan and has a good atmosphere. We are staying in the Park Hyett Hotel which is very flash, our room is huge and the bathroom has two entrances!!
This sounds more like your kind of place. You seem to be managing to keep up a good pace and position. Garth
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