VOM has two locations in Gran Mendoza. First, they have a dedicated tasting facility (really a small house near the Park Hyatt) which you can drop into during the week (except Sunday's) to purchase 'flights' or by the glass. They offer over 40 different small producers on their list along with some of the bigger names. And you can join their wine club too which gets you periodic shipments of wines from the local producers. The second, is a vinoteca within the Park Hyatt which you can purchase by the bottle to drink onsite or take home. However, the primary focus is to provide an avenue for tourists (primarily Americans) to purchase wines to ship home. VOM has a distribution business in the US which enables them to get the wine to you at standard US shipping rates and with no customs duties, etc.
Now VOM is a much bigger enterprise than just tasting rooms and retailing. Their primary gig is to sell you land in Mendoza which they will help manage and cultivate for you. I had a very preliminary chat with the guys who run this business and it looks like the current rate is $50k per acre with a 3-5 acre plot minimum. They own close to 1,000 acres and are building a gated community with all the bells and whistles. For more on this, please visit their website.
On our first day we stopped by the tasting room to check things out. It was a hot day in the city so we opted for a flight of the white wines. We tasted six whites for a relatively nominal fee of $15 per person. No pictures on this one but below are our notes:
Las Perdices Pinot Gris 2009 - Crisp and acidic.
Mounier Torrontes 2009 - Subtle moscato taste. Well balanced.
Mairena Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - Grassy. Green on the nose but not on the palate.
Lorca Poetico Viognier 2008 - More acidic than a CA Viognier and not as creamy.
Bressia Lagrima Canela 2007 - This was a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Semillon. Think baked pineapple and a strong vanilla flavor.
Pulenta Estate Chardonnay 2007 - Do not confuse this as a Carlos Pulenta wine. This is from a different producer. Good balance of oak and steel.
Also, we visited the vinoteca at the Park Hyatt on the last Sunday before we left. This was a bit of an odd experience. The vinoteca is tucked away in the back of the hotel so without asking you don't find it and end up on the front terrace or in the bar lounge of the hotel. Once we made our way to the vinoteca, we expected to have a similar experience as the tasting room. Not even close! As I noted in the second paragraph, the focus of the vinoteca is an avenue to purchase and ship wines. They only offer a couple of wines by the glass or you can purchase by the bottle from their extensive list. It worked out just fine as we ended up with a terrific blend from a small winery near Tupungato (Uco Valley), Bodega La Azul.
Gran Reserva 2004 - This is a blend of Malbec (65%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (35%). A very good wine that took over an hour to open up. Well balanced and good structure. We would rank this as the #2 blend of the Mendoza trip for us. Price in Gran Mendoza was great at USD42. However, I have not seen it cheaper than USD66 in the US (Ironically, from the VOM website). This wine could last in the cellar for another 5 years without much fanfare. So QPR is High if you get it around USD45. QPR would be Mid if you can only find it at USD65.
Recap:
Proprietor
Vines of Mendoza - Retail, tasting, vineyards, and more... MUST VISIT (Tasting Room) when staying in Gran Mendoza, Wine Club, US Shipping and US Rates
Contact
www.winesofmendoza.com
