Norton Winery

The internet has been unreliable .....so here are some up dates.

Were now back at the apartment/hotel in Mendoza where we met Annie.

Annie is from Calgary and because of a number of life events has come to Mendoza for three months. She is 57 and staying at our same hotel/apartment and has been good company for us.
We met her this morning (Saturday) and are off to do the vineyards south of Mendoza. Rowena and another girl ,Aleania, joined us for the train ride to the Uco area of Mendoza. Once off the train we hailed down a taxi and all five of us squeezed into this clown car of a cab for about a 20 minute ride to the Norton Winery. The tour was one of the best tours I have ever had. Our guide spoke English and knew the history of the region, the politics, the science of wine making and loved wine. The wine of Argentina use to be really poor and unregulated. People were becoming blind and dying from it because they'd add ethyl alcohol to it. It also was the only thing to drink until the sixties. It even flowed in the fountains it was so abundant. Then coke a cola and beer were introduced to Argentina. The government also started regulating the product. Now it's top export is Malbec wine. The guide took us out to the vineyard and showed us how the different leaves are the different varieties, how they protect against frost and hail and how the height of the vine makes a difference in the quality and quantity of the grapes. The area is famous for hail storms so they seed the clouds by plane and mortar shots..........and of course there was the tastings. During the tour we had about six different types of wines. Our guide explained what to look for in the tastings and what made a good wine.  It was all good. The tour was just the five of us and three girls, in their thirties from New Zealand who were taking a year to travel the world. They were very interesting and great fun.