Grape picking is the new craze in wine tourism
and people pay good money for the experience. Our wine writer
Nathan Frye goes forth and investigates
Harvest time has descended upon Mendoza and the
area is rife with festivities, full glasses and a plentitude of
activity. The Grapevine has sifted through the chaff to uncover
a special grain of an experience that contains all the finest
elements of Mendoza's growing wine tourism industry; if you are
looking for more than your average winery tour look no further
than Bodega Familia Zuccardi. This popular bodega's wine tourism
program offers the chance to pick grapes, visit a finca, browse
a winery and enjoy sumptuous Argentine cuisine during the course
of a full-day tour - only hedonists need apply! My wife and I
were plucked from our residence at 10am the morning after making
our tour arrangements with Familia Zuccardi. After picking up
some other day-trippers our chauffeured and air-conditioned touring
van headed east from Mendoza for one hour to Zuccardi's Finca
Santa Rosa. Upon arrival our group was greeted with alfajores,
homemade bread and coffee as our tour guide Francisco outfitted
the group each with our own official Zuccardi Harvest 2005 T-shirts.
The cleanliness of our brand new shirts would shortly become a
fond memory as we headed out to where the photosynthetic action
was - the vineyard.
"Only hedonists need apply"
By its very nature the grapevine is a climber, this point was
emphasized at Zuccardi as the group picked grape bunches from
below the 6-foot high traditional pergola-style vine training
systems. As each of us became more comfortable with our 'gancheras'
(picking bucket girdles) and vine clippers, a proliferation of
shrapnel-like purple juice spatter filled the air. Only Santa
Julia herself could save us and she arrived just on time. No sooner
were we exhausted by our 15-minute whirlwind of manual labor (some
of us may have been feigning exhaustion in anticipation of wine)
when our guide Francisco popped the cork on 3 bottles of Zuccardi's
most popular line of wines. Named after winery founder Alberto
Zuccardi's granddaughter Julia, the Santa Julia line of wines
has helped to transform a family name originally synonymous with
innovative vineyard irrigation into one of Argentina's most well
known. After savoring the fruits of the labor of those who had
picked grapes before us we began our half hour trek back toward
Maipu and Bodega Familia Zuccardi.
"Shrapnel-like purple juice
spatter filled the air"
Zuccardi's flagship bodega is big. It is mainly
here that the company annually crafts over 16 million liters of
wine for consumption by elated consumers worldwide. Our group
was led on a tour through the bodega that ran the gamut from the
grape bins to the sorting trays and from the wine presses to the
barrel room - throughout our visit there continued the active
fervor of a production team in action. Perhaps the most interesting
part of our brief bodega tour was the experimental production
room filled with tanks full of wine destined for the 'Innovation'
line of Zuccardi wines. Varietals including such rarities as Caladoc
and Ancellota are vinified here in hopes of finding unique grape
varieties to add to Zuccardi's exceptional portfolio. Finally
we were driven through the bountiful estate vineyards toward Zuccardi's
exceptionally attractive restaurant, open 365 days a year. The
restaurant's rich tile, fine woods and manicured grounds gave
a classy and inviting impression as Jose Zuccardi himself briefly
greeted our tour group upon arrival! Our tummies tingled with
anticipation as homemade empanadas, fresh salads and juicy asado
made their way to our table while a wealth of Zuccardi wines filled
our glasses, this was no time to stop and breathe! The quality
of food we enjoyed was excellent; the kitchen's chefs have been
specially trained by Zuccardi to prepare traditional Argentine
dishes specially suited to Zuccardi's bold and flavorful style
of wines. There were no complaints as our satisfied multi-national
tour group laughed, ate and drank the afternoon away.
"This was no time to stop
and breathe"
One of the best parts about visiting wine country
is learning about the people and places behind the wines you enjoy
and Familia Zuccardi has made that experience authentic, fun and
very special. During your time in Mendoza be sure to treat yourself
to this unique type of bodega tour; your wine-drenched tastebuds
will definitely thank you.
