Wine Harvest Time (Cosecha)

Written by: April

The house we rent is located a bit out of town, surrounded by vineyards and fields. As I sit in this little piece of heaven with the wind blowing through the large trees, I watch tractor load after tractor load of grapes passing by. It’s harvest time. This means that the little juicy succulent fruit will now be picked either by machine or simply by hand, tractored off to their respective bodegas and turned in to the most enjoyable wine. I had the pleasure of visiting a few bodegas (wineries) last week while my sister was visiting from Colorado. Sad really that we’ve been here 10 months and I had only taken one tour of the Domingo Hermanos Bodega.

Last week we attempted to go to 7 wineries, but because of the hours of the tours and our limited time, we only made it to two. Although, they were certainly interesting. Our first bodega was Finca de las Nubes, or Bodega Jose L. Mounier. I had heard they had some food service where you could get a tabla of meat and cheeses, sit out on the lawn, enjoy a bottle of wine and an appetizer. They have a fantastic location, near the Divisidero where you can continue up and go for a nice hike along the Rio Colorado up to some falls. I wasn’t disappointed by the view, it was gorgeous. They are tucked along side a mountain with an excellent view of the valley and Cafayate. A truly wonderful place to enjoy a bottle of wine! We were greeted by a woman that took us through the entire operation. She was an excellent guide, educating us, not only on the winery itself but wine production in the valley and wine in general. The operation is a small one with only about 25 hectares. The tour took about an hour and we tasted all the wines except for the reserves.

I truly enjoyed it, but since my sister doesn’t speak much spanish, it was a bit of a struggle for her, as we didn’t get any breaks so I could translate it back to her. I know it is difficult to have tours in all languages that come this way but it was a long tour to not understand a word. Even though she didn’t understand, she had a great time tasting the wines and sitting in the tasting room with a gorgeous view of the valley. The most exciting part of Finca de las Nubes, is they include the public in their harvest. On March 14, 2009, we all start at 8:00 a.m. to help pick grapes and enjoy the process in hand. For all of the hard work that people come from all sides of the world to Cafayate, especifically for, they have wine, asada and a day of fun! We have decided to take a break in our hectic lives with some friends and enjoy this rare opportunity! If you find yourself in the area on March 14th, I would recommend doing the same!