Day 119 - Wine Country

Wine Country

I was in a new city.  I couldn’t stay in bed and sleep, even though I had not had a good eight hours of sleep.  I hurried through a shower, an amazing shower, I might add, and went to the top floor to eat a quick bite of food.  I wanted to go for a walk, because at 8:30, I had reservations for a wine tour.

I didn’t go far.  I walked down Belgrano Street for about four blocks, only to discover that it is full of dozens of almost identical butcher shops, many with grills going full blast, though as early as it was, few had put meat on yet.  In an upcoming blog I am going to write about the Bolivian tendency to put dozens of shops selling the same exact thing side-by-side.  I don’t quite get it.  There was a girl making empanadas by hand.  They smelled so good, I vowed I would go back the next morning to have some for breakfast.  Sadly, she took Sunday off.

I got back in time for my tour.  They arrived at 8:30 to pick me up from the hotel.  There was another young man from my hotel, Cesar, who went on the tour.  He was a quiet young man, in town learning more about banking.  When he took off his jacket, his arms were covered in tattoos.  There were two French girls, both very pretty, on the tour but talked too loudly when the guide talked.  I have always been told Americans were brash.  There are other nationalities ththat are too.  There were two young Bolivian couples; one of the ladies did not like wine very much.  There was a Bolivian man in his forties who kept wondering off from the group.  And there was a couple in their 60s or 70s from Cochabamba.  I met them again later, only to discover that they were relatives of my friends, Sandra and Andrea.

Our first stop was Campos de Solano, where we had a short tour of the winery.  In both the winery tours it was loud and being taller than most, I stood at the back.  So I didn’t understand more than about half of what was taught about wines.

We did have a wine tasting though.  That I understood well.  We were served a tinto vino, red wine, and were told how it should be handled.  First, reds should be allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before drinking.  If in more of a hurry, you can swirl the wine in the goblet to warm it up.  When you first drink the wine, tilt it about 90◦ to allow the flavors and colors to separate.  Take a deep sniff of the wine, then sip it, to allow the flavors to sink in.

You might be wondering if I drink a lot of wine and the answer is no.  I do drink some, usually if I am offered at someone’s house.  I don’t think this entire year of 2016 I have drunk a full bottle of wine, including what we had on the tour.

With the wine, we had cheese, Spanish ham (which is like butter), and olives.

Our guide, Estephany

Next we went to the Casa Real where they make Singani, a very strong wine.  We passed around a cup of Singani and were taught the proper way to drink it.  First you offer it to your neighbor by saying “te invito” (I invite you to drink).  Your neighbor says, “salud” (to your health).  Then you drink just a sip.  A sip was more than enough!  It is fiery strong.  They gave us a drink of Singani mixed with Canada Dry after that.  About 90% Canada Dry.  Even so, that was enough wine for me for the day.  Little did I know!

We drove through the mountains after that, stopping at a place called La Angostura, where the Tarija River narrows in some canyons.  The water is collected here to be used by the surrounding vineyards.  Tarija is very dry, being on the western side of the Andes.  The surrounding land reminds me of the hills on I-20 as you are approaching Abilene, Texas. 

We next stopped at the Casa Vieja.  It was aptly named.  Vieja means old.  It looked like a very old house, maybe 200 years old.  There was a woman making pancakes on a grill over an open fire.  The smoke made it smell delicious.  It cost only 5 Bs, less than $1, and I was hungry.  There was too much for one person, so I shared it with Cesar.  The Casa Vieja has a restaurant with an incredible view of the valley below.  We did not eat there, but the next time I come to Tarija, I will most definitely eat a meal there.

The reason we stopped at the Casa Vieja was for a ten-wine tasting.  I was ready to be done with wine for the day, or month, for that matter, but I was there to experience all I could, so I did it anyway.  The way they did it was not the most salubrious.  The guide told us about a wine and handed it to the first person, who passed it to the next, around till all twenty of us had a drink.  I was number three, so I wasn’t sharing that many germs. 

The next time I think I will pass on the wine tasting.