Cafayate

The Vasija Secreta vineyards - red grapes in fore ground

In Bodega Nanni - chilled Torrontes 

WINE country ! We are in Cafayate (pronounced ca-fa-cha-té) in Argentina. We were planning to come to this city 180km south of Salta with a car rental but unfortunately this did not happen. So we took a 4-hour bus down there. When we got to town we immediately proceeded to some serious wine tasting in the town bodegas (wine cellars).

Cafayate is a very small town which lives for its vineyards and it’s excellent wines. The biggest production of red wine are from Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Tannat is the Argentinian favourite and excellent to accompany asados (BBQs). There is also a little Syrah and Merlot. 

Idyllic place to have lunch

Wine in Cafayate are stored in 1m60 high cellars overground

The white “cépage” is almost exclusively Torrontes: a pure Argentinian grape. There is a little Semillon blanc too. The white wine here is fresh, crisp and has a lot of citrus flavours to it, perfect to have as aperitif or to accompany a cold salad during the hot days here. Unfortunately, none of the white wine in Cafayate ever mature in wooden casks which would have given them a more complex palate and peaty flavours. But never mind. They also make a delicious desert wine with a late harvest Torrontes. It is amazing. I’m sorry could not stock up on wine here.

Preparing the Asado. 

Talking the night away with good food, wine and company

We nevertheless enjoyed them (a lot) while we were here. We bought a few bottles ranging from 28 Pesos (4,50€) to 40 Pesos (6€) and bought some excellent fillet and ribs to have a great BBQ at the hostel we stayed (Backpackers). We had dinner with Monty whom we met in the bus on the way to here, Charmaine of course, Carsten a German and two other Argentinians, Ignacio and Federico, travelling in their country on vacation. We had an excellent evening when we could quiz the locals about football, economy, politics and in particular the recent presidential elections that saw Cristina Hirshner being re-elected directly in the first round with 55% of the votes.

The Romanian flag in plastic cups!

We're all ears while Mariel explains

The following day we decided to go get some real goat cheese from the cheese farm 2km away from our hostel. One of the major wine producers of Cafayate (Domingo Hermanos) decided that since cheese was a good complement to wine, they would start producing their own! So now they have 450 goats from Swiss, English and South African origins and they produce about 50kg of cheese a day. That's still very artisanal and the quality and the taste is there to prove it. We paid 20 Pesos for our tour and Mariel our host expertly guided us through the different stages of cheese making. Incredible fact: there is a race of Swiss goats whose males have got utters besides their testicles and they produce 2.5 litres of milk / day. So the phrase "Dilé Bouk" has all it's meaning and I think we all owe appologies to Nishal for all these years of bashing.  

That afternoon we went to the Quebrada de las Conchas for some amazing scenery. I’m sorry that my picture taking skills are not better because I do not do justice to the sites. This is a photographer’s paradise. There are 50km of amazing scenery and we visited 6 of the main sites. Got back to town around 7pm, procured ourselves a few extra bottles of wine a had a quiet dinner at home.

The three colour mountain - oxidised ores

The "Amphitheatre"

We are relieved to be there

The next day we did something crazy: we did not go wine tasting!!! But rather we rented bikes and rode the 5km to the foot of the hills we intended to cross. We left our mounts in the sure hands of a lady selling fruits  and continued on our 6 hours trek to the waterfalls.

We did not hire a guide as there were none at the start of the trek but in retrospect that was a bad idea. We got lost so many times and crossed places we should not have a few times. We climbed rocks and dodged poisonous prickles but eventually made it to the waterfalls and back … safely. 

2nd Waterfall of the day

Yummy - I had Rice and Chicken

After having a long warm shower we went out have a meal in small restaurant recommended by our landlords where the locals congregate to watch football while eating excellent home made delicacies. After these few relaxing days in Cafayate, we return to Salta to pick up some stuff we left there and we will proceed to Córdoba.

More pictures on Cayafate

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