Argentina is the fifth largest wine producing country in the world. And the city of Mendoza itself is the hub of the Argentinean wine industry. The city life and busy plazas are surrounded by thousands of bodegas (wineries) that lie on the outskirts of town with over 350,000 acres of vines. When visiting Mendoza, the tough decision is not whether to visit the bodegas or not, but choosing which bodegas to see.
While traveling through Mendoza I wanted a crash course on the wines, the vineyards, and the history. Renting a car is always an option. But because I was traveling on a budget I signed up for a much thriftier and interactive approach – bikesandwines.
Bikesandwines is a business that a local Argentine started to support himself through school. He started his business with just a handful of bikes, but the popularity of this “tour” has skyrocketed so much in past years that he now has over 70 bikes and helmets. I can assure you that as you pull up to the front of his shop, you will be greeted with a big smile, laughter, and music. The ambiance of the place is contagious and it is a great way to start the day.
Soon after our arrival we were all geared up with our official bright yellow bikes, purple flower helmets, and a small but useful map that outlined our path for the day. It is an independent tour that allows you to go at your own rate through a highly concentrated area of wineries in the Maipú area. In the 12km of the tour there are 6 wineries, a wine museum, a stop where you can purchase different types of olive oil, a delicatessen, and a family owned chocolateria and liquor factory where an extremely friendly woman excitedly shares the history and processes of making her sweets with samples for all.
Because it is an independent tour, we were able to pick and choose where we wanted to go, and how much time we wanted to stay in each place. We continued to lose more and more bikers throughout the day, as they decided to stick around and finish off the day in their wineries of choice. It is nearly impossible to see them all. At the end of the day everyone’s experience had been a little different. Yet we all managed to pedal back to the bikesandwine headquarters without any problems and big grins all around.
What a fun day. If you like wine, like bikes, and would like to have an exciting day to combine the two, make sure to check it out when you are in the Mendoza area.
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8 Comments
sounds great!!! Hope to be there in Dec. ‘07
Biking through this part of wine country is great but make sure you’re steady on two wheels and comfortable sharing a narrow road with speeding trucks, buses, and cars. Not for the faint of heart. There’s also a lot of construction just outside of the bikesandwine HQ. Not for novice cyclists or anyone in bad shape. The bike seats are butt killers too!
This was a brilliant day out - we hired a tandem for extra amusement. I didn’t think it was very demanding and I’m not a cyclist. Make sure you take in the museum as this gives a good grounding to the day and you’re unlikely to get round all the stops if you go at a leisurely pace.
We were told there is only 1 food stop but it turned out that tapas were available in at least one other bodega. Find some friends to go with to make the day more enjoyable.
Perhaps I was unlucky, but we didn’t have time to see half the wineries they announce, and two of them charged for the wine tasting. Their map has one bodega on the wrong place, which caused us to stray a long way from the path and lose a lot of time. By the end of the day I was exhausted and frustrated. If you’re in shape you’ll probably enjoy it. I wasn’t. I thought the van tour, which was only 15 pesos more, was much more enjoyable, and we saw much nicer places.
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While I had a great day touring the wineries in Maipú, I can’t say I was as impressed with Bikesandwine’s service as the author was. When I arrived, the staff at the bikesandwine office consisted of a couple of grumpy argentine teenagers. The free drinks that are promised as part of their service never arrived; the “guided map”(?) that they tout is the same one that they hand out in their brochures in the hostel.
For future travelers, I’d recommend grabbing one of the maps that they place at hostels, catching the #10 bus out to Maipu, and renting a bike from one of the several shops within a couple of blocks of bikesandwine. You’ll get the same experience and save about 20 pesos, which you’ll need for the places that charge for tours and tasting. Either way, I still highly recommend biking to the wineries– much more fun than a tour bus.
I took this tour and it was the most disappointing event in my month stay in Argentina. So poorly organized. I only saw one vineyard on the tour (not until 3pm!) as most were closed (Saturday). And I had to pay for the wine tour in addition to the tour package. It was the biggest waste of money on my trip. However, the organized lunch was the only redeeming value. All other guests on the tour ended the day early with disappointment.