Saturday loomed cloudy but the sun came out and it was 24 by afternoon.
We are off to visit prestigious Montes winery, also in Napa valley and Mendoza, Arg. Our great hostess Sara at the hotel has booked it all for us so we just have to turn up and enjoy! It’s only about half an hour’s drive to the magnificent gravity fed winery and restaurant. The original idea was conceptualized by Douglas Murray, a Chilean with Feng shui and spiritual leanings, which are evident in the gorgeous winery.
Our tour with Nicole is informative and interesting. Each winery treats their produce differently but these people are equally attentive to the gentle treatment of their grapes through the whole process. They are also picking and processing so we have the sounds, smells and activities of harvest before us. It is really interesting to watch the process first hand up close.
Grapes picked today by hand take the elevator to the roof where they are processed and continue their journey by gravity feed to the impressive cellars. Here the premium wines lie in barrels and are lulled by Gregoria’s chants throughout the huge barrel room. It is mesmeric in there. Also on the floor above is an area that has been deemed the best Feng shui location for the chi to flow. A red wall, a Chinese bronze drinking vessel (like the one we have at home!) water flowing over a circular hollow stone, water flowing into the winery front entrance - all to enhance the positive quality of chi here. Feels good.
The tasting room is set aside in glass walls from this room, a beautiful way to enjoy their tasting of 4 nice wines. The big one and most exclusive here - the Tita - is 220,000 Chilean pesos - US$440 - a bottle. The South Korean couple on our English speaking tour (only 6 of us) check out her mother’s request - it’s the Montes Folie (folly?) at US$150 a bottle. Maybe she isn’t going to get that...
Later we retire to the resto where our hotel has booked us in for lunch. We got bumped from yesterday, apparently Mercedes Benz booked out the whole place. It’s a gorgeous resto set in the vineyard with harvest displays of beautiful fruit and veggies all over and a huge fire pit in the centre of the resto where all the good things are cooked. Our table is outside the sun with nothing between us and the vines. The service and food are prefect, we order 3 appies, smoked salmon, beef tartare and the Chilean speciality empanada stuffed with filet. All gorgeous with 4 different home made breads and hummus. After I order the roasted honey figs with fig leaf ice cream. Amazing. All washed down with a glass of their sparkling chard/Pinot noir and a glass of cab.sauv. A true standout of this trip.
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