Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
Mendoza (18km/11 miles).
introduced fine winemaking to the Ameri-
cas. Now his great-grandson is concen-
trating on making high-quality boutique
wines—earthquakes notwithstanding.
L
$$
Le Terrada Suites,
Calle Terrada
1668, Perdriel, Lujan de Cuyo (
&
54/261/
154-31136;
www.terradasuites.com). $$
Club Tapiz,
Ruta 60, Lujan de Cuyo (
&
54/
11/4005-0050;
www.tapiz.com.ar).
Bodega Benegas Lynch,
Carril Ardoz
and Ruta 60, Lujan de Cuyo (
&
54/261/496-
0794;
www.bodegabenegas.com).
South America
352
Familia Schroeder
Dungeons & Dragons
Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina
The winery Familia Schroeder has a lot of
things going for it. For one thing, it is in
Argentina, one of the rising stars of wine-
making in the New World. This nation has
been making wine for 200 years, and lots
of it—it's the sixth biggest producer in the
world. Until the 1990s, however, most of it
was drunk by porteños (residents of Bue-
nos Aires), most of whom are of Mediter-
ranean background and partial to a drop
of
vino
. Now that Argentine wineries are
exporting their excellent-value wines,
booming sales are being led by a grape
called Malbec, the country's signature
varietal.
But Familia Schroeder isn't just in Argen-
tina, it's in Patagonia—a romantic name
that conjures up images of desolate
beauty, glaciers, Alpine lakes and forests,
and end-of-the-world remoteness. Just to
place the name on a wine label invites you
to try it. The winery is in fact a long way
from the southern toe of Argentina, being
halfway up this long wedge-shaped coun-
try, near the northern Patagonian city of
Neuquen. But the landscape does not dis-
appoint. The winery is set on an austere,
windy plain in a brand-new winemaking
region called San Patricio del Chañar. The
ice-tipped Andes tower far in the distance,
acting as a huge umbrella that shelters the
land from any coastal dampness. Dry air
equals healthy grapes, though they are
watered well by melted snow, carried by
pipe to each individual plant in a system
known as drip irrigation.
Familia Schroeder suits its surround-
ings. A stark gray monolith, snuggled into
the side of a slope, hides five stories of
tanks, barrels, and cellars designed with a
gravity system that ensures the juice
requires little pumping. The elegant win-
ery restaurant serves gourmet food with a
big sky view.
Yet it is in the cellar that the winery
hides its prize possession. Sure, there are
stacks of Malbec and Chardonnay stored
amid immaculate brick-lined corridors with
designer spot lighting. There's Schroed-
er's Pinot Noir, reputedly the finest in
South America. Yet what makes visitors
gasp is a simple pile of bones: Embedded
in the walls are 75-million-year-old dino-
saur fossils, dug up by accident when the
winery was planting its first vineyards.
They're some of the oldest dinosaur fossils
in the world, commemorated in the name
of Schroeder's top wines, Saurus.
You suddenly realize why Familia
Schroeder is different from every other
winery. They may all have dungeons, but
no others have dragons.
Familia Schroeder,
Calle 7 Norte, San
Patricio del Chañar, Neuquén (
&
54/299/
489-9600;
www.saurus.com.ar).
