We would like to welcome Laura Yofe to The Vines of Mendoza blog. She operates Southernmost, a high end "tailor-made" travel agency that offers the best of Argentina to visitors. Laura has the bird's eye view of the tourism industry here in Mendoza, so check back frequently for her insights, stories and tips to navigate this burgeoning wine region that she will be sharing with The Vines. (And by the way my favorite ice cream, or helado, is mint chip and tramontana, just in case you were wondering)

Insider’s Mendoza: our best kept secret- helados

By Laura Yofe


What would you do on any given afternoon in Mendoza? Yes, wine tasting is one of the options, but if you want to try the option most of us locals would choose keep on reading. Believe it or not, ice creams can be more popular than wines among those of us who live in Mendoza, you know what they say “the shoemaker’s son always goes barefoot”.

But just try to picture this: a mouthful of dulce de leche and chocolate chips. Or the flavors of almonds mixed up in a creamy dark chocolate. Or the velvet smoothness of blueberries mousse. And why not the fresh acidity of lemon cream… all that lingering in your palate. Who can resist that festival of flavors and textures?

If you really want to get the feeling of Mendoza don’t dare miss our ice creams. There are different ways of approaching the experience: 1) stop at an Ice Cream store for a “barquillo”, take a sit, enjoy your ice cream and see people go by, 2) order it for dessert at the restaurant or 3) after a long day visiting wineries, take a bath, relax and order a kilo of mixed tastes (most of the ice cream stores have delivery services), that is always my favorite way of closing a day!
Must-see / Must-do:
•    Down-town Mendoza: Soppelsa Ice Creams at Belgrano and Emilio Civit avenue
•    Godoy Cruz area: Freddo Ice Creams at Palmares
•    La Puntilla area: Alfredo Ice Cremas on Ugarte Street
•    Chacras de Coria: Helados de Chacras in the corner of Darragueira and Periodistas Mendocinos
•    Always go for Dulce de leche granizado!
•    Blueberries mousse at Freddo: yummy!
•    Crema Florencia at Alfredo is a must!
•    The best lemon mousse can always be found at Soppelsa!

So now you know, include ice-creams in your next to-do list when visiting us. Trust me, you won’t regret it!