At 8pm (9pm in Summer) the attractive Bormida & Yanzon designed bar at the Park Hyatt fills up with a mixture of locals and expats as waiters parade around with an array of tapas and you can try a couple glasses of wine. Last Thursday Urraca was the winery of choice and we tried their Malbec 2008 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. It is always interesting to try slightly more aged wines in Argentina (and 4 years counts as good aging here) and although they still delivered on fruit there was a nice toned down finesse to the wines.

Although the menu for the evening showed four tapas, there was a nice surprise addition of Smoked Salmon with Crème Freche on Scones. The other tapas included an Asian inspired Chicken Skewer; soft Bruschetta with Tapenade and generous portions of Proscuitto; juicy fried Meat Empanadas; and a warming Veal Cassarole.

For $80pesos, this works out as a great deal with enough food and wine to count as a dinner and a guaranteed good night out in Mendoza, 52 Thursdays of the year.

 Vinos y Tapas at The Vines in The Park Hyatt is every Thursday from 8pm during the winter months, and 9pm during the Summer months. During the Summer it is recommended to reserve. The Vines Wine Bar & Vinoteca, Park Hyatt Mendoza, Chile 1124

 



Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza who is a devout fan of tapas, and of wine.