Exploring Cafayate with John
Unfortunately, with website updates, etc… we have lost our images from this specific post, but have included some from our stay at Finca el Retiro. Still an amazing place and experience.
During Our Short, but Memorable Stay in Cafayate, we met a very kind ex-pat by the name of John who has fallen so deeply in love with this little wine town that he packed up his life and made the big move after 7 years of back and forth. He is so passionate about the new home that he offered to take us around and show us his highlights reel.
So following our tasting experience at El Porvenir winery John picked us up out front and we were on our way, first stop was La Estancia de Cafayate where John purchased a plot of land to spend the rest of his life, and after our tour, we understood why. Only a 5-minute drive from the center square of Cafayate this estate has a state-of-the-art gym, spa facilities, restaurant, 18-hole golf course and so much more with beautiful 360-degree views of the mountains and vineyards. Additionally, on the property is the famed Grace Hotel with another amazing restaurant and bar along with a cigar room.
After our first tour, we hopped back into his car and took off to Paittelli Vineyards where with no small investment they built an amazing vineyard on the hillside with full wine manufacturing facilities and a beautiful restaurant with picture-perfect views of the town. Driving through the vast grape vines to get to the main building really makes you appreciate the work that goes into something like this and into the full process that is involved to bring you each wonderful bottle of wine.
Our final stop before dinner was the Patios de Cafayate wine hotel where we took a tour of the grounds, which not only have an amazing pool area but also a great little garden and farm where they produce everything for their farm-to-table restaurant. With a bit more time you would have found us lounging on one of the poolside beds however it was time for some drinks and dinner and we had somewhere to be.
Finally, it was time for dinner and this evening we found our way to the newest restaurant in town that we had been trying to dine at since we arrived, Bad Brothers Wine Experience. Everyone we met told us this was the place to be and although dinner the first night at Pacha Resto Bar stands as the best meal in Cafayate it had some stiff competition here. John seemed to know everyone in the place, as it turns out almost all the people in the venue live in the same estate community as John. The owners were very gracious hosts and throughout the evening kept coming over to make sure everything was perfect and to swap travel stories.
Here we got to know John a little better as we were sitting down over a few bottles of the delicious Bad Brothers MaTaCa Blend (amazing) along with a cheese and meat plate appetizer. 3 hours later, we were done with dinner, cocktails, and a few bottles of wine so John took us back to Finca el Retiro to spend our final evening before starting the next journey further south to Mendoza.
Follow our journey in real-time on the Beautiful Booze Facebook and Instagram.
