Goats and blackouts and floods, oh my

On the drive back to Mendoza from Salta, through red mountains and cactus-lined streams, we stopped overnight in Villa Union, a tiny town in the San Jose valley that produces some wine and sometimes loses electricity.

















As soon as we got into town we noticed this sign in front of a restaurant, and I said, free goat? But it means all-you-can-eat goat. So we knew what we were having for dinner. AC on in the hotel and all electricity apparently working, we went to dinner and ordered the chivito libre with a salad and a bottle of locally made wine called Syros Syrah 2009. The wine was very fruity, young and simple, with plum, raspberry, and light oak. The goat was simple as well but tasted very fresh and just about perfect with a little lemon juice (from that classic green bottle) and salt. The waiter also brought us a glass of the Syros Torrontes 2009, which was surprisingly sweet and lacking acidity, but we imagined it was intended to be like this, juicy with some residual sugar and no acidification, unlike most wines in the area (it's often too hot to hold onto the natural acidity during the grapes' ripening).

After 4 plates of goat the lights went out and the fans went off. You can't imagine such darkness or such heat. The waiter came over and offered us a candle. We weren't quite done eating, but after a Junebug kept diving for my plate I was ready to quit. We had the waiter clear the plates, but then I remembered our goal was 6 plates and we were still hungry after 4, so we decided to continue the effort. We ordered another round and got through it, but the heat got the best of us and we called it a night after the 5th plate. We got flan to go and ate it back at the hotel with a 2007 late harvest Torrontes that we'd picked up in Cafayate at San Pedro de Yacochuya. It was surprisingly Sherry-like, with pronounced alcohol, a nutty creaminess, and sweet vanilla and orange blossom. Not what we expected, but we liked it!

  



San Pedro de Yacochuya's Coquena line of wines is named for the supernatural protector of the vicuñas, animals of the camel family that are native to the Andes and are prized for their fine but rare wool. Coquena is a little man dressed in white who travels at night driving large herds of vicuña. He punishes those who wantonly kill these animals.

Thankfully the electricity was still working at the hotel and the AC was still going. We didn't lose it until the next morning around 8am during a thunderstorm that flooded the town and sent us packing - but not until after visiting 3 gas stations before finding one with enough power to pump gas.

Viva Villa Union!