We made our third trip to the Valle with Chris Gluck and the Wine Vault crowd. This one was excellent as usual, but it took a lot out of me. You’ve got to have an iron constitution (mostly liver) to visit four wineries every day for three days.

We had superb pairings of wine and food. The food is always the surprise in the Valle – there’s a restaurant culture there that’s as good as anything in the States or Europe – it’s just smaller and found out on dusty roads in the middle of nowhere. Our best stops this week were:

• Lechuza for a gnoshing walkaround dinner, supplied partly by Laja.
• Piojan Vineyards, a great new find for us. Great wine, 10-year aged balsamic and a chocolate sausage (really).
• Clos Tres Cantos, the pyramid winery. Great vibe, interesting people and really good wine. We bought one of our two allotted bottles there.
• A superb dinner at La Lomita.
• A memorable final dinner at Fauna.

• A fun stop at my favorite microbrewery, Agua Mala.

Our residence in the Valle at El Cielo Villas was first class. Comfortable, large, impeccable landscaping and situated very conveniently on the new road in the Valle center.

It was a great few days with great friends, but we were really happy to be home. Time for some normal life.