Good wine, great tapas in Quito, Ecuador!



Mrs. Wine Guy at the corner of
Regina Victoria and Marshal Foch in Quito,
location of one of our favorite Ecuadorian wine bars.

As we departured Ecuador for our return to the U.S., I spent a couple of days with fetching Mrs. Wine Guy in the capital city of Quito.  It was in the Mariscal sector of new town that we discovered the Latitud Tapas and Wine Bar.  One of the features of this establishment is an assortment of price fixe selections that offer unlimited Spanish tapas accompanied by unlimited glasses of wine.  The variation in the prices resulted from the list of wines that qualified for your selection during your meal.  We opted for a mid range price that featured a number of reserve selections of wine from the Concha y Toro winery in Chile.   This brand is one of the most popular in Ecuador and throughout Latin America mostly due to the affordable quality of the wines they produce.  It is a brand that will be familiar to many consumers in the U.S. as well and for the same reason.  Our wine selection began with a reserve Carmenere and then progressed to a reserve select vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.


Concha y Toro is a featured wine brand
at the Latitud Tapas and Wine Bar!

 As for the tapas, I can hardly begin to describe the variety of meat, vegetable and cheese delights that kept crossing our table.  It seemed those delightful little plates of delicious delicacies would continue to impress and amaze us. Only one platter out of the score or more that we tried failed to elicit an audible WOW and it wasn't bad at all...just not something you would normally find in an iron chef competition.  Several of our platters fell into that category. We simply stopped counting when we were well past the dozen mark of different, appetizing selections. They continued to come until our capacity to consume this assortment of Spanish delights had been sorely tested. We pushed that limit slightly higher when we requested a revisit to one or two of our favorites to enjoy with our final glass of wine (we lost count on those as well...don't drive if you visit this place!).   We left wishing we could return for one more evening just to discover if we exhausted the kitchen staff's ability to wow and impress us.  It will definitely be a must stop for us on any return trip to Quito!  We can't wait to try their authentic Spanish paella!





Latitud Tapas and Wine Bar in Quito

If you're in Quito, you'll want to explore this delighful neighborhood of  restaurants, night spots, hostels and shops. Most cab drivers will be familiar with the nearby main traffic arteries of Calle Colon y Avenida Amazonas. 
If you wander into Latitud,  you'll also get to enjoy some good wine with quality food.


  Salute!

A Little Spot Of Wine In Cuenca, Ecuador

Mr. & Mrs. Wine Guy

The fetching Mrs. Wine Guy and I recently returned from a two month stay in Ecuador.  Ecuador is a beautiful, diverse and delightful country.  It, however, is sometimes a challenge to find a proper venue to enjoy a nice glass of wine.  Fortunately, The Wine Guy is persistant in his persuit and we now have a few regular venues in both Quito and Cuenca that we will enjoy upon our return.   (Ecuador is now our chosen target for retirement living....Grapevine readers wanting to learn more about that venture in our life may want to visit www.togetherontheroadoflife.blogspot.com).

One relaxing venue for us was the Brujas (Witches) Cafe and Bar located along the Rio Tomebamba just adjacent to the historico centro in Ecuador's third largest city, Cuenca.  The high bluff known as the El Barranco insulates the noise of the bustling centro, allowing the rippling water of Rio Tomebamba to provide a backgound of soothing sound in a very scenic setting.  A platform alongside the pathway that accesses the Brujas overlooks the gurling waters and greenbelt and provides a wonderfully staged venue to enjoy appetizers and a glass of wine. We did so on a perfectly beautiful Ecuadorian afternoon and were delighted that we had somewhat impusively decided to try this spot.

It didn't hurt at all that the by the glass or carafe house wine is a little better than the typical Ecuadorian norm.  The house wine here is Concha y Toro and they uniquely will let you choose the varietal.  (Sometimes your house wine choices are simply blanco (white) or tinto (red).  I've often gotten a simple perplexed shrug when I've inquired of a waiter as to whether the house vino tinto is a cabernet, merlot or carmenere  (typically, in Ecuador, it is probably 1 of these 3). I guess it depends on the inventory or perhaps what is open and viable in the back?

In any case, the service and accommodation at Brujas was a step above that.  The fetching Mrs. Wine Guy and I shared appetizer plates of cheese quesadillas and cooked mushrooms along with glasses of Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon.  Perched under shady umbrellas to help protect us from the high UV count (Cuenca's elevation above 8,000 ft makes for intense sunshine) and with a refreshing breeze wafting across the cool waters, we enjoyed a leisurely sojurn and a delightful afternoon.   This will become a regular spot in Cuenca for us to enjoy wine as it's meant to be enjoyed.








We hope you have the opportunity some day to enjoy a glass along the Rio Tomebamba, as well.  Salute!


Update note:   this blog was originally published in August of 2011.  Unfortunately, the Brujas location along the Tomebamba closed in 2012.   While there are other spots to enjoy a glass of wine, we will miss the opportunity to sit in this riverside setting, sipping and watching the world go by!