Another Mendoza Wine Tour

I wrote before about wine tours in Mendoza (link).

And now the Washington Post has an interesting story.

I said it before, and I say it again: if you are planning to go and speak or at least understand spanish you can rent a car at the local airport and drive yourself anywhere. But if you don't, then yes, hire a driver or take a bus tour. But you will enjoy Mendoza much more if you drive your own car. I would say it is pretty safe if you dress like a local, and don't leave anything of value inside the car.
Beware though that some streets don't have signs, and other drivers might not respect traffic rules like here in America. You are not going to a place like Santa Barbara o Napa. Also, be sure that if you have a favorite winery you would like to visit, you contact the winery by email before you leave USA. They will answer your email in english and very promptly. Be sure not to miss Catena Zapata, Achaval-Ferrer and Weinert.

An American In Malbec Country

Several very interesting points about the story of Daniel Karlin, a true Angeleno who found love and an amazing business opportunity in Mendoza, and it is now reaping the benefits of a trial and error strategy.
What do people like Nicolás Catena, Santiago Achával, Bernardo Weinert, Paul Hobbs, and many more have in common with Daniel's story? VISION.
From Alternative Latin Investor (free subscription required):

"The original impetus for the business came from a simple observation that tourists to Argentina fell in love with Malbec and Torrontés—the quintessentially Argentine varieties—just like Karlin did when he arrived. The problem was that they had virtually no way of getting more of these rare gems in the U.S."

He basically created "Anuva Wines" a US based Wine Club of Argentinian Wines, and clearing all the hurdles and bureaucracy took a major dose of patience and personal drive.

"“We spent a lot of money on lawyers to be able to understand how to ship wine to people,” Karlin says with a smile. The alcoholic beverage industry in the U.S. is highly regulated. In addition to Anuva’s shipping service to clients and wine club members across the U.S., they have the only wine-tasting service for tourists in Buenos Aires. Anuva also offers in-home wine tastings in select cities in the U.S."

The article goes then into one of the major reasons of why argentinian wines are enjoying so much success even amidst these challenging times:

More below the fold. Click here.

A Six Minutes Tour of Mendoza

This is a great six minutes video about a tour of Mendoza by an american couple. I've been there with my family in 2005 and visited some of the places. Absolutely beautiful. If you rent a car and speak or understand a little spanish you can get around by yourself. I've stayed at the Tapiz Winery and the place is out of this world (photo at the right shows the main entrance). With at least three nights in Mendoza you can get a pretty good idea of the "malbec country".
Do not miss the following wineries: Catena Zapata, Achával-Ferrer and Bodegas y Cavas de Weinert. The three are must-see.

Wine weekend in Malbec Country: Mendoza, Argentina en Yahoo! Video

Nicolás Catena: "Our Argentine Malbec Has No Comparison"

In an exclusive interview to a costa rican newspaper, Nicolás Catena, the man who single-handedly change the argentinian wine industry for the better, makes a couple of striking comments about argentine malbec and california wines. It is well worth reading.

"Our Argentine malbec has no comparison, it has red fruit characteristics and concentration unthinkable in a European wine. And consumers are choosing each day a greater proportion of these New World wines."

About the influence that California wines had on his approach to winemaking:

"In the late eighties we started making wine by abandoning the traditional and old Italian or Spanish styles and started using what I call the California version of the French style of Bordeaux and Burgundy. We changed the time of harvesting, extraction method, we starting fermenting in stainless steel tanks and using small new French oak barrels. For the first time an argentinian winery stopped producing wines with excessive oxidation to make wines that tasted what the international markets were demanding".

This father of the modern argentinean malbec is a very proud man:

"Most of the international critics think that Argentine Malbec is unique in the world of red wines and each day increases the demand for it. It is not comparable to anything else because of the greater concentration, exaggerated smoothness and uniqueness of its fruit."

Thanks to his vision, there is a before and after for the mighty Argentinian Malbec.

Wine tasting in South America: Where to Go and What to Try

Eileen Smith an ex-Brooklynite and freelance writer based in Santiago, Chile, gives a good overview if you are planning a Wine Tasting trip around Argentina or Chile.

Wine tourism is taking hold in South America, and those from the northern hemisphere who are planning a trip should keep in mind that the seasons are reversed down in the southern cone, with the height of summer in January and February and wine harvests generally taking place in March and April.

I made the trip myself a couple of years ago and she is right with this tip:

Entrepreneurial travelers and visitors to Mendoza can rent a car and fill it up with friends and strangers to visit the wineries on their own, (with a designated driver, please!), but more commonly, visitors to the area book day trips with travel agencies to take them amid the rolling hills of the wine region.

If you don't speak any spanish I would suggest that you use a travel agency. Let me know if any of you have any questions. I would gladly help you.

Achaval Ferrer Doesn't Dissapoint The Brits

Jane MacQuitty, wine correspondent for The Times of London (Times Online UK) goes where not even James Molesworth would:

2007 Malbec Achaval Ferrer, Mendoza, Argentina Corney & Barrow (020-7265 2400), £12.49 Cellaring a New World wine may sound daft but Argentina’s full-throttle malbec, the country’s finest red grape, is an obvious contender. Put away this distinguished and already seductive, spicy, mulberry-stashed malbec, from one of the finest Argentine producers, for five years...

Cellaring a Mendoza malbec for more than 2 years? Yes, that's what she is saying. Achaval-Ferrer is making the best and more complex wines in Argentina right now. Very serious stuff.

Mendoza: Wine Region of the Year

Very good news indeed for Mendoza: Wine Enthusiast just came out with its Special Annual Awards issue, and they have named Mendoza Wine Region of the Year:

"Mendoza, Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Wine Region of the Year, is the heart, mind and soul of the Argentine wine industry, which has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Approximately 80% of all wine made in Argentina hails from Mendoza, a province that sits at the eastern base of the Andes Mountains, roughly 650 miles west of Buenos Aires. Mendoza’s terroir is high desert, with vital water coming from Andean snowmelt."

And what about our favorite grape:

"The signature wine of Mendoza is Malbec, a runaway winner in export markets across the globe...
...Today Mendoza is a wine region on par with many of the best in the world."

A very deserving award to say the least. Without a doubt Mendoza is producing some amazing wines, and also it's a great place to visit.
Also Chile's Casa Lapostolle keeps receiving awards: after getting the top position in the List for the Best Wines of '08, now Wine Enthusiast named them New World Winery of the Year. Congratulations.