From Argentina With Love

Laura Catena's Vino Argentino

In 2009, when I met Peter Perez of Chronicle Books at the IACP conference he told me that Laura Catena was writing a guidebook to Argentinean wines and wine regions, to be published by Chronicle in 2010.  Guidebook is an understatement--Bible of Argentine Wine is a more accurate description--and the wait is finally over!

If you're not familiar with Laura Catena, you'll get a good idea with the video above.  It's a lovely introduction to not just Ms. Catena, but also to her book, Vino Argentino.  Catena herself inspires me and leaves me in awe.  Daughter of Nicolas Catena, owner of the Catena wine empire, Laura herself was educated at Harvard and Stanford and later became an ER doctor in San Francisco.  She's also the mother of three, and when she decided to direct her attentions to wine, she started Luca, her own winery, the fruit of her labor for her life's passion--wine. (A side note--Nicolas Catena is to Argentina what Robert Mondavi is to wine-making in the US--he's credited for pioneering high-quality, exportable, and regulated wines.)

Bowen Grape Harvest

Argentina is famous for the 're-discovery' of wines made from Malbec, its best-known export.  It's thousands of acres of grapes aren't just a livelihood, but a cause for celebration: La Vendimia, or the Harvest, is marked in Mendoza with parades and celebrations that last for weeks.  Occurring from mid-March to April, the festivities close with the crowning of the year's harvest queen; La Reina de la Vendimia.   (The ladies are chosen from all over the province, judged by both official judges and popular vote.) Nightly stage shows include folkloric music and dance, colorfully costumed dancers and singers from all over the country gather in Mendoza to celebrate. (You can see this year's queen here.)

Bodega Achaval Ferrer

Bodega Achaval Ferrer is another of Mendoza's hidden gems.   Driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, (as Chile-based food and wine writer Liz Caskey told me--the true litmus test of Mendoza driving is navigating those wine country roads!) you suddenly find yourself on an olive-tree lined lane, with huge red rose bushes in-between that seem to blush under the gaze of the adjacent grape vines, akimbo on trellises.

Bodega Melipal

 

Bodega Melipal is one of Mendoza's new bodegas that are ultra-modern and yet embrace the region's long-standing traditions of wine-making.  The bodega leaves no detail forgotten--woven native rugs from the Andes adorn the walls, tiny potted succulents grace tables in the dining room.  The building itself is stunning, a combination of wood, steel,glass and stone that is a tactile and visual exploration.  In the entryway, a large window in the floor gives a view tothe level below, where a stone disc engraved with the Melipal logo, surrounded by tiny white rocks glows--it's actually their aging room, full of huge French oak casks.

 

Melipal serves only a few wines--the Reserve Malbec is a must, as is the wine-pairing lunch (served with reservations).  Spend the afternoon, as we did, with Hebe, the Hospitality Manager, who made us feel like family while touring the bodega, or get a glass of wine and sit on the modern white  lounge chairs on the patio.  Gaze at the vista of the Andes in the distance, blazing sun, azure skies, and rows of vines, with a cool blue reflecting pool in the foreground.  This is wine the way it should be--steeped in Mendoza's tradition, and reflecting the modern age that's to come.

(Melipal Reserve Malbec is available in the US--in Denver at Tipsy's and at Argonaut)

BODEGA MELIPAL

Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza--off Route 7 between Dominio del Plata and Ruca Malen, Agrelo

www.bodegamelipal.com

261-154-549426

More photos available on my flickr photostream, From Argentina with Love

Please also find me on Facebook (Fans of from Argentina With Love) where you can get invites to special events, and find me on Twitter @RebeccaCaro

Relevant Posts: Goyenechea Winery, Faraon Winery 

Argentine Wine Seminar With Steven Olson aka wine geek

 

Last month, I had the pleasure of being invited to an Argentine Wine Seminar hosted by Steven Olson, aka wine geek.  The seminar was part of a week of events (including a performance by Mary Wilson of the Supremes and a Celebrity Chef Ski Race) touted as "Beaver Creek's Celebration of all things culinary with Bon Appetit Magazine."  The whole thing was hosted by the absolutely spectacular Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Bachelor Gulch with Wolfgang Puck's Spago Restaurant. 

Steven Olson is wine and spirits consultant for Bon Appetit (among others), and his mission is to take the fear out of wine tasting and make it fun.  And the seminar was just that--a fun, down-to-earth tour of Argentina through its wine regions, wine makers and, of course, the wines themselves.  Everyone had a great time, including two ski bunnies at the back of the restaurant who were roaring drunk!

Sean Razee, the sommelier at Spago, accompanied us on our tour.  We tasted 9 divine wines, ranging from a sparkling wine to a husky Malbec, with diverse flavors and from areas as far north as Salta.  Olson and Razee spoke about tasting notes--as you'd expect at a wine tasting--but with Olson's commentary, we really had a couple hours of armchair travel.  He spoke about the history of Argentina--how the first people to plant grapes were missionaries sent soon after the conquistadors, how the country's unique climate makes it the ideal place to grow some grapes but not others, and how after virtually disappearing internationally, Malbec was re-discovered in Argentina.

Passionately, Olson told of his visits to Susana Balbo's winery, Dominio Del Plata, and how her husband/enologist Pedro Marchevsky makes his ownwine, BenMarco.  He spoke of the wine region in Mendoza called Tupungato, and about Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbec being given the name of the grower tending the vines year after year.

Just in case you're curious, the wines we enjoyed were: 

TrapicheSparkling Exta Brut NV, Michel Torino Don David Torrontes 2007, BenMarco Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, LucaSyrah 2006, Mapema Primera Zona 2002, Tikal Patriota 2006, Susana Balbo Malbec 2007, MendelMalbec 2006, and a Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbec Viña Fausto Orellana 2005.  (All available in local liquor stores for around $30 average price!)  We dined on Wolfgang Puck's famous woodfired pizza, and went on a virtual trip to Argentina wine country.

After the tasting, I was able to talk to Olson for a minute--to tell him how happy I was that he spoke with such emotion about Argentina (and its wines!) 

 "My wife's from Argentina!" 

he said, and it all made sense--just like me, he had married into it!  More proof that the passion and beauty of Argentina and its people are just impossible to resist.

Special thanks to Andrea Woroch, Katie Coakley, Parool Shah, and of course, Steven Olson.

More photos of this event are available on my flickr photostream, From Argentina With Love