Robert with Susana Balbo, maker of the elegant "signature" Malbec as well as the delicious, value-priced "Crios" wines.
Robert's Adventures in Argentina
Summer 2010
Robert Morey, Iowa City Wine Guru
Malbec is hot. This is not news to anybody in the wine business today. Despite the sluggish economy, wine sales in the U.S. continue to slope gently upward. At the same time, sales of wine from Argentina, powered especially by the popularity of Malbec, are leapfrogging over wines from everywhere else.
So when Vine Connections, the premier importer of Argentine wines to the U. S., offered to take me to Argentine wine country, I jumped at the chance.
Let me tell you something about Vine Connections. It is no exaggeration to say that Nick Ramkowsky and Ed Lehrman, the two men who started Vine Connections, are in a large part responsible for putting the fine wines of Argentina on the world wine map.
Although classified in wine terms as a “new world” wine location, Argentina has been growing and making wine for over four hundred years. In fact, Argentina is the world’s fifth largest wine producer, but up until the 1970s, nearly all Argentine wine was cheap bulk table wine consumed domestically.
Starting in the 1990s, a group of talented young winemakers turned their focus to making wines of style and complexity that could rival the finest wines made elsewhere. Nick and Ed founded Vine Connections to encourage these winemakers and to promote their wines in the American marketplace.
And one more thing about Vine Connections: their wine imports are exclusively Argentine, and they don’t import bad wine. Sure, I have my favorites among their represented wines, but there isn’t a one of them I wouldn’t be proud to serve guests at my table. If you see the Vine Connections name on the label, you can be confident in the wine’s quality.
In a country about the size of the continental United States, over one-third of the 35 million Argentines live in and around the port city of Buenos Aires. Most of the rest of the country, climatically speaking, is desert. Even in the prime winegrowing district of Mendoza, only 6% of the land can grow grapes. Irrigation channels over a century old carry water runoff from the Andes Mountains.
The desert climate makes Argentina unique in the wine-growing world in several ways. For one, pesticides are rarely used because they are hardly ever needed. Indeed, the scourge of the phylloxera louse, which devastated European vineyards 150 years ago, never really struck in Argentina.
In the wine-growing areas east of the Andes, the soil is mostly alluvial, with excellent drainage, and very low in organic matter. This combination puts stress on the vines. Stressed vines offer the best grapes, particularly where they’re exposed to warm, sunny days and cool nights.
When I left Iowa City on January 30, it was below zero. I happily landed in the dry heat of midsummer in Buenos Aires, where I met up with ten other wine professionals from all over the United States.
Our group started calling ourselves “Team Meat” due to the abundant carnivore’s delight at every stop we made. One fellow traveler, who refuses to eat meat in the States, had no problem with it here, since livestock are humanely treated and range-fed. And what is the best wine for hearty grilled steak? Malbec, of course.
It is easy to see why Argentine Malbec has been so successful in the American wine market. Its rich black fruits, soft tannins, easy drinkability, and reasonable pricing all make it a sound choice. It’s hard for me to pick favorites, but if pinned to the mat I would have to spotlight the La Posta Pizzella Family Vineyard and the Susana Balbo—at least those are the two I would pick this week.
But Argentine wine is not only about Malbec. Bonarda, known elsewhere as Charbono, can be a dark, rich red. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, too, have seen promising results in Argentina, both as single varietals and blended in various combinations.
Sparkling wine is very popular in Argentina, and I renewed my appreciation for the CJ Reginato Blanc de Blancs. Mostly Chardonnay, with 30% Chenin Blanc, it’s made in the “Charmat” method, where the second fermentation (the one that provides the bubbles) occurs in tank before bottling. The flavors are very fresh, bright, and fruity. It’s a yummy, crowd-friendly sparkler.
Torrontes, the only wine grape native to Argentina, is perhaps the first white variety that comes to mind, and we have always done well with the full-bodied, floral Crios Torrontes. But the Mapema Sauvignon Blanc, with its unusual tropical notes and brisk acidity, is quite nice too. And I’ve never had a better, more complex and delicious Chardonnay than the Luca for anything close to the price. Wow.
What impressed me most about my visit to Argentina, however, were the people behind these wines we enjoy:
* Mariano Di Paola and Pepe Galante, the pair of friends who make Mapema wines, and who get consulted by nearly all the other winemakers in Mendoza;
* Andres Ridois, the brand manager at Tikal winery, whose appearance, attitude, and exuberance drew comparisons with Jeff Bridges’ character “The Dude” from the movie The
Big Lebowski;
* The affable Pepe Reginato, who makes much of the sparkling wine in Argentina (his own wine is named for his parents, Celestina & Jose Reginato);
* Pepe’s brother Luis Reginato, who makes wines for Tikal, La Posta, and Luca winery. Luis hosted our group for dinner at the house he shares with his wife and their three-week-old baby boy Giovanni. (Pepe grilled the goat for our dinner.)
* Laura Catena, wine visionary, emergency-room physician, accomplished tango dancer, and mother of three (her wines are named after her children—Luca, Dante, and Nico). And yes, she gave me a thrilling whirl around the dance floor despite my not so graceful footwork.
* Susana Balbo, who has made a wider variety of wines than anybody in Argentina, and whose terrific wines manifest her commitment to Argentine wines and to the people who make them.
All in all, it was a memorable trip, and I felt honored to share the company of these lovely people, and of course to enjoy their wines, too!
Winemaker Luis Reginato stands beneath a canopy of Syrah vines in the Laborde Vineyard.
Robert with Celeste Pesce, Laura Catena, and Luis Reginato of Luca Winery at Mendoza's famed 1886 Restaurant.
