Mark Addington is a US wine lover who came to Mendoza, Argentina to look for other varietals to export, apart from Malbec, two years ago following his heart to the land of fine wine, as it is worldwide known. In this article, Addington analyzes the changing trends in wine consumption and advises
Mark Addington is a 54-year-old US wine consultant. He is retired from a profession in the Semi-Conductor business where he worked for companies such as Motorola, AMD, and memory chip maker Spansion. He made wine as a hobby for years and had his own micro-vineyard.
His passion has always been wine and so he came to Mendoza two years ago from Austin, Texas, to do what he loves. He is currently working as a consultant for Karma Wines and Bodega Carmine Granata. Moreover, he is making his own wine and has his personal website, which can be found at www.lostintheandes.com
Addington starts his article explaining that “Malbec has enjoyed a nice run lately as exports of Argentina’s Premium wine have continued to grow in spite of the economic downturn the world has experienced. With each passing year more hectares are being devoted to this workhorse grape,” but he asks: “What will future world wine drinkers be enjoying from Argentina?” As a possible answer, Addington advises Argentina to look at other wine regions to realize that trends change in wine drinking. “Who orders Zinfandel or Merlot from California these days? Or when was the last time you ordered a Chianti from Italy? Oh to be sure, these wines are still available but they are not all the rage as they once were,” he points out.
According to this wine consultant, “it is very doubtful if Malbec will be surpassed anytime soon as the lead offering from the land in the shadow of the Andes, but grape growers, wine makers, exporters and importers need to be thinking about this question now.”
As regards the possible successors to the Malbec throne, Addington explains that he will ignore Torrontés because is a white and not a challenge to Malbec, and he suggests two front running varietals as possible successors to Malbec: they are Bonarda and Tempranillo. Besides, he also mentions other possibilities, such as Shiraz, Tannat, Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
In the case of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot, the wine consultant points out that they are all currently being grown here but each has had its day in other wine regions of the world. “What can an Argentinian Cabernet or Merlot offer that has not already been seen in California? Or how do you out-Shiraz Australia? Tannat and Cabernet Franc are grown in such small numbers that it would be some time before enough of it was ever available to be called a trend,” he adds.
“On the other hand -Addington continues- Bonarda and Tempranillo are being grown all over Mendoza province. Bonarda, the second most planted variety behind Malbec, has only recently been given attention by wine makers as anything other than a source of bulk red wine for the locals.” According to the US wine consultant, “the wine tends to be lower alcohol content (about 13%) with soft tannins. It responds well to oak aging turning from light fruit flavors to cherry tobacco flavor and can be a great choice when paired with red meats.” “Nieto Sentiner is a favorite example of what this grape can do,” he suggests.
In the case of Tempranillo, Addington refers to it as “the other front-runner for new trends.” “This variety has quite a bit less acreage under cultivation and much of it is tied up by big name producers of this wine. It is therefore more expensive and has a head start as far as quality is concerned,” points out the wine consultant, who adds that “Tempranillo is one of the grapes used in the Spanish Rioja wines so it is little wonder that a Spaniard leads the pack in quality Tempranillo.” He recommends O’Fournier’s Alpha Crux: “This is a fantastic blend that highlights this varietal; it is rich and velvety and works with everything from gamy meats to red sauces.”
All in all, Addington highlights that “to be sure Malbec is not going away” but he recommends “looking for these varietals to play a meaningful role in Argentina’s wine exports.”
Re-print of the article "Mark Addington, US wine consultant; Argentina’s wines: What’s next?" written by Ana Tagua for WineSur.com
Photo by WineSur.com
The original article is available at:
http://www.winesur.com/news/argentina%E2%80%99s-wines-what%E2%80%99s-next
