Sorry, Evita. If there's any crying going on in Argentina these days, it's likely to be in the vineyards. And they're tears of joy. Sales of Argentine wine continue to build strongly in the United States, according to The Nielsen Co., increasing 29 percent in the past year.
Why Argentina? Why now?
``Best value, best quality, best-looking women, although the last one is just a fringe benefit,'' quips Steve Weinberg of World Wine and Spirits, a Fort Lauderdale wine brokerage.
Weinberg recently was in Argentina, where he tasted wine from more than 25 wineries.
``The majority of the winemakers are young, under 35,'' he said. ``Several are expatriated Americans, and at least three were women.''
One of these ex-pats is Jeff Mausbach, former wine education director at Bodega Catena Zapata, who is launching a line called Manos Negras.
Mausbach said via e-mail that two factors make Argentine wine special: climate and value.
``Argentina has a very diverse collection of wine-growing regions, from Patagonia in the south to Salta in the north, spreading some 1,800 miles along the Andean corridor,'' he noted.
``Despite these huge swings in latitude, there is one constant: a unique combination of sunny, dry desert conditions with very cool day and night temperatures. If you think about it, this is a very unique character. Most sunny places are hot and most cool places don't have a lot of sunshine. I like to call this concept `refrigerated sunshine.' ''
As for value, the cost of winemaking is low.
``As responsible Argentine producers have learned to plow this advantage back into the price-to-quality relationship in their wines, they have increasingly won over U.S. consumers,'' he said.
Whatever you're grilling, a red from Argentina will have the fruit, the fragrance, the attitude to handle them.
TASTING NOTES
• 2007 Bodega Septima Gran Reserva: This Mendoza winery produces a plummy blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon and tannat. Big and rich, almost candied, with notes of plum and raspberry. Lots of tannins, but the wine can handle it; Serve with grilled T-bone steak; $25.
• 2008 Bodega Colome Estate Malbec: This wine from the Calchaqui Valley in far northern Salta province is colored an inky plum and sports a nose heady with cedar and berry scents. The flavor is a bit dusty with tannins, but there's a balancing note of black pepper. The wine is 85 percent malbec with the remainder being tannat, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and syrah. Serve with lamb loin chops, hanger steak; $25.
• 2008 Clos de los Siete: This Mendoza red is a blend of malbec, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and petit verdot. Purple tinted, the wine has a berry nose and a lively sweetish cherry flavor with a peppery tannic finish. Serve with grilled pork loin, spice-rubbed chicken breasts; $19.
• 2008 Diseno Malbec: A bright Mendoza red with plenty of sass. The nose is of berry and oak; the fruit flavor is countered by notes of leather, tobacco and spice. Serve with Korean short ribs, leg of lamb; $9.
• 2008 Argento Bonarda: An Italian red grape was used for this Mendoza red. Look for violets, cherry and hay on the nose. The flavor offers blackberry and anise notes with a touch of tannic bitterness on the finish. Serve with grilled cheeseburgers, salmon; $10.
Mendoza Sun note: (All prices are USD and imply pricing in the USA)
source: source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/17/1682979/value-quality-propel-argentina.html
