We continue to make progress on the Private Vineyards projects. Last week we started the process and this week we are getting closer to finishing. We are now pruning one row of vines per person per day. That might sound slow, but we are working slowly and carefully to assure the highest quality.

Right now we have 5 people working on the vines and we are close to finishing the Merlot vines. By the end of the week we will be ready to start work on the Cabernet Sauvignon vines.

We’ll continue to keep you posted…

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Spring is coming to a close and canopy management for our vines has begun. At least we are ready to start pruning the Merlot vines — the Malbec is not quite ready yet.

If you were to see the effort from afar it would look like we are just roaming through the vines enjoying the afternoon. But in reality we are meticulously examining each vine, looking at their growth patterns and removing any vine shoots that are not optimality positioned. Those shoots that are touching or “sombrean” (shading) the other clusters have met their final days. Leaving these rouge shoots would prevent the other vines from reaching their full potential so they have to go.

The goal is to have a homogeneous, uniform distribution of shoots and clusters along each row. This will allow each vine to intercept the most sunlight and will ventilate the canopy.

The sunlight exposure helps to stimulate the growth of the stalks, skins, pulp, and grape-seeds in just the right combination. If we do it right we get that much closer to guaranteeing that our vines will produce top quality grapes.

While we would love to sit in this air conditioned office and talk about pruning — the truth is there is a lot more pruning that needs to be done.

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Last week we were able to show you the first photos of the Malbec plants we are growing for the owners of our Private Vineyard Estates, this week we can fill you in on the other varietals we are just starting to nurture. On a recent trip to Italy and France I had the chance to visit the many plants that we are cultivating. I can tell you that the vines are maturing rapidly and should be ready to be shipped to us in July of 2007. They are a beautiful group of plants and those you who have invested in a Private Vineyard are going to be very excited when that first crop of grapes is harvested! Here is the list of varietals that we are cultivating:

Cabernet Sauvignon: 20,000 plants
Cabernet Franc: 84,000 plants
Merlot: 66,000 plants
Syrah: 35,000 plants
Tempranillo: 11,500 plants
Chardonnay: 18,500 plants
Sauvignon Blanc: 8,000 plants
Petit Verdot: 5,400 plants
Viognier: 18,200 plants
Marsanne: 2,300 plants
Roussanne: 2,3000 plants
Zinfandel: 9,000 plants

All of these varietals are being grown in Italy and France — the Malbec plants (250,000 of them) are being nurtured right here in Mendoza. I will add pictures in a couple of days so you can see the full glory of the plants. Until then you can just dream of their beauty (or crack open a bottle of Zinfandel and dream of the day when your own Zin is ready)!

Happy Dreams

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One of the great parts of the Vines of Mendoza Private Vineyards business is getting out on the property to see where vines will be growing in just a few short months. Usually these trips are centered around getting a new owner of a private vineyard acquainted with their new piece of property and it is always a good excuse to Asado (like you need an excuse in Mendoza to Asado) and drink fine Argentine wine.

In a number of instances when we have been on the property we have rented horses and toured the property on horseback. Though I am not much of horse person (the gauchos were laughing so hard at my riding that I was worried for their safety) the chance to ride in the shadows of the Andes across pristine ground that will soon be covered with Malbec (as well as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and other varietals) is just too much to pass up. And, the event consistently lives up to its billing.

And, to top it all off we spend a good afternoon sitting in the sun cooking fine Argentine beef (and pork, and chicken, and chorizo….) over wood coals. Between the riding and the eating the day is among the best on record. And, so a number of staff spent yesterday eating beef and drinking Gimenez Rilli Torrontes and Malbec.

But, back to the topic at hand – gauchos are not tall. The reason I mention this is that many of the Vines staff are tall (in a relative sense – we don’t have any NBA players on the staff). David, one of the founders, is one of the taller staff members. The gauchos who own the horses average about 5 feet 7 inches – David is probably closer to 6 feet 4 inches. So, when David gets on a horse that has been bred to fit gauchos you get a pretty funny picture. Not the kind of funny picture that Andre the Giant would be riding one of these horses, but pretty funny anyway.

Our only hope is that David doesn’t catch his feet between the legs of the horse – think of the pain that would cause the horse!

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Among the billions of people who live on this planet I am among the minority when I say that I am not a futbol fan. So, it somewhat ironic that I got tickets to the River/Boca game – these should go to someone that knows the rules, but life is not fair. I got a ticket and I went.

Sports Illustrated says Boca vs. River is among the 10 best sporting events in the world. The Guardian Observer (UK) says River vs. Boca is THE sporting event you need to go to before you die. (No worries mom, none of us plan on dieing anytime soon)

Being a bunch of gringos we hired a professional guide for game, he gave us two rules. First – don’t wear anything that had the color of either team in it. Second – cheer for River (since our seats were in the River section). If Boca scored we booed. If we didn’t boo (or we cheered for Boca) he couldn’t guarantee our safety.

Just to be safe we arrived two hours early. About a mile from the stadium police were forcing the fans for the two teams to use separate side of the street. What caught our attention was the tank (as in big gun on tracks) they were using to divide the fans.

In the River Stadium visiting teams fans sit in an area marked by a 12-foot fence with razor wire. So, we were locked in a stadium where the fans are so passionate that the police don’t let them walk down the street together and the opposing fans are kept in a section surrounded by razor wire. This was going to be a good game.

When the announcer introduced Boca mayhem broke out… about 70,000 River fans were giving the Boca fans the "bird – as good a time as any to get your frustrations out

The Game: Within 4 minutes of the start of the game two players had been removed on stretchers – this was going to be an intense game. I hope they brought extra players.

Boca scored first. We BOOED – really loudly. Then River scored. I thought I might go deaf, this was the loudest thing I’d ever experienced in a stadium. Thank god half time is coming.

The half time singer sang his little ditty while nice looking young people carried an enormous banner that read "No Mas Violencia". Somehow I didn’t think it was going to unify the crowd- but I appreciated the effort.

The second half proved to be a fantastic game. I can’t do the game justice, but it was an amazing display of athleticism.

River scored two more goals – Boca was shut out. The Boca fans stood defiantly singing and chanting…until 90 minutes after the game. Finally the police removed them-probably tired of the Boca fans burning things and throwing whatever possible onto the seats below them.

So, in total we were in the stadium for 6 hours. And, the crowd never stopped cheering and singing. Now I need tickets to the game in the spring. This time at Boca stadium – I can cheer for them (as long as they don’t light me on fire and throw me on to the lower deck).

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The 2004 Carlos Pulenta “Vistalba Corte B” is one of the better value wines in the Mendoza province. The wine is the middle wine in the range of Vistalba wines produced by Carlos Pulenta. The top of the line being the Corte A and the bottom being Corte C. Hands down the Corte B is the current favorite of the staff at the Vines. The Corte B is a dark ruby in the glass with a rich loamy nose of wet earthy and black cherries. In the mouth this wine is full bodied, round, and with just a touch of pepper or spice. The Corte B spends 12 months is concrete tanks that have not been surfaced with epoxy as the wine maker believes that the rough surface aids in microxygenation. A blend of 42% Malbec, 32% Cabernet, 16% Bonarda and 10% Merlot. Wine Spectator gave the wine a 90.

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