Vines of Mendoza Blog

	Los Tintos $79		Las Muestras $79		Los Malbecs $79		Las Reservas de Malbecs $149		Las Reservas de Argentina $229		Gratis bottle!
	These collections are extremely popular in our downtown Mendoza Tasting Room and now, for the first time, they are available in the US and Europe! LOS TINTOS: An expressive array of Argentine reds LAS MUESTRAS: A signature sampling of regional varietals LOS MALBECS: A classic collection of Mendoza malbecs LAS RESERVAS DE MALBECS: An exclusive introduction to Argentine malbecs LAS RESERVAS DE ARGENTINA: A selection of the country’s best wines Each flight collection offers a unique and in-depth perspective into the world of Argentine wine and is being offered at a special discount to its regular retail price. And now through November 2nd a sixth complimentary bottle will be included in each flight collection to add even more excitement to your tasting experience. Visit our Mendoza Tasting Room from the comfort of your own home, relive your Argentine adventure and impress your friends and family with your inside scoop on Argentine wines. And for those of you in the US, be sure to purchase by November 2nd in order to share these wines at your Thanksgiving celebrations! Salud! The Vines of Mendoza *Quantities are limited. Gratis bottle(s) available through November 2nd, 2007 only. **For European residents, please contact us directly to place your order at customerservice@acequiawineclub.com. We apologize that at this time your order cannot be processed via our online store. Forward this message to a friend

The Vines of Mendoza doubles hectares in their project in Valle de Uco

As 70 out of the initial 100 hectares have already been sold, they have decided to double the area for the project. Total investment is US$ 10 million.

The wine entrepreneurship known as Private Vineyard Estates and led by The Vines of Mendoza in Valle de Uco, has expanded its initial project, and the 100 hectares where a wine resort is in the process of development has doubled to 200 hectares. The project started last year, and currently, 70 hectares have been sold where vines for ultra-Premium wines are being planted.

Total investment is US$ 10 million distributed between vineyards and wineries in 2-hectare lots sold to American and European businessmen. The company estimates that by December this year, investment will be US$ 3 million. The price per hectare is US$ 95,000, including the winery space each owner has and a 3-year vineyard maintenance service supported by the company.

‘In 15 days, we will be installing the irrigation system per lot with automated scales, which is state-of-the-art technology for this type of activities’, explained Pablo Gimenez-Riili, one of the Mendoza managers of The Vines of Mendoza.

Apart from raising money abroad, The Vines of Mendoza is planning to explore the Argentine market shortly, specially the Buenos Aires market, in order to attract the attention of people interested in the ambitious project focused on wine production. According to Gimenez-Riili, ‘all the company services are oriented to provide high end standards in our productions’.

Determining factors for the foreign owners to have decided to invest in this project are focused on Mendoza lifestyle and local wine, as well as the services offered by the company. ‘We have highly qualified staff, customer service and winemakers to pay attention to any pleas’, commented Gimenez-Riili.

MICHAEL EVANS, THE VINES OF MENDOZA

“We are thrilled to have started planting vines for the first Private Vineyard Estates” (11/10/2007) - Author: Laura Saieg

The Vines of Mendoza, company founded in 2004, planted the first vines for the first group of PVE owners last Saturday. In an interview with Día a Día del Vino, Michael Evans, CEO of the company, chatted with us about the present and future of the partnership.

- How did the idea of creating Private Vineyard Estates come up?

- It has always been my dream to buy a vineyard and make wine. When we came to Mendoza that dream was possible – so we started talking about the idea with a few friends who told us they shared the same dream. So we realized that there was a business opportunity, and found an amazing 400 hectare piece of property in the Valle de Uco. Our idea is to help people realize their dream of making wine – and making amazing wine under the guidance of Santiago Achaval.

- How many hectares have you planted yet?

- This year we are planting the first 50 hectares. In total, the Private Vineyard Estates will encompass 200 hectares of vineyards. It should be noted that each person can purchase a 4-hectare (10-acre) lot.

- When did you start planning?

- We started planning last Saturday and we are thrilled. We have sold 25 lots so far. Each year there will be 20 available lots, until we sell out 80.

- What is special about these vineyards?

- We champion small production, boutique wineries, many of which are not available outside Mendoza and do not have tasting rooms. We also feature some of the best wines from some larger wineries.

- How much is a hectare?

- Approximately U$100,000 including title to land, planting of varietals and access to the bodega to make up to 5,000 bottles of ultra-premium wine per hectare.

- ¿Qué tipo de variedades son?

- We will plant whatever our owners want – so far we have planted 14 varietals. The most popular are Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Torrontés.

- Can the owner follow up on his vineyard development?

- Our owners participate in every part of the project – from selecting the varietals to plant, to actually coming to Mendoza to plant their own vines! They will come for harvest and make suggestions in the winery. They can be as much or as little involved as they choose.

- Are the winemakers those who buy the parcels or do they work for The Vines?

- Santiago Achaval de Achaval Ferrer is our consulting winemaker – so he will oversee all the winemaking. We will also invite guest winemakers to make wine with the owners and over time, many of the owners will become winemakers.

- How will this project continue?

- We started with 100 hectares to divide and sell as private vineyard estates. Now we have doubled the size to 200 hectares. Next year we will start construction with Bormida & Yanzón on the micro production bodega. And we are developing a 5 star resort on the property.

- Apart from Private Vineyard estates, you have a Tasting Toom, is this right?

- Yes – it is located at Espejo 567 in the city of Mendoza, and it is called ‘Valle de Uco’. We feature 90 different great Argentine wines. Wines are available in flights of 5 tastes – Los Tintos, Las Muestras and Los Malbec, as well as Las Reservas del Valle and Las Reservas de Argentina - or by the glass. We also have an Information Center as we wanted to provide visitors to Mendoza with all the information they need to have an amazing experience here. So we developed the Insiders Guide and give it out at the Vines, hotels, rental car agencies, etc – it lists our favorite bodegas and restaurants in Mendoza.

The Best of Mendoza’s wine tourism awards took place last week and honored The Vines of Mendoza with the 2008 Best Significant Wine Tourism Experience award. This prestigious award is given by the The Global Network of Great Wine Capitals which is comprised of Melbourne, Bordeaux, San Francisco - Napa Valley, Porto, Cape Town, Bilbao-Rioja, Florence and Mendoza, and works to encourage international winery tourism, as well as economic, academic and cultural exchanges between these famous capitals of wine.

Around 250 bodegas compete for these important awards and the gold winners in each category are nominated to go to the final award ceremony in Portugal, competing against other countries in their respective category.

The awards were announced for seven categories: Architecture, Parks and Gardens & the Environment, Wine Tourism Services, Conference and Convention facilities, Art and Culture, Significant Wine Tourism Experience, Wine Tourism Restaurant.

The Vines won the category related to Significant Wine Tourism Experience. Explained by Sub-secretary of Tourism for Mendoza, Gabriela Testa, The Vines of Mendoza won for the originality of wine services, which gives visitors a long lasting relationship with the province and the wines of Argentina.

Congratulations to everyone at The Vines!!

For more information about this prestigious association and award, visit www.greatwinecapitals.com