Vines of Mendoza Blog

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The Vines of Mendoza has closed the tasting room for our annual winter renovations, however we are far from bored, visiting Mendoza’s best bodegas and conducting extensive training sessions to achieve the best possible customer service for all of our guests. Yesterday we had the great pleasure to visit Bodega Catena Zapata. Not only is the architecture impressive, but so are their wines. Our generous hosts took us on the grand tour and treated us to a very special tasting:

2004 Angelica Zapata Chardonnay
2004 DV Malbec
2002 DV Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Angelica Zapata Malbec

The wines were simply stunning and the hospitality was overwhelming. We talked to their winemaker, Alejandro, who gave us his insight into winemaking philosophy and how he is very blessed to be able to blend both varietals and grapes from different vineyards to create optimal blends of varietals and regions. The care and thought that goes into these wines is very apparent with their elegant and complex wines.

We would like to thank Catena Zapata for accommodating our group and we recommend visiting the bodega on your next trip to Mendoza!

We here at The Vines have come from all over the world and chosen Mendoza as the perfect place to live and work, and to give our clients a chance to invest. In this article, globe-trotting Doug Casey explains how he arrived at the same conclusions.

This article was written by Doug Casey of The Casey Report for the Daily Wealth newsletter.

I’ve been to about 175 countries, and lived in 12. All the while, I’ve felt the US and Western Europe in particular (but also Canada, to a somewhat lesser degree) are on a slippery slope. So I’ve always had an eye open for a real second home.

My longtime subscribers will recall my enthusiasm for New Zealand back in the late ’90s. Since then, its currency has risen about 75% against the dollar, and well-selected property has roughly doubled or tripled in addition.

New Zealand is still a great place to hang out. I bought a bunch of property and still go there about three months of the year, mainly to play polo and just enjoy the mellow lifestyle. But New Zealand is no longer the bargain it once was; far from it.

I think it’s imperative to have a crib outside your home country in today’s world. I don’t want to get into a detailed discussion of all the possibilities here; that would take a book. But my bottom line is that Argentina is simply the best place in the world right now, all things considered.

It’s certainly the cheapest “nice” country in the world. Indeed, Buenos Aires is absolutely one of the world’s greatest and most livable cities. The country is running a massive balance of trade surplus. The government (most surprising of all) is running a big fiscal surplus. Rich Europeans are piling in, since Argentina is now ethnically and culturally the most European country in the world. And it should be fairly insulated from WW3. All the stars are aligned for this place. Even as stupid as Argentina’s government has traditionally been since the days of Peron, the bull market has a long way to run.

So I’m looking to spend around half the year there. Along with a partner, I bought a ranch in Patagonia 10 years ago, and it’s been a spectacular investment.

But if I’d been familiar with Salta province – in the northwest – at the time, I’d never have bothered. The province averages about 5,000 feet in altitude, but is at about the same latitude south as Cuba is north. As a consequence, the climate is perpetually mild. And it’s dry. Most of it is indistinguishable from Northern Arizona, New Mexico, or Colorado.

It’s possible to buy huge parcels of land very cheaply (e.g. 100,000 acres for US$1,000,000), but that’s literally in the middle of nowhere and of very little practical value. You’re a feudal lord for the people living there. But if you want a latte and an International Herald Tribune, or anything to eat besides an animal some of the peons have butchered, forget about it.

It’s a long-standing tradition at Casey Research that we eat our own cooking, so we’ve bought a lot of property in Argentina in the last few years. But frankly, I wasn’t looking for a bunch more trading sardines; that’s what stock certificates are for. I really wanted something I could personally use and enjoy. What we did, therefore, was buy 1,200 acres on the edge of the town of Cafayate, in the south of Salta.

Like San Martin de los Andes in Patagonia, Cafayate is going to become another Aspen. Or maybe the resort town of Taos, New Mexico, is a better analog. Located in a huge bowl, surrounded by the high Andes, it’s quaint and picturesque. Especially since it’s the center of a large wine region. So the area is really more like a “Taos meets Napa.”

What we’re doing on this land is putting in a world-class golf course, spa, health club, vineyard, equestrian facilities, and, in fact, lifestyle amenities of all types. A library, billiard room, cigar bar – you get the idea. Since good workers go for $200 a month, costs will be low, and services will be excellent. My personal vision is to take the best features from developments I know all over the world and put them together here.

I think we’ve got the right place, the right idea, and the right time. I also think the cost will be right. I expect it will, initially, go for something like 10%-20% of what something similar – but not even close to as nice – would go for in the US

I hope early buyers will be successful people of a libertarian character; no jerks need apply. Then, as soon as possible, we’re going to raise prices as high as possible to keep out the riff-raff.

So that’s the story right now. For travelling or an outright real estate purchase, Argentina, all things considered, is my favorite place in the world.

Hola amigos,

As you all know, summer up north means it’s winter down here in Mendoza. We’re taking the opportunity to close our offices and tasting room for winter renovations - and to offer our team a little well-deserved R&R. We would like to share our hours from August 10-24th.

The Vines of Mendoza Tasting Room
Closed for renovations Sunday August 10 - Sunday August 24th

The Vines of Mendoza Offices
Closed from Wednesday August 13 - Monday August 18th

* We will be unable to answer your phone calls, and although we will be checking email as often as possible many of us will be traveling and unable to respond quickly.

* We will answer all inquiries as soon as we are able to.However, our online store will be open and available during this time for all of your wine orders. You won’t have to wait to browse our selections and restock your cellar.

We wish you all the best, and look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

The Vines of Mendoza

Estimados amigos,

Les escribimos para informarles que en las próximas semanas The Vines of Mendoza estará cerrado por renovaciones del espacio, y para ofrecer a nuestro equipo una oportunidad bien merecida para descansar. A continuación se encuentra el horario de las semanas que vienen:

Sala de degustación
* Estará cerrada desde el domingo 10 de Agosto hasta el domingo 25 de Agosto.

Oficinas de The Vines
* Estarán cerradas desde el miércoles 13 de Agosto hasta el lunes 18 de Agosto.

* No podremos contestar sus llamadas, y aunque estaremos revisando el correo electrónico lo más seguido posible muchos de nosotros estaremos de viaje sin poder contestar inmediatamente.

* Contestaremos a todas sus preguntas lo antes posible.Les agradecemos mucho la paciencia. Nos vemos a la vuelta!

Saludos muy cordiales,

The Vines of Mendoza

We’re a little vino-obsessed here at The Vines of Mendoza, but the truth is that there’s much more than world-class wine to draw you to Argentina.

In this article K. Jill Rigby, writing for Canada’s www.MORE.ca, explores some of the best that Argentina has to offer: tango, fashion, and cuisine. Some activities to keep you going between glasses of Malbec and Torrontes…

Enjoy!

Argentina: Easy and affordable.

Soak up the sun, bargain shop, sample world class wines…. why not? A solo trip to Argentina has never been so easy

Updated: 2008-06-17 Published: Tuesday, April 08, 2008. By: K. Jill Rigby

They say it takes two to tango. I disagree.

My proof? A recent trip to Argentina where I happily soaked up the South American sun, bargain shopped for designer fashions, sampled world-class wines and glided to the region’s signature dance in two-four time. To my delight, I discovered that Argentina is one of the easiest and most friendly destinations to navigate; with a little savvy planning, the country becomes a solo traveler’s dream.

To facilitate my shop-dance-and-drink agenda, I met up with local guide Silvie Gonzalez Verocay, who spirited me around Buenos Aires faster than I ever could on my own. From the start, it was a good match. Not only was Silvie conversant with every historical detail of the city, her coat was so stylish I offered to buy it off her back. She didn’t want to part with her Prada-inspired trench, but promised to escort me to the appropriate boutique after I had sampled some of what “The Paris of South America” had to offer.

The shops

On Sundays, San Telmo, the barrio (neighbourhood) where Buenos Aires was born in 1536, bustles with antique booths selling century-old heirlooms. The prices reminded me of shopping days before the rocketing euro, when Canadians could comb France, Italy and England for treasures and buy to their hearts’ content. After a cursory stroll through the market (I asked Silvie to make sure I didn’t purchase anything that wasn’t a bargain), I spied 10 silver-plated forks and soupspoons engraved with a lovely curling family crest. The knives had already gone missing, but I didn’t care. Silvie nodded in approval and we haggled till our throats hurt, settling on $20 for the lot. I hate to think what I would have paid without her.

Having cut my shopping teeth in San Telmo, we headed to La Boca, as I was eager to take photographs of iconic Caminito Street with its colonial tenement buildings painted a riot of primary colours. It was here that an extraordinary cowhide carpet seemed to call my name. Normally I wouldn’t have given the rug a second glance — it would cost a fortune at home. But once again, Silvie’s superior negotiating skills resulted in a $75 steal. Although I was beginning to worry about heavy suitcases, customs officers and the like, the sheer joy of seeing the city with Silvie — and of unearthing such extraordinary finds — outweighed my concerns.

The food

Silvie insisted I couldn’t leave town without a foray to Palermo, a woodsy barrio characterized by embassies and ambassadors’ residences. I sensed Europe yet again and no wonder — during the second half of the 1800s, the French landscape architect Charles Thays planned all the gardens according to Paris’s Bois de Boulogne and London’s Hyde Park. Palermo is also home to some of the city’s most trendy bars, restaurants and cafés. Look for outdoor seating and staples such as lomito (thinly cut steak sandwich), media luna (ham croissant) and Argentina’s divine Malbec wine. Don’t miss Cecilia Gadea, an airy, light-hearted space with the most irresistible clothes I saw in Argentina. I picked up a pair of denim and slate-grey patent-leather tango shoes along with a black dress with loose panels made for dancing. Unfortunately, Silvie’s coat was sold out.

Capping off my tour of Buenos Aires’ markets and boutiques was an outing to Celedonio, the store for designer Celedonio Lohidoy. His much-coveted jewellery is fashioned with semi-precious stones, pearls and crystals that are threaded and formed into necklaces, brooches and rings. Made by a small group of craftsmen in a nearby atelier, Celedonio’s accessories were a fixture on Sex and the City — and now in my jewellery box.

The dance

I had also come to Argentina to tango. I longed to feel the passionate tremor of the moves born in Buenos Aires’ brothels at the end of the 19th century. Porteños, the natives of Buenos Aires, are so devoted to the dance, they stage an annual “Tango Day” on Dec. 11. Unable to attend that, I settled for new dancing shoes and a tango lesson. With his signature auburn ponytail, Fabrizio Forti is renowned as one of the city’s best teachers and performers. In his tiny private studio in San Telmo, students from all over the world learn to implement his playful style and trademark embrace. Passion is free.

The sights

My final excursion in Buenos Aires was to the city’s famous 13-acre La Recoleta Cemetery. Rivalled only by Paris’s Père-Lachaise, the elegance of its mausoleums is more reminiscent of palaces than tombs. I was mesmerized by the lifelike statues, and stone plaques, each carved with the name of one of the more than 6,400 Argentinians entombed there. And, like everyone else, I got lost. No matter, all paths eventually flow to the final resting place of Eva Perón. Although she died more than a half century ago, her tomb remains one of the most popular places in Argentina. Bidding adiós to Buenos Aires wasn’t easy (and not just because of the overweight baggage). The city had fanned the flames of a romance I had once had with Europe. As with all memorable long-distance affairs, I vowed to return.

The wine

Mendoza is perfectly situated at the epicentre of the Argentinian wine-growing region. Perfect because Argentinian wine is among the finest in the world, and some of the best vintages never make it out of the country. After much quaffing at home, I was ready to visit some favourite vineyards, but needed help. I contacted Laura Yofe, a guide who equals Silvie not only in her knowledge of everything oenophilic but of fashion too. Laura set up tastings, ferried me to the vineyards and spirited me back to the hotel, all the while filling my head with wine miscellany. And, like Silvie, she was an expert when it came to buying; I thus added a couple of bottles of Malbec to the purchases accumulating in my suitcase.

After I arrived home, it wasn’t long before my husband mentioned how much he would like to join me next time, hinting he might make an excellent tango partner. I promised to take his proposal under consideration, explaining that every once in a while, a girl simply has to head out on her own. Argentina just makes it so easy. Just one last suggestion: Pack an extra duffle. For the inside goods on travelling, dancing and shopping in Argentina, check out The insider’s Argentina

This article originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of More