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Vendimia under the stars… What not to miss!

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Everyone knows about the major Harvest Festival (Vendimia) events here: the big parades, the beauty queen contest, the huge winetasting, the big show at the end… But some of my favorite Vendimia events are actually the rather less known or attended ones – the cultural events in the park. With live jazz by the lake, steamy tango on a balmy summer’s eve and open air cinema screenings under the stars, could Vendimia get more romantic?

Starting this week are a string of cultural events in the evening in Parque San Martin which often turn out to be some of the best kept secrets of the Harvest Festival agenda:

Cinema in the Park – Bring your Spanish dictionary for this one, because next to the rose garden there will be showings on a big screen of different Mendocinean and Argentine films for a few evenings at the end of January and beginning of February. The closest you can get to a drive-in here and no doubt there will be plenty of young Mendocinos trying John Travolta’s old ‘yawning into a hug’ trick. Chuck a pillow and some mate (Argentine herbal tea) in your bag and watch the films starting at 9.30pm on 24, 25 and 31 of January as well as the 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 of February.

Dancing in the Park – It might sound like a misspelt Bruce Springsteen song, but there is no mistake in this Vendimia event. Three nights of different traditional dances and music including folk, Arabic belly dancing, flamenco and, of course, tango. For me there is no night quite so quintessentially Argentine then to sit with lots of families crowded around mini picnic tables sharing picadas and malbec, watching smoky-eyed dancers seducing each other through tango, or latin heartthrobs rapping their feet against the boards in fast moving flamenco to the cries of ‘ole’ from the audience. It kicks off at 9.30pm on 26, 27 and 28th Jan.

Jazz by the Lake – In front of Parque San Martin’s picturesque floating island in the middle of the lake, a make shift stage frames some of Mendoza’s best jazz musicians for three nights of open air concerts. Not just jazz, but always a fusion with tango, bossa nova and big band – each night a handful of different performers and groups play to the crowd for a couple hours of gorgeous live music and star gazing. Starting at 8pm on 10, 11 and 12th Feb.

 

Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza who still very much believes in old fashioned romance.

 

Posted in Harvest Diary, In the News, Life in Mendoza | No Comments »


Coming Soon: Pulenta Estate Gran Pinot Noir

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

 

We are often asked what some of our favorite wines or wineries are here in Mendoza and one of the wineries that always tops my list is Pulenta Estate. They offer wines across the board that please everyone from wine connoisseur to the novice that was just introduced to Malbec. They  consistently provide amazing value and every vintage is true to their winemaking philosophy.

We cannot wait to share the Pulenta Estate Gran Pinor Noir with you — it will hopefully be in the market soon. Pulenta numbers their great wines with simple roman numerals and you should now watch out for number XV!

This wine comes from a single vineyard in the Uco Valley, cuartel 23 in their Finca Los Alamos and was made to express the terroir. The grapes were handled very carefully to capture the delicate flavors and aromas that are emblematic to the very finicky Pinot Noir grape. They were treated with a two day cold maceration and then fermented in small open top stainless steel tanks with a manual punchdown. They were then transferred to French oak barrels where the wine aged for 9 months.

To make a splash for the release of this wine, we were treated to a lovely inauguration party at the winery, where the owners and winemakers were able to show and explain the new Gran Pinot Noir for their portfolio. They also showed the new vintage for their Malbec and capped off the evening with a succulent asado. The Pinot went perfectly with some of the best pork loin I have ever had!

To say the least, this is another great achievement for this very special winery. If you are coming to Mendoza, it is one of our top favorites to visit!

 

 

2010 Tasting Notes:

Delicate and aromatic with notes of strawberries lightly dusted with chocolate and caramel. The mouth is expressive with deep stone fruit, hints of earth and toast with lively acidity and structure. The finish is simply lovely with fruit lasting in your mouth like a good lollypop- you just want to keep drinking! This is a young wine and is sure to mature and develop even more layers and intricate flavors.

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Coming Soon: The Vines Resort & Spa

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

We are well on our way with The Vines Resort & Spa at our Private Vineyard Estates in the Uco Valley, after having cleared the land and flagged the boundaries. We have been working hard with our architects, the preeminent firm Bormida & Yanzon, architects for most of Argentina’s best wineries, on finalizing all the details and preparing the floorplans and renders. We’ll be pouring the foundations by Christmas!

 

Aerial View- The Vines Resort & Spa

The Vines Resort & Spa Construction site

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Oktoberfest in Argentina?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Yesterday wrapped up the final day of Oktoberfest in Villa General Belgrano (VGB) in the province of Cordoba. While Mendoza obviously touts the fine wines, sometimes it’s nice to take a break for a cold pint. Oktoberfest, also known as La Fiesta Nacional de Cerveza (National Beer Festival), is in VGB is for two weekends every year. The first weekend, September 30th, has a more calm atmosphere as the town gets warmed up for the long holiday weekend. Then the hoards of Argentinians and tourists alike swarm the quaint little German town for beer, beer and more beer.

But, let’s not forget all of the other wonderful aspects of VGB and German culture. There’s the German food, such as Brezn (pretzels), Spätzle (noodles) and all different types of wurst (sausages). There was even beer flavored ice cream. There’s also the traditional German outfits that performers and residents don for this special time of the year. As for performances, there’s pretty much always a dance troupe on stage at the Oktoberfest and if you get there in time, you can see the Oktoberfest queen crowned on the first Friday.

At the festival, everyone buys a beer stein the size of their choice to fill up at the stands. You can even buy a strap to hang the stein by your side. Then comes the difficult decision on what to drink. There are a few large beer companies who sponsor the Oktoberfest, so their beers are obviously readily accessible. However, you can get some great artesanal beers as well. Most of the artesanal beer makers have a blonde (rubia), a red (roja) and a dark beer (negra). I also saw a strawberry beer as well as a few honeys. Antares, as well as Homer Simpson’s Duff beer, were present at the festival. If you want to learn all you can about artesanal beer, there’s a daily tour through one of the breweries on the main avenue.

To get to the Oktoberfest, you can of course drive, but if you’re without a car, you must take a bus from Mendoza to Rio Cuarto and then take a Lep bus from Rio Cuarto to VGB. I, for example, took a seven hour bus to Rio Cuarto and then a three hour Lep bus to Villa General Belgrano. It’s quite a long journey so I would recommend getting a group of friends together and renting a cabin for the weekend.

Jerome Brewery, in El Salto in Potrerillos, also hosted an Oktoberfest celebration this year on October 8th and 9th. More than 500 people attended the celebration this year, just an hour and a half outside the city of Mendoza.

Whether you are celebrating October with a glass of beer or bottle of wine – salud!

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both. A recent college graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

 

Posted in Experiences, In the News, Life in Mendoza, Photos, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »


Winemakers’ Night with Monte Cinco

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Monte Cinco Owner Arturo Berdona (left) with Oenologist Marcos Maza (middle) at the Vines of Mendoza’ Winemakers’ Night

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring in Mendoza, as well as Students’ Day. We decided to join the celebration by hosting a Winemakers’ Night on our patio with the boutique family winery Monte Cinco.

Who are they: Monte Cinco as a label started ten years ago with Malbec in the Agrelo region of Lujan de Cuyo. However, the Berdona family has been involved in wine since the beginning of the 1900s when they moved from Viamonte, Italy to South America. First trying to settle in Brazil, the family moved on to Mendoza, Argentina, where they found the right conditions to grow their grapes. Thus, this long family history of winemaking has yielded vines as old as 85 years on their land.

Winemaking Process: The grapes are handpicked April 7-10 in one harvest and stored in 14 kg plastic boxes and then transported and destemmed at the winery. The grapes then go through a double selection process to ensure the best grapes are chosen for Monte Cinco wine. Before being fermented, the grapes go through cold maceration for three to four days. Maceration is the process in which tannins, anthocyanins and flavor compounds are leached from the grapes skins, seeds and stems into the must. This is how red wine gets its color. Cold maceration specifically keeps temperatures low to encourage extraction by water and added sulfur dioxide rather than relying principally on heat and alcohol to act as a solvent. The wines are then fermented in stainless steel tanks and fermented with selected yeasts and then aged in American and French oak barrels. The winemaker mentioned that the winery prefers to use American oak barrels.

Wine Tasting:

Petit Verdot 2007: The wine aged 4 months in oak barrel and 11 months in bottle. An intense violet color (the cold maceration seems to have intensified all of the hues of Monte Cinco’s wines), the Petit Verdot has complex aromas of spices and chocolate with a nice structure and a medium finish.

Malbec 2007: A well-balanced Malbec with an intense red color and violet tones. A very smooth texture with aromas of red fruits, spices and a hint of vanilla and chocolate. I personally preferred the 2007 over the 2009 for its pleasing smooth texture.

Malbec 2009: This wine was rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The magazine describes the wine in its review as “Cedar and spice are the lead aromas, and beyond that there’s blackberry, pepper and floral notes that rain complexity down on the bouquet. The palate is superrich, a bit tannic and deep as night, with black fruit, espresso, syrup and spice flavors. Finishes brawny and long, with toasty richness. Drink now through 2013.”

Interesting Fact:

Monte Cinco has won many awards for its wine including the Grand Gold Medal at the 2008 International Malbec Competition and the 2003 Gold Medal Malbec Award at Vinandino. Because the winery won the Vinandino award on an odd year (2003), the winery only releases wines on odd years to continue the success.

Winemaker Quotation: “Petit Verdot reaches higher quality in Argentina and will one day make history here.”

Learn more about Monte Cinco wines by watching our interview with him in 2009.

 

 

Posted in Behind the bottle, Experiences, In the News, Life in Mendoza, Mendoza Bodegas, Photos, Tasting Notes, Vines Events | No Comments »


Election Day Wines in Mendoza

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Argentina will hold national presidential and legislative elections on 23 October 2011. But first, and also for the first time, on 14 August 2011, open and simultaneous primaries will take place to elect the pre-candidates of each political party or coalition.

If necessary, a run-off will be held on 20 November 2011. On the national level,Argentina elects a head of state (the President) and a legislature. Voting is mandatory for citizens between 18 and 70 years of age, with some exceptions. For example, if you are 500km away from the place of your registered residency you don’t have to vote.

It is forbidden according to Law 19.945, Section 136, to sell any alcoholic beverages from 8 p.m. on the previous night until 3 hours after the elections are closed. It is also forbidden to drink in public spaces. The managers and owners of restaurants and bars that do so will take the risk of being fined and they might even go to jail.

So, the idea is to stock up before 8 p.m. on Saturday to enjoy a nice Sunday with friends or family to wait for the results. This time my sister will be visiting from Buenos Aires with my niece and since my family have always been into politics, I´m sure we are going to have a big Sunday “asado”. The days are beautiful and sunny so I´m thinking of buying some nice Torrontés from Salta (either Mounier or Labourm) and for the beef, of course, a red, maybe a Cabernet Franc from Pulenta Estate, or the Reserva Blend from La Azul, both great values. So if you are visiting Mendoza beware to buy in advance wine in our Vinoteca at the Park Hyatt before 8 p.m. Salud!

Posted in In the News, Life in Mendoza, Videos | 1 Comment »


What´s Going On in Mendoza (August 7-13)

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

Here are a few interesting events coming up you might want to check out!

Sunday, August 7

Dance-Tango

Milonga with Ana y Luis. Go to watch or participate.

Time: 21 a 1.30

Place: Teatro Bar San Juan (San Juan 456 casi Morón, Ciudad, Mendoza)

Music-El dúo. (The Duo) International and national covers.

Time: 22.30

Place: Ambar Living Bar (Sarmiento y 25 de Mayo, Ciudad., Mendoza)

Art-Exposition at the Museum of Modern Art in Mendoza

José Luis Molina with his work ´Límites` y Luis Freire with `Proyecto 1980`.

Time: 9 a 20

Place: Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno de Mendoza (Plaza Independencia, Ciudad, Mendoza)

Phone: 4257279

Mail: mmamm@ciudaddemendoza.gov.ar

Price: $ 8

Monday, August 8

Language Learning-Intercultural meetings points. Practice new languages with native speakers.

Time 21.30

Place Kasa Babylön. San Martín 1701 de G. Cruz.

Price Free.

Dance-Tango Night.  Alberto Luchetti (voice) and Ballet de Marta Morel -Gonzalo Cano (dance).

Time 21.30

Place Tajamar. Peatonal Alameda 1921, Cdad. 4256165.

Wednesday, August 10

Tea and Style Tips at La Bourgogne de Diplomatic Hotel, Alejandro Ferraro presents his collection “Alquimia”.

Time 17.30 RSVP. Reservations: 405 1999 or e-mail labourgogne@parksuites.com.ar

CINEMA-Cineclub Stocco. Ciclo David Cronenberg: “Dead Ringers”.

Time 21.00

Place Microcine Municipal. 9 de julio 500, Cdad. 4495381.

MUSIC-Epicentro (rock).

Time 21.30

Place Tajamar. Peatonal Alameda 1921, Cdad. 4256165.

Thursday, August 11

DANCE-“Gracias por abrazarme”. Flamenco. Dir. Pablo Garay.

Time 22.00

Place Teatro Quintanilla.

Price $30 AR

“Argentinos por siempre (Argentineans Forever)” (Tango and Folklore).

Time 22.30

Place Tajamar. Peatonal Alameda 1921, Cdad. 4256165.

Friday, August 12

MUSIC-“Malevaje a dos pianos” (Tango)

Time 21.30

Place Tajamar. Peatonal Alameda 1921, Cdad. 4256165.

MUSIC- Playbacks (Piano Bar).

Time-00.00

Place Sebastián Bar

Saturday, August 13

CINEMA-“Romeo y Julieta”. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli.

Time 19.00

Place Colegio de Arquitectos de Mendoza. Mitre 617, 1º Piso, Cdad.

Price Free

MUSIC-Tango. Guest Artists.

Time 21.30

Place Tajamar. Peatonal Alameda 1921, Cdad. 4256165.

MUSIC-Dúo Miremont-Darian

Time 23.30

Place Sebastián Bar.

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BEHIND THE VINES | AUGUST 2011

Thursday, August 4th, 2011
The Vines of Mendoza THE VINES’ VERY OWN WINE – RECUERDO!

Nearly seven years ago we shared a dream about buying some raw land, creating vineyards of the highest quality and making some of Argentina’s best wines. Last week, we achieved another piece of that dream as we labeled Recuerdo, our very first commercial wine. “Recuerdo” means memories and speaks to our experiences turning the rock-strewn desert into a lush vineyard. We have made 3,000 cases of 2010 Recuerdo (2,000 cases of Malbec and 1,000 cases of Torrontes), which will retail for $15 – 20 per bottle. This wine will be placed on a container next week and will reach select retail wine shops and restaurants in the coming months. Our top wine, a Malbec-based blend will remain in the barrel until the end of the year. We want to extend a special thanks to our team, families, Private Vineyard Estate owners and investors who all played a part in creating this Recuerdo.

recuerdo

____________________________________________________________________

VINES CONFERENCE CALL – ARGENTINE WINES IN THE EUROPEAN MARKET

Join Michael and Pablo, along with Eduardo Pulenta of renowned Bodega Pulenta Estate, Mauricio Llaver of Revista Punto a Punto and Andrew Maidment, PR manager for Wines of Argentina in Europe, to talk about the impact Argentine wines are having in the European and Global Market.

Join us Wednesday August 10th at 3pm EST.   Click here to sign up

Conference-call

__________________________________________________________________

HARVEST MEMORIES FROM OUR NEW WINEMAKERS: PVE OWNERS ABBY & MASON

“Spending two weeks at our vineyard in the Uco Valley this April confirmed that we made a great decision in buying with The Vines!  Working at the vineyard and in the winery was a blast and we certainly upped our wine IQ during our short time as “Cellar Rats.” Pablo, Emi and the crew introduced us to the winemaking process from vine to barrel. We picked and sorted grapes, helped manage the fermentation process, and (our personal favorite) got our hands dirty with countless pisajes (punch-downs of the cap). There are few things more fun than submerging your arms in a tank of fermenting Malbec grapes!  In addition to our “hands on” learning, Mariana’s wine courses taught us to taste wine with a whole new mindset. We probably sampled 30 wines in the process…such a perfect way to learn the type of wine we want to make! Delicious asados and impromptu gatherings introduced us to 30 to 40 new friends within the Vines community. Both the Vines team and other owners welcomed us with open arms, and we’re already excited for our next visit!”

Private Vineyards Owners

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN ABBY & MASON AS VINEYARD OWNERS…

Our Private Vineyard Estates development is in its final stages. We are adding 20 new vineyard owners to The Vines family in 2011, and 5 vineyards remain available for purchase and planting in September/October. We are welcoming new owners from several countries including the United States, Brazil, Canada, England, and Argentina! If you would like information on how you could own one of these final Private Vineyard Estates, please contact Bryan Driscoll at bryan@vinesofmendoza.com.

____________________________________________________________________

BODEGA ACHAVAL FERRER NAMED TOP 10 FOR ARGENTINE BODEGAS

Private Vineyard Estate Consulting Winemaker, Santiago Achaval, was named one of Argentina’s top 10 wine producers by Decanter Magazine. The cover featured our favorite single vineyard, the Bella Vista.

CLICK HERE to download the article.

decanter

____________________________________________________________________

WINTER IS HERE!

We know that while many of you are preparing for weekend visits to the beach, we are enjoying the brilliant white snow covering the Andes and our vineyards. Winter is a very important time for our vineyards as we prune the vines and prepare for next year’s harvest. There is no off-season in the winemaking game!

Private Vineyards Winter 2011

Saludos!

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Celebrate with $10 wines!

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

In celebration of completing 10,000 orders from our online Wine Shop, we are offering :

20 wines for only $10 each
Or purchase 12 bottles for $100

This golden ticket offers you admittance to this celebration on the following wines!
Bodega del Genio Malbec 2006

Cantinian Malbec 2009

Cavas de Crianza Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Doña Elvira Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Foster Pink Rosé 2009

Perpetuum Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Hacienda del Plata Arrieros Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Inizio Reserva Malbec 2006

Las Perdices Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Maia Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Maia Malbec 2006

Mairena Malbec 2005

Melodía Merlot 2006

Mi Terruno Reserva Malbec 2007

Mil Vientos Malbec 2007

Mil Vientos Syrah 2006

Gimenez Riili Perpetuum Espumante 2008

Santos Beck Malbec 2006
Serrera Malbec 2007

Serrera Syrah 2007

CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING

*For case purchases (12 bottles) please use the promo code goldenticket when checking out.

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Unexpected Weather

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Here at The Vines, we like to entertain our guests with long meals and plenty of wine out in the midst of our vineyards, in perfect view of the Andes Mountains. It sounds relaxing, doesn’t it? Things didn’t quite happen that way on Thursday.

The morning greeted us with a clear blue sky and warm sun rays. However, we couldn’t help but to notice a wall of cloud rising over the Andes, slowly casting a dark shadow over the Uco Valley.

Shortly after 1:00 pm, we gathered among the vines for a midday asado. One moment, things were tranquil. In the next moment, we were standing in the middle of a violent wind and sand storm. One sweeping gust hit us like a wave and thus started La Zonda, which would last for hours.

I’m pleased to report that everyone in attendance was ready to roll with what ever Mother Nature threw at us. After a couple of wine glasses tumbled to their ends, everyone stuck their glasses between their knees, turned all condiment bottles on their sides, secured their shades for eye protection, and chewed through the gritty sand that was piling onto their plates.

Mario, our asado maestro, acted creatively when dust coated the chicken he was grilling. A quick bath in the local white wine, Torrontés, removed the sand, and proved to be a rather delicious addition (do try this at home next time you barbeque, but I suggest passing on the dirt part).

We embraced Mother Nature over the main course, but come dessert, we were completely over it. It was a team effort, and in a matter of minutes we managed to relocate our entire dessert service operation into the Bodega tasting room. Before we knew it, we were nibbling cheeses, shoulder to shoulder, in the dark of the temporarily powerless tasting room. Albeit, it felt great watching the storm blow by, through the large glass doors, knowing we were safe and in the good company of thousands of litres of wine.

Thursday’s asado could have been a disaster, if it weren’t for our optimistic guests, and the team at The Vines adjusting to situations as they arose. I’d love to say that I can’t wait until next time, but I will happily forgo attempting to pour wine during La Zonda any time soon.

About the author: Lindsay Trivers is a Sommelier at The Vines of Mendoza, in the most recent chapter of her world-wide wine discovery tour. She has worked extensively throughout Canada, New Zealand and Australia, developing her palate and working vintages along the way. While here, in Mendoza, She will be living and reporting on life at the bodega (winery), plus happenings from the tasting room and cellar. Stay tuned to The Vines of Mendoza Blog for vintage updates, wine tips and reviews, to find out how our guests are keeping busy, and much, much more.

Posted in Experiences, In the News, Life in Mendoza, Private Vineyard Estates | 2 Comments »


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