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Posts Tagged ‘acequia wine club’

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CELEBRATE SUMMER SALE 25% OFF

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Fire up the grill, get the pool toys out… it’s summer time! And what better pairing is
there than BBQ and Argentine wines!  Pick your favorite cut of beef, throw it on the grill
and pair it will a delicious Malbec, spicy Cabernet or succulent Merlot.

To celebrate we are offering 25% off ALL of our wines in our online store.

Kick up your heels or relax poolside with a glass of Argentine wine!

Offer valid through June 30th *Only valid in The United States **To ship gifts to multiple addresses please be
sure to contact us so that we can place your order for you manually. Not all wines are available
for shipping to all states.

Posted in Mendoza Bodegas, Vines Events | No Comments »


Live Wine Tastings-101

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Tonight we are tasting through our newest and best Acequia Wine Club wines and are inviting the world to join in! Join Mariana Onofri, The Vines Sommelier, Thierry Haberer, winemaker for The Rolland Collection wines, and myself, Emily, to chat about different Argentine varietals, the wineries and what really goes into a good bottle of Malbec.

To get you started I have come up with a little protocol for The Vines Live Tastings 101 to help you navigate, the at times, intimidating world of wine technology. So here are your directions:

1.    Make sure you have a corkscrew, wine glasses and most importantly the wines!
2.    Open a bottle of wine and pour yourself a glass- it will help any technology induced anxiety
3.    Make sure you have a computer and internet access- if not repeat step 2 and call a friend
4.    Open a new web page to www.ustream.tv/channel/vinesofmendoza
5.    The screen may be blank- Don’t panic you are in the right place
6.    Check your watch- is it 5:30pm PST/ 8:30pm EST? Is it Tuesday May 18th?
7.    If your response is yes to all of the above -Sit back, relax and taste along

For Mensa Wine Members

For those that actually want us to respond to comments and questions-Try your hand at twitter or Ustream chat. Here are your additional instructions:

1.  Log into your twitter account www.twitter.com
2. Follow @vinesofmendoza if you don’t already (but of course you do!)
3. Because you are a supreme multitasker you can watch ustream and tweet and drink wine at the same time
4. Post any comments and all tweets should include #wine, #vinesofmendoza or #acequia
5. To ask questions or reply to specific comments, tweets should include @vinesofmendoza

6. You can also use ustream chat.

For Technological or Calender Challenged Individuals- Those that lack one of the key ingredients above- Follow these directions.

1.  Check if you have the newest Acequia wines. If not click HERE, enter this item into your shopping cart and check out.
2. Check back here for the video of the tasting.
3. Set up a time and place to taste along with us.
4. Send any comment or questions via email- you have lost the chance to chat.

Viola! You are all now technologically wine savvy! Felicitaciones and I hope to see you all tonight! Remember www.ustream.tv/channel/vinesofmendoza

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »


JOIN US TODAY TUESDAY 18TH | LIVE TASTING

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010


Join us tomorrow to taste through 6 of our newest and best Acequia wines!

To participate in the live tasting, just click here  Today May 18th | 8:30pm EST/5:30pm PST

We will be recording the tasting so if you are not able to participate you can purchase these wines through

May 31st and host your own tasting with The Vines team!

Acequia Wines – 6 bottles for $145  shipping included

Please email emily@vinesofmendoza.com if you have any questions about the event or
how to access the live tasting stream.

Posted in Vines Events | No Comments »


Join In- 6 Acequia wines $145 (shipping incuded) + Live Virtual Tasting

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

awctasting.jpg

Our new Acequia Wine Club wines have recently arrived in the US and Europe and
The Vines team is excited to offer everyone exclusive member prices through the month of May!

Acequia Wines – 6 bottles for $145  shipping included

Purchase now to receive our latest and best boutique Argentine wines in time to participate
in a live virtual tasting direct from our Tasting Room in Mendoza, Argentina.
So organize a party and share with friends!

To participate in the live tasting, just click here on
Tuesday May 18th | 8:30pm EST/5:30pm PST

We will be recording the tasting so if you are unable to attend you can still order these
wines and taste along with The Vines!

Offer valid through May 31st *Only valid in The United States **To ship gifts to multiple addresses please be
sure to contact us so that we can place your order for you manually. Not all wines are available
for shipping to all states.

Posted in Vines Events | No Comments »


Chocolate & Wine Pairings with Chrissie Bettencourt

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Ok, I admit it, I have a lot of vices…however, my favorites tend to be wine and chocolate and sometimes, if I am lucky, they even tend to be spectacular together! Lucky for us, Chrissie Bettancourt has studied the finer points of chocolate and food pairings, which, at best tends to be difficult and full of nuance. She conducts classes and courses with her company, Awaken Your Senses, that guides people through the use of chocolate and other gourmet tools, to help you discover that, yes indeed, we do have 5 senses.

It really is amazing to see how the wine pairs with different chocolates. For example, here at The Vines, one of my favorites is a orange infused chocolate- oh and you should only buy the best quality chocolate to conduct the pairings (important detail) – with the Lorca Viognier. The citrus flavors jump out at you instantly complementing the acidity in the wine and the balance it has with the chocolate. Another interesting pairing is a spicy pepper infused chocolate with the Malamado Malbec, a sweet dessert wine- the pairing is incredible with sweet and spice doing the tango in your mouth. Try it out for yourself!

So the next time you are in Mendoza, make sure that you add a chocolate and wine pairing class to your itinerary- you won’t regret it. Or contact her if you have any questions about potential chocolate and wine pairings- she is a font of information. My problem is that I just can’t seem to stop eating the truffles!

Chrissie offers:


Chocolate and Wine Tastings

Unique and personalized chocolate and wine pairings, using handmade chocolate truffles and boutique Argentine wines.  Each pairing is created specifically to highlight particular elements of flavour in both the wine and chocolate.   Here you can learn the steps in both wine and chocolate tastings, the why’s of flavor combinations and how to pair chocolate with wine.

Price:  90 pesos per person
5 people and more:  60 pesos per person

Cooking with Wine and Chocolate

Using a selection of recipes and hands on exercises, learn the basics of how to cook with chocolate and wine to create unique desserts that will be sure to impress friends and family.  In this workshop you will:

* Learn about where chocolate originated

* Different chocolate varietals and descriptors

* The different types of chocolate that you can use in cooking

* The basics of tasting chocolate and learning how to select the appropriate chocolate for your recipe

* Learn how to combine both wine and chocolate in desserts

* Create two decadent chocolate and wine desserts

Cost:  60 pesos per person


Email: info@awakenyoursenses.info

Website: www.awakenyoursenses.info

Blog: http://awakenyoursenses.info/wordpress/

Posted in Life in Mendoza | No Comments »


The Vines Full Moon Harvest at The Private Vineyard Estates

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Last night, by moonlight, Pablo, Michael, and some of The Vines Team harvested Merlot for The Vines wines under the full moon. An unusually warm night in the Uco Valley, Mendoza, we enjoyed a typical asado and began harvesting around 11:30pm, a new experience for most of us. While most of us chose to use the light of the moon to harvest the bunches of grapes, there were a few that were assisted by headlamps.

Overall we harvested about 208 kilos of Merlot which was then sorted and processed in the winery and will begin fermentation in a high tech 1,000 liter microvinification stainless steel tank. It was a beautiful evening full of music, laughter and stars and maybe a bit of moon magic mixed in.

Posted in Experiences, Private Vineyard Estates | No Comments »


Malbec is Just Straight Sexy

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Why Malbec?

Malbec has become the drink that quality-focused yet cost-savvy wine drinkers turn to. Here’s why:

Malbec is just straight sexy. It has become the wine world’s darling of the moment for good reason, converting more and more enthusiasts by the day.

Starting with the succulent fruit that is inherent to Argentina’s Malbec, it elevates this Bordeaux blending varietal as a star all on its own. It has rampaged across all price categories with consistency and providing tremendous value for the price while gaining traction in an global economic climate that can be referred to as difficult, at best. In fact, imports of Argentinean wine in the United States have jumped 39% in the first 6 months of 2009 and is now gaining increased market share across the world.

Why is Malbec so hot?
In a country that is synonymous with gauchos, beef and tango, it couldn’t be anything but sexy. Think European flair with a rustic, enigmatic twist and you will find Malbec. The Argentine’s have guarded their cultural traditions closely, including siesta, family asados every Sunday and late night revelry. Opening a bottle of Malbec is an invitation to travel around the world and experience the culture and lifestyle yourself.

So whats in the glass? Malbec offers the best of high altitude wine characteristics, including intense fruit, the ability to blend with other varietals, and the adaptability to be brought to market early with lush easy drinking characteristics, or as a classic aged wine full of delicate layers, oak and fruit tannins.

The future…
Malbec has a bright future as it not only delivers quality consistently but has many different personalities. The premium wine industry is still in its infancy in Argentina and surely we will see increased technological and winemaking advances over the next few years. Malbec is the wine of the moment and will continue to capture people’s imaginations and tastebuds in the future. Argentine Malbec is here to stay!

Posted in Experiences | No Comments »


1337 Wine Video Reviews- Bressia Taste Live Wines

Friday, February 12th, 2010

In continuation of our Taste Live with Walter Bressia,  MarkV Fusco of 1337wine.com in San Antonio TX couldn’t attend but now you can watch his lively banter and interesting comments as he reviews and rates the 3 wines that we tasted a few weeks ago.

So to give you a little background- 1337 Wine is your leet wine resource-a journey of expanding and improving the palette palate and nose. Wines reviewed are typically $10 or less and is a good resource for study material for those looking to delve much deeper into wine, spirits, beer, cigars, and service – everything the aspiring Sommelier needs. Mark is studying to be a sommelier so if you ever thought about going through with your wine dreams or just want to be about to spout “Sommy” vocabulary at adept points in dinner and cocktail parties, you can follow along and get a real time version of the experience.
Here he explains the concept and what a Leet is- “leet speak” (aka elite speak) numbers can be used to represent letters. In this case, 1 = L, 3 = E, 7 = T – LEET. If you watch Episode 1 I briefly explain what happened. Here I will go into a little more depth. I saw a wine bottle at an angle that had “337″ on it. I thought it might have been “1337.” Unfortunately it was just 337. So I decided that to call a wine 1337 would be epic and geeks from far and wide would buy it. I immediately went to Go Daddy to buy that domain. For a couple months I tried to figure out what I was going to do with this domain. The idea of doing wine reviews came to mind since it would be a long time before I could afford to create 1337 as a wine. I then remembered that I was also going to do a blog called “Sommelier in Training.” That never got off the ground. So here you see all my wine website ideas in one place. Hopefully, one day, you will be able to buy 1337 Wine in a store near you. Until then……”

So thank you Mark for your reviews- we look forward to more from you!

2007 Monteagrelo Syrah- 91 point range

“Sweet with some smokiness…its real interesting. Earthiness, with dusty, dirty and fruit.”

2006 Bressia Profundo-90 points

“smooth, real silky, cherries, chocolate, an elegant wine…a wine I could just sit and drink this wine”

2005 Urraca Familia Langley- 93 points

“Outstanding- there is a ton of stuff going on”

“Dust,chocolate, sweetness from red fruits…it just feels juicy.”

Posted in In the News, Tasting Notes | 1 Comment »


Rumors of a Mendoza Supper Club?

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Not only is Mendoza experiencing a wine renaissance with increased wine tourism and more and more wine offerings, but there is also a gastronomic renaissance occurring. Argentines and especially Mendocinos are hardliners when it comes to food- they don’t tend to deviate much from the staples- asado, pasta, empanadas, and pizza (which may or may not make you question their Italian heritage).

However over the last two years or so, Mendocinos are opening up- we now have 3 sushi restaurants, rather shocking to be honest. But food tends to go hand in hand with fine wine, so now we are starting to see more interesting food creations.

SECRET SUPPER CLUB?

One of The Vines friends and sometimes videographer, Langdon Doty, has witnessed this transformation and would like to take it one step further- a secret supper club! At various times during the month he will put on an amazing impromptu gourmet meal for tourists and locals alike based on different wines and his creative culinary whims.

I suggested that he test his skills with the wines we tasted at last night’s winemaker night with Finca Sophenia (http://www.sophenia.com/).  This is what he came up with and my mouth is already watering, I can’t wait for the actual meal!

For more information about the Mendoza Supper Club or for any of these recipes contact Langdon at langdoty@gmail.com

(more…)

Posted in Experiences, Life in Mendoza, Tasting Notes | No Comments »


Ready to be Enamore?

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Valentine’s day is around the corner, this Sunday to be exact and if you are like 95% of the world’s population, you are now scrambling to come up with some ideas for how to please your loved ones.

We would like to suggest the Enamore and truffle pairing- decadent, delicious, and downright perfect.

TASTING NOTES

50% Malbec 25% Syrah, 22% Bonarda 22% Cab Sauv y 3% Cab Franc Perdriel, Medrano and Rivadavia
Winemaking: Bodega Renacer uses an old method of winemaking “appassimento” for this wine, which entails drying the grapes to achieve greater concentration by losing one third of their weight. They undergo a 10 day maceration, alcoholic fermentation, takes place in stainless steel tanks with temperature control during 90 days. Malolactic fermentation induced with native bacteria and is aged for 12 months in new French oak.

Tasting Notes: This wine conjures images of worlds past, the romance of Mouin Rouge- sensuous with elegant structure, full of spiced aromas and luscious fruit. The soft texture and balanced flavors hint at the dense sweetness that leads into a beautiful finish.

Food Pairing: Dark Chocolate Truffles
Drinking Guide: Drink now through 2011

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 8 ounces (225 grams) of high-quality chopped bitter or semi sweet chocolate
  • 1 cup bitter cocoa powder

These simple and decadent bon bons have an unforgettable velvety texture. Serve them at your next red wine and chocolate party, or pair with chicken mole and chocolate chili bread pudding for a three course chocolate coved meal. Your rich Malbecs are fantastic with this.

Preparing: (Makes 18)

Place chopped chocolate in a stainless steel bowl.

Cooking:

In a heavy bottom saucepan, bring cream to a boil. When cream is scalding hot, pour over chopped chocolate. Stir mixture constantly until all chocolate has melted. Allow to stand covered in the fridge until firm enough to form into balls. Remove from fridge and, working with a teaspoon in each hand, roll chocolate in between the teaspoons to form even balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter. Then roll each bon bon in cocoa powder and store in an airtight container in your fridge or freezer until ready to serve.

Switch it up!

Add  1⁄2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or 2 oz. (56gr.) Grand Marnier Liqueur immediately after pouring boiling cream on chocolate.

Posted in Experiences, Tasting Notes | No Comments »


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