Part 1- The Technical Tasting Note 

Ok, so I am not good at the boring blah blah blah that you usually get from wine professionals. I get that glazed over look as they talk about adequate tannins and structure, prominent anthocyanins, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I can talk the talk and also throw it in the mix, its just that I think there is a better and more fun way to talk about wine, one that everyone can grasp.

So, we will divide this “mini” course into small chunks with some take aways so that soon you too, can be a master tasting note writer and awe your friends with your wine tasting abilities and hopefully, creativity. So to kick things off we are going to start with the tasting note skeleton which is made up of 5 S’s.

So onward- the 5 S’s- this should be fun!

See- This is what you see in the glass. Look at the color, the opacity, the different hues around the edge and then start to think back to when you started to learn about the rainbow colors. Now try to identify those colors. I know you have all looked at clothing catalogs, so feel free to steal some names from clothing items like cranberry, straw, maybe even a hint of periwinkle etc.

Try to do it with adequate light and hopefully have a whitish surface as a background. Try not to look at the glass with a fuscia shirt in the background for example, it tends to skew the results. Also, you don’t want to look like a blind mouse running about searching for the light, so if you are in a compromised situation, its ok, just move on to the next step.

Swirl- Let’s get some movement going in that glass- I want to see those legs do some dancing! But try and get a gauge of your glass shape and size before you do so, otherwise you may be wearing half of your glass of wine. The best thing to do for beginners is to start slow with your glass of wine on a smooth table-like surface and, keeping the base of the glass on table, start to make small circular gestures. There you go, keep going, until you can take off the training wheels and go stem swirling only!

Sniff- Now this is probably the hardest step to do without looking like a complete idiot or a confirmed wine snob. But yes, you can do it! Once you have the swirling part down just start to lift the glass lightly to your nose and take a delicate whiff. See what you think, what your first takeaway is. Its okay if you don’t smell anything at first, it takes practice and what fun it is to practice with wine! The best thing to get started is to practice your swirl and then periodically sniff. See if you can smell the same essences from the first time to the next. Try to associate the different smells with foods you eat or experiences you have. There are no rules and no right answers, because this is a sensory exercise and everyones senses are different.

Try this out every time you have a glass of wine and you will increase your olfactory vocabulary quite quickly. Take time in the market to smell pinapples, berries, fruits and spices. Not only does it give you a zen-like moment to your day but it makes you start to create the smell memories that will help you with the PART II of the Tasting note course!

Sip- So this is really my favorite part of the exercise. If you are with a group, try to delicately taste the wine and see what your overall experience is. Take time to notice how it hits your tongue, is it spicy, tickly, acidic, soft, chocolatey? How does it slide through your mouth- is it elegant, grippy, tart?  If you are alone with your glass of wine, you can go full monty and close your eyes, sigh deeply and truly indulge in the experience.

Savor- So now you have experienced the wine from your sight, smell and taste, now it is time to see what remains. How was the wine structured? Did it have a lot of acid, tannin,  etc.? Basically … a lot of the boring things that you hear about but never really take into account. You don’t have to have the vocabulary, you should just know what it tastes like for you. Once you swallow what flavors linger, or does it even linger? What is your overall impression of the wine? Would you buy it again? Would you give it as a gift to a friend? 

So the take aways from this basic anatomy of a wine tasting note:

1. Relax and put your sensory hat on.

2. Don’t worry that you don’t know that much about wine- just know what you like and don’t like.

3. Follow the 5 S’s and you will look like a wine pro in no time!

And stay tuned for Part II…

Emily is The Director of Marketing for The Vines of Mendoza and likes to dabble in wines tastings and sensory evaluation.

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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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It’s springtime here in Mendoza, which means our vines at our Private Vineyard Estates in the Uco Valley are coming out of hibernation and enjoying the mountain sunshine! We are also busy in the vineyard planting new vineyards as well as maintaining our owner’s established vineyards.

After pruning all of the vineyards during winter, the vines are now properly positioned to concentrate their energies on the spurs that remain. Overall throughout the year, we want to make sure that we optimize sunshine and right now, shoot thinning is important to create proper air- circulation amongst the vines as well as remove any shoots that will not bear fruit. These “just beginning to flower” vines can then concentrate all of their efforts on fewer shoots which will then achieve greater sugar and flavor concentration for the future grapes.

It is an exciting time of year for us at The Vines of Mendoza, as the vineyards start to develop their full canopy and transform the dramatic landscape into beautifully manicured vineyards.

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Aerial View- The Vines Resort & Spa

The Vines Resort & Spa Construction site

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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!

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Celebrating birthdays in Mendoza can be challenging to organize. First of all because the Mendocinos are soooo laid back that it is impossible to get an rsvp soon enough to plan the menu for the big day. Therefore sometimes you end up with more guests than
you thought and one of your brothers will run to get more food and drinks. The typical birthday in Mendoza, when you are in your twenties, is celebrated in a family house where friends, family and friends of friends are invited. So, the normal and easiest menu
at a birthday party comprises empanadas and pizza, or empanadas and “sanguchitos de peceto” (eye round beef sandwiches) served with the usual ingredients that are: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise (yes, argentines love mayonnaise in their sandwiches,
like gringos like pickles, ick to both of them), avocados, etc.

But as time goes by and people add more candles to the birthday cake, the menu changes and gets more sophisticated. The other thing that also changes is that you only invite your best friends, the people that you want to be with on that special day. Some years you through a party, others you go out to a fancy restaurant, and some day you cook for your friends.

Yesterday, it was my dear friend Emily`s birthday and she, thank god, decided to cook an Italian meal for a few friends, including me. Since almost 60% of the Argentine population is of Italian origin, it wasn’t at all difficult to find the necessary ingredients.
Mendoza offers the best produce to cook Italian; you only need imagination and much love to cook them. And, as strange as it may sound, there are not many good Italian restaurants in the city. Anyway, I must say, I was very impressed by the simplicity with
which Ale (another friend) decorated the loft; it looked like a real trattoria in Tuscany. Elegance is the word that comes first to my mind. We started with a nice platter of cheese, salami and prosciutto, served with a nice Pinot from Napa. Shhh!!! I know, but
the Italian wine went with the main course; it is hard to find imported wine in Mendoza.

Finally, the main course, the so expected Lasagna was ready. It was made with fresh pasta, spinach, good cheese, Bolognese (cooked two days in advance, yums!!) and béchamel sauce. It was absolutely flawless, like an explosion of perfectly balanced
flavors in your mouth. It makes me crave for the leftovers while I write these lines. We all sat down in different tables arranged throughout the loft with candle lights to enjoy Emily´s creation with, yes, the Italian wine, Ruffino, I think it was Chianti. By the end, to add some “azúcar” to the night, we had a panacotta served with fresh strawberries and basil (I added some fresh ground pepper which it paired very well), and a tiramisu.

A memorable night with good friends, great food and incredible wines that will remain in my senses for a long time.

Julia Bermejo Hilger is a trained chef currently getting her degree in English translation. You can often find her at The Vines of Mendoza Tasting Room where she can educate her with her vast knowledge of the Mendoza wine region and anecdotes of the personalities that lie within.

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Winter Time!!!

As much as we refuse to accept it, winter has arrived in Mendoza. And Mendocinos, I guess, like to complain about the cold weather, especially because everything slows down more than usual. It seems like time stops, people don’t go out as much and instead stay at home. But the truth is that we have a very short winter, and luckily Mendoza is the land of the sun, with an average of 320 sunny days a year. So stop complaining and let’s start enjoying this season that provides the perfect excuse to eat, drink and gorge ourselves with those delightful dishes we have inherited from our Spanish ancestors.

We can´t talk about the gastronomy of Mendoza without first taking a quick glance at its history.

The culinary identity and tradition of every city is related to the character and nature of the people that live in it. Mendoza is one of the oldest cities of Argentina. Colonizers came first from Spain, and in the late 1800s there was a big Italian immigration. People settled here and with them they brought all their tradition, from vines and olive trees, to orchards, and more importantly, their culinary tradition, which was a way of preserving their identity. The Mendocinos never questioned what they were eating, they just did.

Luckily, there has been a global twist in gastronomy and, nowadays, people of all ages are starting to enjoy food and demanding better quality and service. New chefs arrived and cooking institutes appeared bringing with them a new “way” of cooking and reviving old traditional recipes from Mendoza. The process started by appreciating our local produce and applying new techniques. The result was a number of different fusion dishes like baby goat ravioli, “morcilla” empanadas (blood sausage), etc.

Now, let’s go back to tradition and begin with the star of the south of Mendoza.

“EL CHIVITO,” or baby goat, is the king of the province. There is even a “GOAT FESTIVAL” every year where they cook over 1000 chivitos “a la llama” (cooked over wood flames). Last year, the festival entered the Guinness book with a record of 1,011 chivitos. This meat stands out for its gamey herbal flavour and there are many ways of cooking it: stewed, grilled, roasted, flamed. Francis Mallman´s 1884 restaurant at Escorihuela Winery offers a great version of it. It is even better if you pair it with a robust Malbec from the region, or a sophisticated blend.

To follow, there is also the excellent quality of goat cheeses from the area and almost every decent restaurant serves them. It is a great companion for salad or roasted veggies. This time of the year, goat cheese is exceptionally good if served with a roasted squash salad, quiche or simply on a toast with olive oil. Better if paired with an oak-less red. If you are more courageous and want to try it as a dessert, try it paired with the typical preserves form the area like figs in syrup or alcayota (spaghetti squash in syrup). Please drink a big structured chardonnay with this dessert.

Tomaticán, is a starter or side dish made with those emblematic sweet and aromatic tomatoes from Mendoza, spring onions and topped with a poached egg. A fresh traditional family dish, if you see it on a menu do not hesitate, try this one with a fresh fruity white wine like a Viognier, or Pinot Gris.

Humita en chala, or tamales, probably inherited from our neighbours from the other side of the wall, i.e., Chileans, are a nice option as a starter if you are vegetarian.

The perfect starters, the ambassadors of Mendoza, are our empanadas.

Recognized, flattered and vain, you can find them almost everywhere, and with some variations. The best ones are the homemade empanadas you find in the country side. Some chefs in town have done a great job finding old recipes from their mothers and grandmothers and have achieved some good and honourable examples for restaurant patrons. Empanadas are a perfect pairing for local reds, and, as strange as it may sound, they make a good pairing for the blooming Torrontés.

To finish, try “tabletón Mendocino,” a pastry filled with dulce de leche. Or, if you are lucky and find a menu that has Ambrosía or Huevos Quimbo, do not be afraid of the calories and pair it with a late harvest white wine.

Mendoza and Mendocinos are changing, and more importantly learning and trying new things. Hopefully, they will stay on this train.

Julia Bermejo Hilger is a trained chef currently getting her degree in English translation. You can often find her at The Vines of Mendoza Tasting Room where she can educate her with her vast knowledge of the Mendoza wine region and anecdotes of the personalities that lie within.

For recipe ideas be sure to check out From Argentina With Love by Rebecca Caro, she is a master in the kitchen as well.

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I have actually, been thinking about writing my own blog for months, but I never sit down and do it. Bloody procrastination. A few months ago I took a final in English Phonetics and the assistant professor, who is a psychologist, told me after the exam was over that I answered better when I was put under pressure.

Anyway, I love wine, and food is my passion. But what to write about that hasn’t been written or said before? And that at the same time is fun and entertaining for the reader?

So? Wine? Food? Wine + Food Pairing? Favorite Wine? Terroir? Here it goes!

While working for several years in the wine+tourism+hospitality industry there is nothing better than knowing about wine, or at least pretending to know about wine. Why? First of all, because every single person you meet thinks you are interesting, especially if you are from Mendoza.

1. Mendoza is currently enjoying being the rock star of the wine world which is reason enough to make a big fuss.

2. Secondly, there’s nothing better than going for dinner with your friends and being in charge of choosing the wine that you want to drink.

3. Third, every time you meet with clients or tourists (that usually pick up for the bill) you are also in charge of choosing the wine. Though, here I must say I don’t take full advantage of that situation. I just can’t.

So, when choosing a wine you have a lot of options and while some like to try new and different things. I know what I like so I choose wine by the phrase: “The devil you know is better than the one you don’t”. The best part of all is that in Argentina there’s a wide list of great values.

Here are my top 5 favorites “mid-priced” wines you can always trust:

1- Serrera Malbec Gran Guarda 2007.

2- Pulenta Estate Pinot Noir 2008.

3- Vistalba Corte B 2007.

4- Catalpa Merlot 2007.

5- Monteviejo Blend 2006.

Here is to enjoying wine with friends and family, and being able to choose your favorite wines. Salud!! (Many of these wines are available in the US for you to try your own pairings, just click on the links above)

Julia Elvira Bermejo Hilger.-Was born and raised in Mendoza and now works for The Vines of Mendoza while going to school. She is a chef as well and is getting a degree in English translation. Her passion for food and wine is a legacy of her mothers kitchen, with extensive travels and experiences. She also believes everything tastes better if shared with friends and family.

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It is also the time in the vineyards when the vines become dormant and we begin the pruning process in order to get the vines ready for the next growing season. As we have vines that range from 1 year to 5 years old on the property, they are all at different phases of the overall training process. In the first two years it is critical to establish the trunk and the cordons that then become the permanent structure and support the buds and canes that then flower and become grapes. Once they have reached 3 years old the permanent part of the vines, the trunk and the cordons, have been established.

We use a single curtain, vertical shoot positioning system with a bilateral cordon. This system allows us to optimize sunlight and achieve high quality with low yields.

Below is a great video by The Vines agronomist Francisco Evangelista who explains the philosophy behind pruning as well as the techniques used in our own Private Vineyard Estates in the Uco Valley.

Overall Pruning the vines can be defined as “the removal of plant parts to obtain horticultural objectives”.

These objectives include:
- Controlling the size & form of the grapevine.

- Optimize the production potential of the grapevine.

- Maintain a balance between vegetative growth and fruiting.

Training the grapevines on the other hand optimizes the utilization of sunlight and promotes productivity.

- Adapts to the characteristics of the grape cultivar.

- Promotes efficient & sustainable vineyard management practices.

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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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