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Friday the 13th vs Tuesday the 13th

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Are you Superstitious?

It depends on where you are and what your cultural background is apparently. I forgot what day it was until I checked facebook,  oh trusty facebook, and saw all the status updates talking about Friday the 13th. Basically, I associate Friday the 13th with the motion picture industry and Freddy!

However my curiosity was sparked because here in Argentina, Friday the 13th does not portend bad luck, it is actually Tuesday the 13th when you are not to get married or embark on a boat…ok.

However after a bit of research it is actually really interesting the significance of the number 13 and what days are considered bad luck.

US/Northern European/ Anglo Saxon Countries- Friday the 13th

Spain/Greece/ Latin American countries- Tuesday the 13th

Italy- Friday the 17th (hmm)

Why Tuesday?

This day dates back to the middle ages when on Tuesday May 29, 1453 the city of Constantinople fell, which was a huge blow to potential Christians and since then Tuesday came to symbolize the war with the pagan gods and as such, bad luck. Also Marte, is the god of war and reflects destruction, blood and violence and that one legend states that Tuesday the 13th caused the confusion
of the different languages when constructing the Tower of Babel, thus eradicating the option to have a unified humanity. Serious stuff and if you haven’t caught up recently on your mythology check Wikipedia here.

Trezidavomartiofobia vs triskaidekaphobia?

According to an super informational article in Indy Posted: The fear of Friday the 13th goes back to ancient times. Friday the 13 superstitions are rooted in two separate fears. The fear of the 6th day of the week, and the fear of the number 13. When these two things are combined, you have one seriously unlucky day.

According to National Geographic, Friday the 13th is rooted in a Norse myth. 12 Gods sat down for dinner, when a 13th uninvited guest, Loki arrived. Loki, the god of mischief, convinced Holder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder, the beautiful god of joy and gladness.

Some people also trace Friday the 13th back to the last supper. Again, 13 people sit down to dinner, and one eventually dies. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Christ, is said to be the 13th person to the table.

So basically, don’t have dinner with 13 people tonight.

Another theory about Friday the 13th superstitions, is that 13 is unlucky because it follows 12. 12 is considered by many to be a complete number. 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus.

Friday the 13th Superstitions

If you have dinner with 13 people, one of those people will die within a year.

If you cut your hair on Friday the 13th, someone you love will die within a year.

A child born on Friday the 13th will be unlucky for life.

If a funeral procession passes you on Friday the 13th, you will be the next to die.

According to the Huffington Post, many Friday the 13th Superstitions still exist. Hospitals and hotels don’t usually have 13th floors. Airplanes don’t usually have a 13th gate or a 13th aisle. Some cities will skip over 13th avenues. And if you have 13 letters in your name, like Charles Manson, you’re bound to have the devil’s luck.

Good luck today in the Northern Hemispheres- here in Argentina we have a year, until September 2011 when we will experience the same phenomenon.

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


The Vines Weekly Wine Series | Sensory Tasting

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

So over the last couple of weeks, we have gone over how to conduct blind tastings, general tasting techniques and now there is more fun to be had- sensory tastings! This is actually a really good way to start to hone what you smell with what you are able to cognitively recognize. How many times are you lured by the smell of movie theater popcorn, a baked cherry pie, fresh from the oven- you have a vast olfactory memory but at times it is hard to put it into words.

How many times have you said this smell reminds me of something but you just can’t quite put your finger on it.

Test Your Nose

So to test your olfactory senses- cut up slices of banana, orange, lemon, chocolate, cinnamon, cumin, or put mashed berries, tobacco, whatever you have ever thought you could smell in a wine and place them in a set of glasses and put your nose to work. You can also add a little bit of neutral alcohol (or as Mariana tells me, cheap wine) and it will make the aromas a bit stronger in the glass.

You can also invest in a set of essences from Nez de vin, but they tend to be a bit synthetic so it is always better to try and use natural ingredients when you can. Below is a brief description of how Michael, Mariana and I approach sensory tasting at The Vines Tasting Room in downtown Mendoza, Argentina.

And for some tips to help you out with Argentina’s emblematic varietals, the Torrontes, Bonarda and Malbec we have created the following. If you just happen to be in Mendoza or are planning a trip in the near future, make sure to come by the Tasting Room to try one of our guided sensory tastings, where one of our servers can explain all the finer aspects of how to taste and compare essences.

Salud!

The Argentine Sensory Experience

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Argentine Wines & The Vines of Mendoza are capturing the Brazilian Market

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Malbec is the craze in the US, with good reason, but now the Brazilian market is rapidly gaining ground and looking to the south to provide wines for its booming restaurant and wine scene. In the news, in addition to all of the articles about US consumption, Brazil has become captivated with Malbec and Argentine wines. For example, just in the last week these articles have profiled the significant increase in exports as well as dollar value which can be attributed to several different trends including a strong real, an increasing middle class, and attention to lifestyle pursuits.

Strong Brazilian Economy

An article in Bloomberg.com notes that the rise in the Brazilian real is making the purchasing power easier for Brazilians to stock up on top Argentine wines. They also mention that the increase in popularity is due to a combination of economic factors, the quality to price ratio, Malbec led growth, and lifestyle choices.

“Exports to South America’s most-populous country rose 49 percent in the first five months of this year from a year earlier to a record $15.8 million, according to a July report from Caucasia Wine Thinking, a research company based in Mendoza, the center of Argentina’s wine region. Sales to the U.S., the biggest importer, rose 19 percent to $97 million over the same period.”

They also mention The Vines of Mendoza as a way to procure their own wine.

At Vines of Mendoza, a company that sells and manages vineyards for private buyers in the Uco Valley, staff are studying Portuguese, Brazil’s official language, after the number of Brazilians visiting its two tasting rooms rose three- fold from 2008, company president Michael Evans said. Five of the company’s 79 landowners are from Brazil, up from one a year ago, he said.

“It’s become our second most important market in just the last year,” Evans said via e-mail. “We are seeing a huge influx of Brazilians.”

Brazil is the 3rd Largest Market for Argentine Wines

Behind the US and Canada, Brazil is rapidly consuming and importing more and more Argentine wines.

An Article in Wine Sur states: ” As regards Brazil, the third market in importance, exports have increased 49.1% in value and 23.5% in volume.

Another article in Wine Sur notes that the trend “is closely related to the fact that “Brazilian consumers are becoming more sophisticated and enjoy pairing their food with good wines. They look for greater complexity, always appreciating the fruit.”

Private Vineyard Estates featured in the Brazilian Equivalent of the Wall Street Journal

The newspaper Jornal Valor of Sao Paulo featured The Vines of Mendoza’s Private Vineyard Estates yesterday appealing to wine enthusiasts, businessmen and investors.  There is an increasing focus on the Argentine market for imports, investment, and lifestyle adventures. More and more wine enthusiasts are also hoping to make their vineyard dreams come to fruition. We have amongst our international set of owners, many Brazilians who visit frequently to check on their vineyards and wines. Over the last year we have seen increased interest from this market segment as owners would also like to increase the quality of Argentine Wines that are available in the Brazilian market.

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The Vines Weekly Wine Series | Water Tasting (Yes- H20!)

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Use your wine tasting techniques on water

So last week we talked about the importance of blind tastings, its about getting in touch with your senses- sometimes we are going mach 10 and forget to stop and savor the best italian panini you have ever tasted or the most amazing nuances in a Pinot Noir. So to up the ante we decided to host a water tasting- yes your average H2O, which comprises over 96% of our bodies.

After doing a little research I was stunned that there is so much information on the web about tasting water. Who knew?! (except the people that organized the International Water Tasting Competition of course) So we hosted our own water tasting- only still water this time, with a few of The Vines staff members in our Mendoza Tasting Room, and used all the techniques that we have learned from wine to evaluate the sensory properties of these waters.

So what you want to think about is:

1. Smell- what do you smell, is it neutral, smell like chloride, or off smells (hopefully not)

2. Texture- how does the water coat your mouth, does it slide smoothly, is there stickiness

3. Taste- are there any apparent outstanding flavors that you can perceive and do you like/dislike them and how do they compare to the other waters that you are tasting

4. Finish- is there an aftertaste, any metallic flavors, or does it simply melt away?

So, you too can host a water tasting to prep for your wine tasting- see its not all for snobby sommeliers.

I found this super helpful resource from Bottled Water of the World (they must have a lobbying group for sure)

How to Conduct a Water Tasting

Written by Michael Mascha

A tasting provides the best introduction to the surprising richness of epicurean experiences with water. Here are directions for conducting your own.
•    Chill all the waters to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13°C) to nicely showcase the differences in the waters. Make sure they stay at the same temperature throughout the tasting otherwise their qualities (or the perception of them) will change.
•    You will need two to three proper water glasses per person. Ideally, have each flight in the glasses at the same time.
•    Sometimes it’s fun to have pure H2O available to calibrate your palate.
•    Serve bread or crackers, but not salty food.
•    Make notes if you wish, describing how the water feels (short, long, focused, wide, and so forth).
Because the waters vary significantly in mineral content, mouthfeel, and other characteristics, it will be hard to pick a best water. Instead, think of foods that would be good complements to
particular waters.

So the waters that we tasted:

Villivicencia- plastic bottle | 128 mg/l | Magnesium 40.8mg/l | Potassium 5.3 mg/l | Calcium 39.2 mg/l

Evian- they are French and do not need to put anything on ze bottle

Southern Sky- glass bottle | Sodium 41mg/l | Magnesium 3 mg/l | Potassium 23mg/l | Calcium 40mg/l | pH 8

Tap water- don’t think I want to know

So for more information on water tasting- maybe check out the International Water Tasting Competition- the best part is that the website is 2 camels, ha! http://www.2camels.com/international-water-tasting-contest.php

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The Vines gets a jump on Robert Parker- Bodega El Porvenir

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

We found Bodega El Porvenir‘s wines through our weekly blind tastings last year and I remember tasting through the wines and thinking what great quality, concentration and flavors in a wide range of varietals.

With our group of tasters that consists of around 7 people, we were unanimous with our approval of these wines- this almost never happens! We have a few wineries that fit that profile, where we seem to love all the wines that they make, and El Porvenir is definitely one of them.

Robert Parker also apparently agrees with us!

He recently rated several of their wines with 90 points and above.

•    Laborum Syrah 2005 – 91 points – Drink from 2011 – 2020
•    Laborum Tannat 2005 – 91+ points – Drink from 2014 – 2025
•    Laborum Malbec 2004 – 91+ points – Drink from 2007 – 2025
•    Laborum Malbec 2005 – 90 points – Drink from 2011 – 2020
•    Laborum Malbec – Cabernet 2005 – 90 points – Drink from 2011 – 2018

Check out The Vines online wine shop where we have the Tannat and the Syrah  as well as their amazing blend named Amauta which at $36 is a steal. Also next week we will be introducing their Malbec and Torrontes so make sure you try all of their wines- you won’t be disappointed!

Salta and Cafayate

Salta, and Cafayate in particular, is an amazing place to visit- its a mixture between cactus and vineyards, desolate vistas and color soaked rocks. Located at 1750 meters, or 5,740 feet above sea level, it is one of the highest altitude vineyard terroirs in the world!

El Porvenir currently has 192 acres of their own vineyards, planted with the utmost care and divided into two estates: Río Seco and El Retiro.

The climatic characteristics of the zone of Cafayate are perfect for the development of high-level viticulture. With winemaker Luis Asmet and consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs, they are able to extract the best of what Salta has to offer.

The deep, sandy soil, poor and without limiting topsoils, gives a perfect base for cultivating vines and due to the altitude of the zone, the day-night difference (thermal amplitude) is 15- 18ºC (59-64ºF) during the vegetative cycle of the vine. This translates into a notable difference in the polyphenols in the wine compared to lower altitude zones, giving wines with better structure and color, more suited for oak aging and for the later storage and favorable evolution in the bottle.

In addition to at least 350 days of brilliant sunlight an average yearly rainfall of around only 120 millimeters and the absence of hail, it is one of Argentina’s top wine growing regions.

Visit Bodega El Porvenir

If you get the chance make sure that you stop by the winery in Cafayate- it is centrally located in town, which is an amazing experience in itself, and they offer personalized attention to learn more about their wines and the region. They offer personalized activities in which you can choose what you’d like to do. This could include touring the vineyards, winemaker-guided tastings, a typical regional lunch, horseback riding in the vineyards, a carriage ride, or a private appointment to buy wine direct in our cave.

Reservations should be made in advance by emailing tastingday@bodegaselporvenir.com or calling the winery.

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The Vines Weekly Wine Series | Why Blind Tastings?

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Here at The Vines of Mendoza we taste a lot of wine blind, to pick wines for our online wine shop, our Acequia Wine Clubs as well as to educate our Private Vineyard Estate owners about different characteristics that different varietals have. While there is a lot of scepticism about blind tastings, its great to get people’s honest, gut reactions to a wine. It gives you the opportunity to taste wines in “context,” comparing and contrasting the scents, tastes and textures of one wine against others in a similar price range, the same vintage or the same region to see if there are terroir similarities, or vintage or winemaker differences.

Obviously wines are experiential and they can change depending on the food, the atmosphere and even the friends that you are with- but to get a birds eye view into a wine it is often interesting to taste it blind. You might even surprise yourself about which wines are your favorites.

So the big question- why blind tastings? You take away all your thoughts and replace them with senses. You get to know what your nose smells, your mouth tastes, and how your brain thinks. There is no right or wrong answer- all you have to do is experience.


Here are some of our tips to host your own blind tasting:

SET UP

Items needed: Wine glasses, spit bucket(s), pens, crackers to cleanse your palate, bags to cover the bottles and score sheets to rate the smell, taste, color and finish- see below.
Make sure your tasting space is well-lit to allow you to examine the color of each wine.
Use a different wine glasses for each wine. This will allow you to compare the wines against each other and revisit
each wine to see how they develop throughout the tasting.
All red wines should be open one hour prior to tasting and served at a temperature of 64 degrees F.
White wines should be served chilled at 50 degrees F.

Consider adding a selection of “sample aromas” to your tasting. It is an excellent (and fun!) way to help you search for those words that describe the aroma, bouquet and flavor of each wine. Place another set of wine glasses on the
table with a small amount of some of the following items in each glass: Grapefruit, pear, grass, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, licorice, dark chocolate, coffee, strawberry,
raspberry, cherry, fruit jams, soil.

TASTING
Pour approximately one ounce (about one inch) of each wine in its respective glass (Wine 1 in Glass 1, Wine 2 in Glass
2, etc.). Try to keep some of each wine so you can re-taste each one the next day to see how the wine develops.
Follow the enclosed Wine Tasting Guide to analyze each wine and record your observations and scores on the respective
scoring sheets. Take your time and re-visit each wine throughout the tasting.

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The Vines Wine Barrel Tasting Outdoors!

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

It is winter in Mendoza and our gorgeous Andes Mountains are completely covered in snow.  If you have ever come to Mendoza during this season, you will find that the nicest and sunniest part of the day is immediately after lunch – what we call siesta time. For this reason, we chose to do our barrel tasting at the finca, enjoying the warm siesta sun with the Andes as a backdrop. Who needs better inspiration than that?

Every week, Santiago Achaval, The Vines consulting winemaker, and Pablo Martorell, The Vines winemaker, do barrel tastings of the nearly 50 different wines that we are aging for our Private Vineyard Estates owners.

The wines are now undergoing malolactic fermentation and starting their vital journey of aging. It is necessary to monitor the wines during this process to ensure stability of the wine and the absence of any possible fault that might contaminate the wines.

At this stage, the main character of the wine is already determined. However, depending on the style of wine chosen by our clients, there are some small procedures that will need to be done in order to help achieve their desired style. For instance, if you want to improve the mid-palate structure of the wine, the number of battonage per month may vary. Battonage is the process of stirring the wine while it remains in its barrel on its yeast lees. This process results in the extraction of additional amino acids and mannoproteins from the yeast creating a “creamy” mouthfeel.

In essence, the main objective of these regular barrel tastings is to ensure a very good quality, observing the aging process in order to obtain the best characteristics out of each wine.

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Great wine specialists tasting our first juice!!

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Our first wines are already aging in oak and we invited distinguished winemakers and wine journalists to do a barrel tasting!  Each of them has different philosophies when making wine and therefore having their feedback is very exciting and valuable!

We visited our brand new winery and they were amazed to hear all the logistics and planning of our customized vineyard management and winemaking. They could not believe the meticulous winemaking plans we had for each of our clients! This year we crushed 113,024 kilos of grapes and ended up with 59,300 liters (15,665 gallons) of wine. With such volume we are considered to be a small-scale winery in Argentina, however, we had 83 different fermentations in one-ton stainless steel tanks! In other words, we had the same number of fermentations an average winery with the capacity of 2 million liters would have.

In our barrel tasting, we were able to taste all the varietals we made this year; Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot.

Tasting wines at this stage is not easy unless you know what you are looking for, and I can tell you that these guys did! That is why it is great to hear them talk about acidity, quality of tannins, fruit expression… how they project wine into the future is fabulous! It was also fun to hear all the different hypotheses for harvest, maceration, type of oak, etc. according to their winemaking philosophy.  They all agreed, though, on the great potential of our wines despite the fact the vines are so young! A promising future!

But of course the day didn’t finish there… we shared a great asado at the ramada with astounding wines!

For all of you wine lovers! Thank you for joining us and sharing your passion with us!

Mariana Onofri (The Vines Sommelier), Pablo Martorell (The Vines oenologist), Bernard Portet (winemaker from Napa), Pancho Paez (Clos de los Siete wine seller), Thanassis Viafadis (General Manager-Bodega Krontiras), Giuseppe Franceschini (Italian winemaker – Bacan wines), Marco Toriano (Public Relations -Finca La Celia), Laureano Gomez (Oenologist – Eno Rolland Lab) Gabriel Bosso (Journalist-El Conocedor)

Marita and Walter Bressia enjoying a  great asado after tasting our wines!

Asado with Marcelo Pelleriti, winemaker at Monteviejo winery, and Thierry Haberer, winemaker of Michel Rolland’s The Rolland Collection Wines.

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Argentina in the quarter finals- celebrate with some South African Wine

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Tomorrow is the big battle- Argentina vs. Germany! To gear up for the battle we felt it appropriate to pre-game a bit with some of South Africa’s finest wines.


The Vines of Mendoza Weekly Wines Series | South African Wines

Be sure to cheer Argentina on to victory tomorrow in South Africa!

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Argentina dominates- futbol y vino

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Argentina proved its mettle on the playing field in South Africa against the worthy Mexican team vying for a spot to compete in the quarter finals. Next up is an epic battle with the strong German team this Saturday. Mendoza is full of energy and action with world cup tee shirts and jerseys resplendent in the streets! (photo by worldcontributor.com)

Off the field Argentina is also dominating in the world of wine. In an article from Wines of Argentina, Argentine wines are still the fastest growing import in the US with dollar sales up 31.3% and volumes up 27.5%. Three Argentine wines also earned a spot of the coveted Wine & Spirits “50 Value Brands of the Year” further solidifying Argentina’s position in the international market as the go-to wine with high quality and value. The three listed were all under $20 and included Basso, Cruz Alta, and Trivento.

And while Malbec is certainly the darling of Argentina’s wine portfolio, the future is bright with the arrival of new and exciting varietals, research and development and new technologies. In a recent interview from Wine Sur with long-time winemaker Aldo Luis Biondolillo from Bodega Tempus Alba, his take is “differentiation is key.” He feels that winemaking has been “one of the few agroindustrial activities that keeps growing steadily in the export market, both in terms of production and commercialization.”  Particularly interesting are the associations that are in place to help foster winery development as well as research for clonal identification and propagation.

” Our winery relies on strategic alliances with Mendoza’s fund for transformation and growth (FTyC, Fondo para la Transformación y el Crecimiento), ProMendoza and the Argentinian fund for technology transfer (FONTAR, Fondo Tecnológico Argentino). The funds granted by the FTyC helped us protect our vineyards by means of anti-hail nets, and last year, it also allowed us to expand the capacity of our vats at the winery. ProMendoza guided us along our process of commercial development. And FONTAR helped us by means of their non-refundable funds program, which we’re using to finance the evaluation of ten years of work devoted to the identification, selection and multiplication of Malbec clones. We’re already producing our own clones. Our future vineyards will be developed using material selected from the centennial genetic pool of Argentina’s commercial viticulture. Today we can offer our importers wines produced from grapes selected by ourselves. Though this is a costly and time-consuming task, it will help us pave the way towards differentiation.”

Argentina, despite all of its recent popularity, is still a wine region that has yet to really hit its stride. Since I have been here over the last 4 years, the number of Cabernet Sauvignon’s that I have tasted and actually liked have increased dramatically. Granted I have a bit of a California palate, but I believe with the influence of foreign winemakers and techniques, understanding, farming, and producing Cabernet has increased in quality and consistency over the last 5 years. The future holds the same true for new varietals. I am excited to see how transplanted varietals, such as Rhone selections like Marsanne, Rousanne, and particularly Syrah have in store!

The future is shining brightly for Argentina both on and off the field!

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