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.

Share this:

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.

Share this:

“This festival gives us a chance to showcase Mendoza’s excellent wines, in addition to giving people the opportunity to get out and visit the wineries,” said Luifer Torres, an associate at Bodegas de Argentina, whose company represents and unifies more than 220 Argentinean wineries. ”Our company is proud to support two of Argentina’s most important pastimes.”

On the final weekend of Tangos por Los Caminos del Vino, I had the chance to attend an evening affair at the Hotel Intercontinental Wine Bar, and Norton Winery on the following Sunday morning. It was interesting to compare the two events as they both had unique atmospheres.

Hotel Intercontinental: Dúo Elbi Olalla & Victoria Di Raimondo gave a passionate performance, singing a collection of tango songs while a couple danced. The hotel served guests Kaiken Malbec, one of my favorite wines, and overall, the one-hour event was quite formal. I was very happy to see two strong females not only singing the lead for tango, but also playing the piano, which is somewhat rare in Latino society.

Norton Winery: On a bright Sunday morning, my friends and I headed out to Norton winery in Lujan de Cuyo. The winery started the morning with individual mini-bottle of champagne as they band warmed up and guests sat outside with the beautiful vineyard surrounding us. The affair had more of a feel like a comfortable Sunday brunch–beautiful weather, scenery, people and food. Then the band, Colectivo Tango began to play a more modern style of tango. I stared in amazement as two couples danced on a small stage, gracefully gliding carelessly and seamlessly. The winery also hosted a fashion show to showcase a local designer’s work.

The festival was well worth attending, and one I hope to experience again in the future.

Share this:

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.

Share this:

On a recent bike & wine trip in Lujan de Cuyo, I had the pleasure of visiting Tapiz winery. In terms of winery tours, Tapiz is one of the less visited wineries, perhaps because its surrounded by big players such as Chandon and Norton. However, in my experience, usually whatever a winery lacks in size, it makes up for in personalized attention. Such was the case at Tapiz when my family and I were treated to a two-hour individual tour around Tapiz’s vineyards and buildings.

Interestingly, Tapiz, or tapestry, used to be owned by American wine mogul Jess Jackson (read: Kendall Jackson). He acquired the winery in 1996, but when Argentina’s economy tanked in 2001, he cashed out of the Mendoza winery business. Today the winery is owned by an Argentinean family that resides in Buenos Aires. The winery also lays claim to Club Tapiz and Casa Zolo, a fine dining restaurant and guesthouse on a historical estate in Maipu, and produces several lines of olive oil.

If you’ve gone on several wine tours, you realize there is somewhat of a pattern in most wine tours: a history of the winery, a tour of the vineyard, a tour of the winemaking facilities and a winetasting session. However, the best bodegas add their own touch of flair to the visit. There are three unique characteristics about this winery tour that stand out in my mind.

First off, I don’t think I’ve ever met a tour guide so enthusiastic about his job. Juan, a native Argentinean who gives tours in English and Spanish, explained to us that he studied tourism throughout college despite protests by family and friends because it was his passion. Juan has now been giving tours at Tapiz for two years and shares a contagious excitement for Tapiz, visitors from abroad and wine in general.

Secondly, the llamas. I still get giddy when I see llamas and this visit was no exception. However, please note that llamas are skiddish animals and will run away if you try to chase or take a photo with them…. Tapiz keeps the llamas for the natural fertilizer, but also have a corporate social responsibility aim for the animals. When the llamas’ hair is sheared, Tapiz will give the hair to the grape pickers, who usually are seasonal workers from Peru and Bolivia, so the women in the family can weave the hair into clothing and then sell their products at Tapiz. Thus, they will have a supplement to their income when they are seasonally unemployed.

Finally, Tapiz does a great wine tasting in which you can compare a wine from the tank to its final product. In our case, we tried a Torrontes, a Sauvignon Blanc and of course, a Malbec. If you’re interested in trying their wines, look for their Tapiz line (within this line, all carry the name Tapiz except their organic wine Spirit of the Andes and their ultrapremium Malbec Black Tears) and Zolo. Visit the winery yourself for 25 pesos or for free if you decide to take a nice wine home for yourself.

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.

Share this:

August is a month full of history for Mendoza. First of all, August 17 is el dia de San Martin, or the day that Argentina commemorates the death of the most important leader in Argentina’s emancipation from Spain. You can’t find a town in Argentina that doesn’t have a San Martin street. In actuality, he’s not only a national hero in Argentine, but in Chile and Peru as well. General San Martin holds particular importance in Mendoza and the Cuyo region where he was governor, trained his famous “Army of the Andes,” and planned a devisive disinformation campaign to confuse the Spaniards by sending messages on what passageway his army would take through the Andes, allowing the message to fall into enemy hands and then going the opposite way as the message indicated. Not only does Mendoza have several streets named after him (including one of the most important), there’s also Parque de General San Martin (General San Martin Park) and Cerro de la Gloria (Glory Hill dedicated to his army).

Additionally, last weekend marked the beginning of elections and August 16 is University Day for UNCuyo, celebrating its 72nd anniversary. In light of these many historic events and celebrations, I’d like to spotlight one of Mendoza’s most historic wineries: La Rural.

This 100-year-old colonial style bodega is located in Coquimbito, one of Argentina’s oldest viticultural zones. In addition to producing great Argentine wines, La Rural also houses a museum of antique tools and other objects that were used to make wine in Argentina during the nineteenth century. As a result, the winery’s tour is like taking a trip back in time where you can appreciate the labor and sacrifice that went into wine production a century ago.

Today, the winery has a stainless steel tank capacity of ten million liters and uses modern equipment to ferment and preserve its fine red and white wines. Using grapes from its four Mendoza vineyards, La Rural is much more than an old-fashioned curiosity – this thriving bodega exports wines throughout the world and has helped promote increasing demand for Argentine wine among international consumers.

 Address: Montecaseros 2625 – Coquimbito
Phone: (261) 497-2013
Email: museo(at)bodegalarural.com.ar
Website: www.larural.com
Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm every 30 mins. / Sunday from 10am to 1pm every 1 hour
Reservations Required: Only for groups over 20

Brands: Rutini, San Felipe, Trumpeter, Pequeña Vasija
Recommended Wines: Rutini label varietals, especially the Rutini Malbec.

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.

Share this:

It’s always such a treat whenever anyone comes to visit because it means it’s time to visit the wineries. This time around was no exception and visiting the wineries at this time of the year is especially nice because they’re not very busy and you get most individualized attention. Do wear a coat for the chilly cement cellars.

Anyhow, after visiting Pulenta Estate today, I had to write something up because of the very thorough explanations we received from our tour guide, Soledad. Sometimes when visiting wineries, the tour guides assume you already know as much as they do and only tell a few unique characteristics about their own winery. However, even after arriving a bit late (Argentinean time, right?), we got a rundown start to finish on how wine is made in general and the special characteristics of Mendoza’s wine region.  

Pulenta is a medium-sized bodega located in Alta Agrelo in Lujan de Cuyo. The winery is dedicated to only producing a limited amount of fine wines so they only select a portion of their grapes for their wines and sell the rest to other wineries (for example, they sell some of their grapes to Chandon for their sparkling wine). The Pulenta family has been involved in wineries for three generations and used to own Trapiche winery before they sold it within the last decade and then opened Pulenta in 2002. Antonio Pulenta is 93 years old and credits his longevity to lifelong wine drinking. If you’d like to try their wines beforehand, their lines are (from lowest to highest): La Flor, Pulenta Estate  and Pulenta Gran Corte.  The visit ranges from 30-60 pesos, depending on how many wines you’d like to taste.

http://www.pulentaestate.com

Share this:

Learning the history about Bodega Chacra is like following the royal wedding. It’s historical, exclusive, but most of all, classy.

To start, the owner, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, hails from one of the most esteemed winemaking families in Italy.  The family winery produces the stunning Sassacaia wines, a European wine that broke the mold of what world class wine is made of and the traditions that surround it. Click here to learn more about how Piero’s grandfather, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, went from making excellent wine for just his family to owning the only single winery DOC in Italy.

Secondly, Chacra only makes four different wines, three Pinot Noirs and one Merlot: Barda, a blend of their Pinot Noirs; Chacra Treinta y Dos and Chacra Cincuenta y Cinco, both Pinot Noirs; and finally, Mainque, the sole Merlot. Each of these bottles carries a price tag between 160 pesos (Barda) to more than 400 pesos. These high-end wines are so in-demand that Chacra lovers must pre-order to ensure the wines aren’t sold out.

Finally, although we did not meet Piero last night, you can tell by hearing how he runs his bodega and his philosophy about the wine, that he’s a classy guy. Read this excerpt from Laura Catena’s interview with Piero in An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina:

“Today at our winery in Chacra, we have a traditional artisanal approach to winemaking. We do pretty much everything by hand–we prune, harvest and de-stem by hand; we vinify without machinery or steel; and most of the time we decant by gravity. Chacra is not a conventional business; it’s a passion, a personal folly…Our goal is to keep producing single-vineyard biodynamic wines that are of consequence, as we believe that our terroir is capable of yielding wines that are unique in character.”

As an added bonus, next-door neighbor Bodega Noemia, which Chacra considers its “cousin” winery (which produces Malbec) is owned by the renowned Dutch winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers and Italian Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano.

We tasted a 2009 Barda and then compared a 2009 Chacra Cincuenta y Cinco to a 2010 Chacra Cincuenta y Cinco. Read Vines of Mendoza blogger Emily Camblin’s recent blog review on these wines and her visit to Bodega Chacra.

Carolyn is a newcomer to Mendoza and the wine industry and will be sharing her experiences as she learns more about both, as well as giving updates about local events.  A recent college graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she also teaches English at a local university.

Share this:

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.

Share this:

We finished our last harvest on Friday at The Vines Private Vineyard Estate with all of the staff on hand to bring in the last of the grapes. It has been a very busy season with owners, guests and of course the grapes and wine that we have made over the last few months. We started on March 1 and finished on April 29th. The cellar crew at the winery has had their hands extremely full but we are extremely pleased with the grape quality and the wines!

Here is the rundown for our harvest.

COSECHA 2011
The grapes were harvested from 280 acres or 113 hectares

240,000 Kg (265 tons) of grapes were processed at the winery
18,160 bins of grapes went through the hand selection process at the sorting table
160,000 Kg were of Malbec (2/3 of the total)
7%  were of white varietals
1% was of our own Torrontes
16 different varieties in total

9,500 Kg (20,943 lb) was the average amount harvested per day
19,000 Kg (41,887 lb) was the most we harvested in one day
Over 60 people worked in the harvest

But the work is not over as we have over 160 different microfermentations in the winery!

Share this: