Extraordinary Argentine Wines
Flavor Abounds in Argentine Wine Country
E
very day, I wake up and feel lucky to get to do the work I
do. As a wine industry professional, I am often a guest at
fabulous dinners, I meet winemakers from all over the globe and
taste their art, and I travel to some extraordinary places. I consider
myself an ‘experiencer’, always ready to try something new. I think
that is what attracted me to wine in the first place. Wine is, in
itself, an experience; There is something romantic and adventurous
about popping the cork on a bottle of wine and tasting what’s
inside. Whether I’m drinking it for the first time or revisiting an
old favorite, there’s always that moment in the first few sips where I
simply forget everything else and just experience all the aromas and
flavors the wine has to offer.
by Evie Clercx
A few months ago, I was invited on a wine education trip to
Argentina. I had not been to South America before and, besides
enjoying the heck out of a Torrontes poolside or savoring every
sip of Malbec with my barbecue, I really didn’t know much about
the country’s winemaking practices. It was an invitation I readily
accepted. I packed a bag, said goodbye to the Midwestern subzero
temperatures and headed to Mendoza in the middle of their
summer. I should also mention that just the week before, I broke
my leg in a skiing accident (see above statement about me being an
‘experiencer’) and was eager to heal whilst sipping some fantastic
wines.
That’s because the Argentine people consumed almost all of the
wine they produced, about 26 gallons per person annually (a US
person consumes between one and two gallons annually). That’s a
lot of wine! However, in the 1990’s, due to political and economic
shifts, they started exporting a significant amount of their wine.
Now, North Americans can purchase and enjoy some of the finest
products the country has to offer.
Argentina’s wine country is located at the desert-like foothills of
the Andes, in the West Central part of the country. Argentina boasts
some of the highest altitude wine regions in the world. Because of
the height at which the vines grow, they receive copious amounts of
intense sunlight (320 days per year on average), very little rain (8-10
inches per year) and are subject to erratic weather from the Andes.
During my January visit – the middle of their summer – the Zolo
vineyard received significant damage from a hailstorm that blew
down from the mountains. This is not an un \