Wine Country

So where are we today? ... we tore ourselves away from summer in the mountains and jumped a sixteen hour bus ride through the endless desert to the north/central city of Mendoza, at the foot of mighty Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Andes (and the Americas as well). Mendoza is ground zero Argentinian wine country, where in centuries past, local planners following and improving upon indigenous peoples use of canals to route the runoff from the Andes created an irrigated fertile land from the desert with an ideal microclimate to grow grapes and olives and other good things. The Jesuits planted the first grapes and followed by Spanish and Italian immigrants planted many varieties. The grape that took hold the most however was the Malbec variety, for which Argentinian wine is now famous. A thin skinned mellow black grape that prefers hot climates and matures midseason, the Malbec came from France where it is one of the six grapes used to create Bordeaux.

Clipped from the Wikipedia:

Introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868, Malbec is widely planted in Argentina producing a softer, less-tannic driven variety than the wines of Cahors. The best examples of these wines come from the Argentine region of Mendoza. In Argentina, where Malbec seems to have found a natural home, the grape is used to produce very popular varietal wines.

Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Juan Cedrón brought the first vine cuttings to Santiago del Estero in 1557, and the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighbouring regions, and then to other parts of the country.

Argentine winemakers had traditionally been more interested in quantity than quality and the country consumes 90% of the wine it produces (45 litres a year per capita according to 2006 figures). However, the desire to increase exports fueled significant advances in quality. Argentine wines started being exported during the 1990s, and are currently growing in popularity. The devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002, following the economic collapse, further fueled the industry as production costs decreased and tourism significantly increased, giving way to a whole new concept of wine tourism in Argentina. The past years have seen the birth of numerous tourist-friendly wineries with free tours and tastings. Some wineries even provide accommodations (such as is the case of Salentein or Tapiz) for tourists interested in staying in boutique hotels specifically oriented towards wine-tourism. The Mendoza Province is now one of Argentina's top tourist destinations and the one which has grown the most in the past years.

Due to the high altitude and low humidity of the main wine producing regions, Argentine vineyards rarely face the problems of insects, fungi, moulds and other diseases that affect grapes in other countries. This permits cultivating with little or no pesticides, allowing even organic wines to be easily produced.

Argentina is the largest wine producer in South America and the 5th largest in the world, with over 1,200 million liters (2003), and the 13th largest exporter in the world (431 million USD in 2005). Argentina probably produces the best Malbec."

What does that mean for us? Aside from lots of great cheap wine (USD $5-10 for a bottle in a nice restaurant) ... not much. I'd like to say that we've been die-hard wine tourists, but that just ain't been the case (sorry, Tim!) We spent a day in Mendoza proper (pop. 1 million) enjoying the stylish tree lined city and lovely people and staying at a really nice local family run hostel ... when we met up with a couple of vinters at a restaurant and a US wine buyer who strangely has spent time in Bend and had been to the Grove and knows a bunch of the same people around Bend (small world!) and thanks to Fisher and Cover's social antics and several bottles of wine, got us a reservation at a SWEET little boutique hotel outside Mendoza. We've pretty much been here ever since enjoying the hell out of the pool and the blazing sun and the great staff and nice air conditioning and fluffy beds. Sure, we've had some wine. I had half a bottle myself yesterday (so you can extrapolate to the others' consumption) ... and the guys went on a 1/2 day wine/olive oil tour ... but Erica and I are just posting UP and doing nothing but relaxing. We have tickets to the Boca/River soccer match tonight in Mendoza (and great seats even!) and we fly back to Buenos Aires tomorrow. We'll leave Mendoza after only scratching the surface but definitely impressed at the vibe of this desert oasis and its people (and the wine). I especially like the Malbec rose's and the sparkling whites.