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Posts Tagged ‘Argentina’

Like a lot of other people this past Sunday night, we were glued to the TV set sayin’, “Man, she looks terrible!” or “Wow, she looks really great!”  We were also wondering if James Cameron and Jon Landau’s 10 year project, “Avatar”, would runaway with all of the Oscar trophies.  But just like so many other past Oscar nights, there was that dark horse in the bunch that surprised everyone.  This year, it was a night to remember for the folks involved with the film “The Hurt Locker”, which won six Academy Awards including “Best Picture”.

As we watched “The Hurt Locker” put a hurtin’ on fellow nominees, we were putting a hurtin’ on a couple great bottles of wine!

The first of the evening was the 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes bottled by Luigi Bosca.  This wine was produced in Argentina and consists of 100% Torrontes grape.  Torrontes is the wonderful and distinctively aromatic signature white grape of Argentina.  If you’ve never tried a Torrontes before, this one will certainly make a great first impression on you!  There’s a lot of interesting layers of flavors swirling around in this wine.  It’s a bombshell of racy, crisp acidity, packed full of tropical flavors, that reminded me of a Pina Colada.  The 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes was a big winner and left us wanting more.  Costing less than $10, it secures a lofty 4 star WineLife365 taste rating and also earned itself many repeat visits as the weather in our neck of the woods continues to warm up.

Next up was the 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro.  This red wine is from the South of Italy in the Puglia (Apulia) region.  Negroamaro, also known as Negro amaro, is one of the most widely planted native red grapes grown in the Southern regions of Italy.  It’s grown almost exclusively in Puglia (Apulia) and also in Salento, which is located at the “heel” of Italy.  The Negroamaro grape and the winemakers in this region tend to allow these wines to express rustic, earthy, and natural tasting characteristics.  This particular Old World red showcases some really interesting mineral, herbaceous and cherry twists that will undoubtedly make you question whether you’re a fan of it or not.  We were fans of 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro and give it 3 stars out of 4 on our taste scale.  One final note on this wine – I paid $12 for it at a local retailer, but I’ve seen it as high as $25 online.  I’m not sure whether or not I’d be willing to fork over 25 bones for it, but if you can find it for less than $20, it’s certainly worth a shot!

With the 2010 Oscars behind us, I can’t say that there were many moments that will replay in my mind for any length of time.  However, I did find some winners that will have repeat performances in my glass.

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Were my wife and I the only ones that missed the episode of Sex and the City where Carrie and the girls strolled the winter NYC streets wearing Spiderman rubber boots?  This past weekend, my wife and I took a road trip into the Big Apple to attend the New York Wine Expo and we were asking ourselves that very question after stepping down into that first slushy puddle!

Note to all you newbies that ever plan to visit New York City just after a snowstorm:  Keep your Manolo Blahniks high heels and whatever other form of footwear that you deem as being “cute” at home, because they don’t look particularly fabulous when they’re filled up with seven inches of wet sloppy gray slush.  Trust me when I tell you, even Spiderman looks great with Chanel!  To the guys - your Gore-Tex hunting boots are highly recommended in this particular situation!

With this new life lesson under our belts, we weren’t about to let some soggy socks and water-soaked shoes stand in our way of drinking some great wine – heck no!

Upon entering the Expo, my wife and I immediately took notice of one important element that had been missing from all of the other wine expos and events that we’ve attended in the past – Crowd Control.  The organizers and security company for this particular event did a terrific job of not allowing this party to get too big; which gave attendees the opportunity to make their way around to all the wonderful exhibitors’ tables.

A couple of the exhibitors that stood out at this event were Wines of Argentina and get this – Wines from Brazil.  Yup, that’s right, Brazil!  I was quite surprised to learn that over the past fifteen years the Brazilian wine industry has been investing a tremendous amount of money into equipment and vineyard management in order to one day become a player in the global wine market.  Although I tasted several outstanding Brazilian wines, the most notable were from Patricia Carraro’s family run vineyard called, Lidio Carraro.  I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Ms. Carraro about her wines.  The thing I found most interesting and appealing about her and her family’s winemaking philosophy is that they’re extremely passionate about allowing the wines to express their true “terroir” (sense of home).  They do not believe in masking their wines’ natural flavors with unnecessary additives.  In addition to the wonderful tasting wines from Lidio Carraro, I was also impressed by a refreshing, inexpensive sparkling wine comprised of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from the Miolo Wine Group.  Taking into consideration the quality level along with the price level of these wines from Brazil, they seem to be forming a perfect storm that is headed straight from the importers, to the distributors and onto wine retailers’ shelves.  So, if you start to see Brazilian wines showing up on the store shelf, don’t be surprised.

Sorry for the blurry pic!

Another great stop at this year’s expo was Argentina.  Argentina is making some of the most beautifully aromatic wines in the world today, and this tasting really showed off that characteristic in a big way!  We were graciously taken through several fine examples of Torrontes (white) and Malbec (red) by Ms. Nora Favelukes, President of QW Wine Experts.  Similar to our experience with the Wines from Brazil, Wines of Argentina was also very well represented by several great whites and reds that displayed unique and distinctive characteristics.  Overall, it was an outstanding showing from the Wines of Argentina, and I can’t say enough kind words about the energy, insight, and passion that Ms. Favelukes and her team shared with us and other attendees at the show.

There were a lot more great peeps and vino at the NY Wine Expo, but here’s a short list of some of the stand-outs at the show:

Lyrarakis Heraklion Cuvee Grande Colline from the Greek island of Crete.

Fulcrum Wines from California.

No pic from NY Wine Expo - this is from AC Food and Wine Festival

Brianne Fisher, Testa Wines of the World - featuring Nemea Agiorgitiko Red.

Manuel Moreno,  Vinicola de Villarrobledo - featuring a killer Syrah.

Richard Morgenstern, Creative Wines International  – featuring Mettler Wines.

All in all, the New York Wine Expo was a well organized event with a diverse representation of wines.  If you didn’t make it this year, I highly recommend marking your calendar for next year…just don’t forget to bring your boots!

To see more pictures, visit the WineLife365 Fan Page.

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From: Argentina
Price: $8.99

This wine review was a tough one for me.  I personally love many different styles of red wines.  However, one group of reds that I’ve never been able to totally embrace as a whole is Italian Chianti.  The reason for my love-hate relationship with this style of wine is that I find many share a dominating and strong characteristic that I like to describe as an astringent, “alcoholly” aftertaste.  In other words, a peculiar burning or hot sensation that comes out on the back end of tasting these wines makes me feel as if I just swallowed rubbing alcohol or jet fuel, and leave me feeling like I should be calling 911 to get treated for alcohol poisoning.  But being the wine trooper and occasional “flame swallower” that I am, I’m not about to let a few “alcoholly” experiences stop me from finding a nice Chianti to pair with a plate of fava beans. 

Which leads me to a rather interesting experience that I recently had with one 2004 Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah.  This wine had me guessing from the first sip whether or not I was drinking an “agreeable” Italian Chianti or something that just tasted like Chianti that I really liked.  Here’s a wine experiment that I’d love for you to try – grab a Chianti Classico from Italy priced under $20.  Then grab a bottle of this Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah at under $10.  Taste them both blindfolded.  I’ll bet that your taste buds think that they’re both from Italy.  The 2004 Trumpeter Malbec-Syrah tasted like an “Argentinean Chianti Classico” to me, but without the astringent, “alcoholly” aftertaste.

All in all, I really enjoyed the oddity of this Italian tasting, Argentinean-born, red blend of 50% Malbec and 50% Syrah.  It had good ripe fruit, integrated very nicely with oak, to give it a full and rounded taste both on the front and backend.  It certainly wasn’t at all what I was expecting to taste, and at under $10 bucks a bottle there’s a lot to like about this wine.  If you enjoy Italian Chianti, I think that you’ll enjoy the value that this wine brings to the table.  Give it a shot one night with a plate of traditional spaghetti and meatballs (or even some fava beans) and taste for yourself.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

3 Stars out of 4.

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From: Argentina

Price: $8.99

ATTENTION ALL CALIFORINIA CHARDONNAY DRINKERS:  Please place your glass of wine down on the table and step away.

I want to share with you yet another outstanding value white wine from Argentina that you’re probably not paying attention to because it comes from a lesser known place in Argentina called the Calchaqui Valley.  It also contains that unfamiliar native Argentinean white grape known as Torrontes.  However, this Torrontes has a splash of that old familiar favorite in it – Chardonnay! The 2007 Inca white blend consists of 80% Torrontes and 20% Chardonnay.  The splash of Chardonnay is terrific.  It really gives this wine some serious backbone that allows it to hold up to just about any food that you throw at it.  We started drinking this white blend just before dinner.  Our dinner was some Tex-Mex chicken and steak fajitas.  We liked this wine so much that we continued to drink it with dinner, and it held up really well.

The 2007 Inca Torrontes / Chardonnay has an awesome crisp apricot and citrus (think grapefruit) flavor that is light on the “tree bark” (oak in wine geek terms).  This wine is very enjoyable and skillfully blended to near perfection.  And I almost forgot the best part – it can be purchased for less than $10…cha-ching!

This wine is an outstanding value and the Torrontes grape is quickly becoming one of my favorite white wine grapes. 

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

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From: Argentina

Paid: $15.99

I just did a double take on what I spent for this wine.  I normally don’t exceed $15 bucks.  Sad to say, I got ripped off.   This wine isn’t worth the $15.99 that I paid for a “Select” Malbec.  I’ve tasted better non-select  Malbecs for under $12 bucks.  This Malbec was light on the delicious, dark, red grape that I’ve enjoyed as an alternative to overpriced Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons.  There’s not much on the finish either.  It’s rather light on the tongue and shorter than a pair of Daisy Dukes.

In terms of a price to quality ratio, this Malbec is a 1 Star in my opinion.  As far as taste goes, it’s a 2 Star.  Since we rate’m on taste, the Alamos Malbec Seleccion is awarded a 2 Star rating.

If you really want to try a great wine from Alamos, you should pick up a bottle of their Torrontes white wine.  Now that one is pretty darn good.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star

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