WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘Argentina’

If you’re kickin’ yourself for missing the 4^th Annual New York Wine Expo this past weekend – you’ve got good reason!

My wife and I made the annual trek to NYC to sample a remarkable array of wines from Old World producers from places like France and Italy, to New World wines from South America and the United States –  to name just a few.  Attendees had a whopping 760 different wines to choose from; and over 190 wineries from around globe were on hand to pour their newest creations.

I’d either be lying or still passed out drunk somewhere in a New York City alley if I told you that we were able try all 760 wines, but we did our best to try at least a few of the wines at each exhibitor’s table.

Here were just a few of the wines that left us tipsy in their awesomeness:

• Winemaker, Miguel Jesus Gonzalez Sahuqillo of Bodegas Villavid traveled all the way from one of Spain’s more obscure wine regions, Manchuela, and dazzled our taste buds with both the Blanco Villavid (D.O. Manchuela)  and the Woman Soul (Made for a woman –and good enough for a dude! ), both consisting of 50% Macabeo and 50% Verdejo grapes.  

• On the red side of things, both Wines of Argentina  and Portugal Wines brought their A-games.  They were well represented by dozens of exciting and a few barely pronounceable reds like the Portuguese 2007 Esporão Reserva that was a blend of Aragones (Tempranillo), Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Alicante Bouschet.  Try saying that 3 times fast! 
• We also loved, I mean LOVED the 2007 Saurus Patagonia Select Pinot Noir from Familia Schroeder in the Valley of San Patricio del Chañar (Argentina). 
• For the very wealthy wine collector or someone who really wants to splurge, there was a lot to Ooh and Aah over with the nearly $100 bottle of 2008 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina that oozed with seductive elegance and refinement. 
• For dessert, wine lovers with a sweet tooth had lots of treats to choose from.  Our favorite was the 2008 “Naturally Sweet Wine” Vinsanto from Santorini’s Santo Wines.  Comprised of 75% Assytriko and 25% Aidani grapes, this barrel aged, very rich wine provided a happy ending after a long afternoon of tasting.

Notwithstanding the many great wines at this year’s expo, there were also some terrific wine personalities as well to help pour on the education.  We had the pleasure of meeting Mark Oldman, best-selling author of Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine and the beautiful and energetic Leslie Sbrocco, otherwise known as Thirsty Girl.

Finally, we happened upon a great local wine story this year.  Or, should I say that “it” found us!    As we were preparing to wrap things up for the day, we were stopped by a gentleman named Craig.  As it turned out, Craig was the boyfriend of Alie Shaper, president and winemaker of Brooklyn Oenology.

Shaper, a former aerospace engineer, decided a few years back to turn her hobby and love of wine into a new full–time career and began Brooklyn’s first urban winery.  Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “they make wine in Brooklyn?!”  Well, not quite yet at least.  BOE currently doesn’t have its own vineyard; the company rents space and winemaking equipment from Long Island’s Premium Wine Group to produce its own line of wines made from grapes mainly sourced from local Long Island grape growers.  What I also found particularly interesting about Brooklyn Oenology wines was the incredible and unique artwork on their labels.  To help showcase local artists, Brooklyn Oenology features artwork on each of their bottles created by an artist living or working in Brooklyn.  Another cool thing about their artistic labels is that they easily peel off in case you’re interested in saving the label.  The company recently opened its first tasting room where they showcase their own Brooklyn Oenology Wines and also feature a rotating guest selection of both wines and artisanal spirits from around New York State.

And so ends another great time at the New York Wine Expo!  If you didn’t make it to the expo this year, I highly recommend marking your calendar for next year…’cause you never know who or what you’ll discover!

The 4th of July Holiday happens to fall on a Sunday this year, which for many means a much deserved 3-day break (Woo Hoo!).  This long Independence Day Weekend also means heaps of charcoal, an avalanche of meat being charred on the grill, ice-cold beer, smoking funny things and drinking copious amounts of cheap wine in the backyard with your favorite people in the whole wide world!

When it comes to cheap wine these days, the choices are endless:  One can choose from boxes, jugs, magnums – heck, there’s even wine that comes in a one-gallon paint can!?  And it’s all right there in aisle 10, waiting to be picked for one long and twisted weekend with some good friends.

One of my most recent and pleasant discoveries in this aisle of broken dreams was the 2007 Ampakama Syrah from San Juan, Argentina.  For those who wouldn’t dare drink wine from a box or touch a wine bottle with a screw cap, fear not, it comes packaged in a 1.5L glass bottle with a real cork closure!  It sells in most parts of the US for less than 10 bucks, and the best part – it actually tastes pretty darn good!

The 2007 Ampakama Syrah is a bottle rocket of juicy red-berry flavors fueled with a respectable amount of black pepper and herbal spices.  My only complaint is that it comes up a tad short before the expected big finish.  Nonetheless, the 2007 Ampakama Syrah is far from being a dud and should rise to the occasion with anything off the grill, or whatever else you’ve got cooking in your backyard this weekend.

3 Stars out 4.  For what works out to be less than $5 per 750ml, this juice ain’t half bad!  BTW – the 2008 is also a safe bet.

So…What inexpensive wines are you bringing to the BBQ this 4th of July weekend?

Cheers!

The Wine:  2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec.

Birth place:  La Linda Estate (Vistalba vineyard) in Luján de Cuyo, an area of Mendoza, Argentina.

The Altitude:  960m above sea-level.

Inside the Bottle:  Estate grown and bottled, 100% Malbec grapes from low-yielding vines. 

Time spent in the Barrel:  12 months in French oak.

Aging Potential:  Up to 10 years from its born-on-date is what they say.

How does it taste?:  Off the charts delicious!  Want to bathe in it good!  Humongous dark fruit and peppery spices that tantalize and seem to last, and last, and last!

WineLife365 Rating:  4 Stars out of 4.  One of the tastiest reds I’ve tried so far in 2010.

Price:  16.99.

In the immortal words of ABC’s Wide World of Sports announcer Jim McKay,

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat…

Was I so naïve to think that it was impossible to have a bad Argentinian Torrontes wine?  I know it must have been foolish thinking on my part, but it almost seemed automatic that whether it cost 8, 10, or even 20 dollars – I knew I was going to have a beautifully floral, fresh and electrifyingly acidic bottle of wine.  I believed this because I’ve been batting nearly a thousand with this fantastic type of wine for over a year.  With this in mind, I was really looking forward to opening the 2009 San Telmo Esencia Torrontes. 

As the saying goes, “there’s a first for everything” and inevitably I would have to taste the agony of defeat with my beloved white wine.  The 2009 San Telmo Esencia Torrontes really let me down.  It’s odd, uneven, lacks mile-high acidity and possesses tropical banana and coconut flavors that reminded me more of Tropical Flavored LifeSavers (in a bad way).  Incidentally, it also didn’t possess the signature floral bouquet of Torrontes wine.  Crash!

1 Star out of 4.  Shaken by the experience, but not deterred.
(Price: $8.99)