Argentina's 'good life' exported through fine wines

There are a few places on the planet that I think produce fantastic wine and you can afford to drink them several times a week. One of my favorites is Argentina's Mendoza Valley. It is perplexing to me how so very few people, other than the Argentines themselves, have ever tasted a wine from the region - seeing that Argentina is the fifth largest wine producing country worldwide. The reason for this is that until recently most of the wine produced was consumed in country and not exported. Just two decades ago the average wine consumption per person in Argentina was 26 gallons. To put this into perspective, the United States at the same time averaged about two gallons per person. Knowing how to live the good life - amazing asada steaks and lamb, the erotic tango, world champion polo, and some of the greatest soccer on earth - Argentines horded their wine and did not export much until the mid '90s.

Mendoza is located at the base of the Andes, a 50-minute plane flight from Santiago, Chile, and sits at an elevation of 2,300 to 4,600 feet, unthinkably high by European standards. There are some vineyards that reach as high as 7,870 feet above sea level in the north. This altitude can shorten the growing season considerably and increase the chance of frost in the spring time.

In the late '90s Argentina followed the example of Chile and decreased the quantity of grapes being grown, increased the quality of wine produced, increased the price of the wine, and started to export it to Great Britain and the United States. Foreign investment from reputable and long standing wineries in France and the United States, as well wine making consultation and viticulture expertise, has made Argentina one of the fastest growing exported wines in the world. In 1994 Argentina exported 389,000 gallons of wine to the United States. Just four years later that figure was 3.3 million gallons. This is still considerably lower than Chile, which in the same year exported 12.6 million gallons to the U.S. according to Karen MacNeil's "Wine Bible."

The most distinctive white grape of Argentina is Torrentes. There are three different distinct varieties of the grape that all go by the name Torrentes. The wine this grape produces is a florally perfumed but naturally crisp wine with characteristics similar to Pinot Grigio.

Deep-colored Bonarda is Argentina's most planted red grape and one I feel that is underdeveloped as a wine source. It has an elegance and grace that the country's most distinctive grape, Malbec, can not match. Bonarda has a wild side - baking spices, wild red berries, cocoa and soft tannins. Malbec, the grape Argentina has based its wine reputation on, is much deeper, more tannic and has greater depth and age-ability.

There are some famous people from California and Bordeaux, like winemaker Paul Hobbs and wine consultant Michel Rolland, that are making very high end, boutique wines aimed at the serious collector and those with fairly deep pockets. However, there are many wines, most of them produced by Argentine families that have been in Mendoza for generations making wine for local consumption, that are now producing wines for the American palate. By that, I mean they are full bodied, rich in flavor, have plenty of alcohol and luckily for us, are retailing for less than $20, with many outstanding wines closer to $10.

If you've never tried an Argentine Torrentes, Bonarda or Malbec, you are really missing out on a wonderful, affordable, wine from a country that really does know the good life.



Susanne Johnston owns Frisco Wine Merchant in Frisco. She can be reached at (970) 668-3153 or at Susanne@friscowine.com