Mendoza is the main wine region in Argentina, which is the fifth wine producing country in the world. Mendoza is located in the Cuyo region. It is located to the west of the country and borders Chile and the Andes mountain range. In fact, the Aconcagua –measuring 6,960 metres– is the highest peak in the continent and is located in Mendoza. What is more, most of the Mendocenean territory lays more than one thousand metres above sea level. This peculiarity has turned Mendoza into an excellent terroir for vineyards since the end of the 16th century. The most planted variety in the province is the Malbec –the star grape variety in Argentina–, followed by the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tempranillo and the Chardonnay. Local varieties Criolla grande and Cereza are still relevant today. By means of Argento’s blog, The Real Argentina, discover the secrets that Mendoza is keeping; secrets that have turned this area into one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the country. The province offers trekking routes, high mountain sports in the Andes –skiing in winter– and, of course, the magic of discovering the complex wine production process during guided visits in some of the popular Mendocenean wineries. Wine tradition is so important that since 1936, the province has celebrated the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (Grape Harvest Festival), which is considered one of the five most important festivities in the world and the second most important harvest festivity in the world by National Geographic. It is celebrated between the last Sunday in February and the first Saturday in March. The festivities include tastings, parades as the Vía Blanca or the Carrusel, the election of the Queen of the Grape Harvest and musical shows where, of course, tango is danced. The main activities take place in the capital, the city of Mendoza, a city renowned by its cleanness and its charming streets and people. The current city was rebuilt in 1863 after an earthquake had destroyed the original city two years before. Thanks to the research work of our collaborators, you can discover other local festivities in the province. You will also know which are the best places to stay in Mendoza, which wineries offer the most interesting visits, which restaurants have the most delicious menus and which bars are the most welcoming ones to enjoy a Mendocenean glass of wine. Moreover, you will see which are the most adequate places to enjoy both Mendocenean and national gastronomy, including traditional dishes, as the renowned empanadas, the Argentine roast or the patitas aliñadas (seasoned small legs).
The fastest way to make enemies in Argentina is to compare the asado to a barbecue. It’s the same, right? No, the locals will tell you, through gritted teeth, it is not the same. Your gas-fuelled blow-torching of conveyor-belt beef patties has nothing in common with our sacred asado.
There aren’t many days on the calendar that offer an excuse to toast the old man. Every encounter deserves a special wine. Tell me how you celebrate, I’ll tell you what to uncork. Father’s day.
Mooching around Mendoza’s vineyards is never a bad idea, but head there at the end of summer and you’ll be lucky enough to catch the cultural highlight of the Mendocino calendar – la Fiesta de la Vendimia – Mendoza’s grape harvest festival.
You notice very fast that the people of Mendoza take their café culture seriously. Spending a day strolling the streets of Argentina’s wine capital you breathe in the atmosphere of a city where people enjoy life and sits in cafés sipping coffee and chatting. Here are five of our top picks.
As a Brit I am honour-bound to obsess over the weather. Luckily Argentina’s climate leaves me a lot to talk about. Right now it’s been raining for around three days straight. In the summer we sweltered at 100°F for weeks. Every season in Argentina is unique. But pretty much every day is a blue-sky day. Even in winter. What are you waiting for? You can visit Argentina year round.
Swedish sommelier Arvid Rosengren clinched the coveted title of world’s best in the fifteenth A.S.I. Meilleur Sommelier du Monde competition in Mendoza last night. It was a double scoop for the New York-based somm, who had taken Europe’s top title in 2013. Competition in the 15-strong semifinal came from Argentina’s very own Paz Levinson, who was anointed Best Sommelier in the Americas in 2015, and Japan’s Hiroshi Ishida, Asia and Oceania’s top taster, also in 2015, as well as a string of candidates from Europe.
MENDOZA – Huddled together in small groups, mentors rub backs and mop their wards’ brows, sommeliers easily distinguished from other revellers at a cocktail party thanks to perfectly pressed black suits and aprons. The tension and nerves crackled like an Andean electric storm around the Park Hyatt Mendoza hotel as 60 competitors from around the world chewed down cuticles, waiting to find out whether they’d earned one of 15 coveted places in the Contest of the Best Sommelier of the World Argentina 2016 semifinal.
In part five of The Real Argentina’s somms series, we meet Paz Levinson, the second of two Argentine sommeliers competing in the A.S.I. Concours du Meilleur Sommelier du Monde 2016 (A.S.I. Contest of the Best Sommelier of the World). Currently ranked number one in both the Americas and Argentina, and the only Argentine to qualify as an Advanced Sommelier from the UK’s Court of Master Sommeliers, Paz will be going for a titles hat-trick at the world championship, which is being held in Mendoza for the first time on 15-20 April 2016.
One of two Argentine sommeliers who will compete in the A.S.I. Concours du Meilleur Sommelier du Monde (A.S.I. Contest of the Best Sommelier of the World), we meet Martín Bruno, sommelier at top Buenos Aires restaurant Tegui, in part four of The Real Argentina’s somms series. Martín spills the beans on how he’s been diligently preparing for this prestigious competition, which is being held in Mendoza for the first time on 15-20 April 2016.
Sixty competitors, five days, one title; the world’s best sommelier.
Although the immediate thought is ‘football’ when mentioning Argentina and World Cup in the same breath, the world’s fifth-largest wine producer is about to host a very different championship next month: the 15th A.S.I. Concours du Meilleur Sommelier du Monde (Contest of the Best Sommelier of the World).