Everyone knows that Tango is the most famous dance of Argentina. As a proud Argentine man myself, I was always a bit embarrassed that I didn’t possess the dancing skills of so many of my fellow countrymen. So this year, I decided to tackle the dancing challenge and enrol in some proper Tango lessons. I still have a lot to learn, but here is a video showing the result of my journey into Tango so far…
Argentina’s second most planted grape variety is a bit of a mystery. Bonarda, which may be the same as a Californian grape called Charbono, is believed to have slipped into the country during the 19th century, brought here by immigrants from northern Italy. In Piedmont, home of Barolo and Barbaresco, there are three different grapes of this name and no-one really knows which one travelled to the Argentine…
If tango is the soundtrack of Buenos Aires, then it is traditional folklórico that scores the rest of Argentina. And where the countryside collides with the city is at wine-sloshing musical shindigs called peñas. Peñas in Buenos Aires attract everyone from home-sick northerners from Salta and Jujuy, to city folk who don’t want to get their feet dirty, to students looking for a bit of culture mixed with a lot of fun. Each peña has a slightly different musical angle. The term folklórico is a catch-all term for a lot of traditional music…
Choripán – Sausage in a bun, Argentina style. It took me two years of living in Argentina to figure out that choripán – the ultimate Argentinian street snack – is cunningly named from the words chorizo, a sausage, and pan, meaning bread. (Of course, it took me four years to realise that ‘chile con carne’ is ‘chilli with meat’ – so what can I say.) What’s in choripán? Only the finest cuts of pork or beef. Ha ha, not really…
Not so long ago, Argentine winemakers believed their greatest export triumph would come from well-known international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet. After all, these were the grapes demanded by wine drinkers in the West, rather than something called Malbec or Torrontés – Argentina’s most planted white variety. Of course, it is hard to ask for something if it is not on the menu.
And that is definitely no longer the case with Malbec, whose popularity abroad has given Argentine winemakers a boost in self-confidence. Having scored with the country’s top red grape, many are now looking to repeat the success with Torrontés…
Here’s a quick round-up (plus see the map below) of my five favorite hotels in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires — all of them are absolutely great places to stay!
Home Hotel
The most famous and sought-after boutique hotel in BA, so popular it’s almost impossible to get a reservation. The cancellation policy is crazy, so go for a drink — the cocktails by the pool are great!
Honduras 5860, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires…
Writers and poets have continued to be inspired by Buenos Aires’ melancholic and persevering atmosphere. The city is poetic – its history, folklore and romance are evident in every neighborhood, and the stories these elements have produced make it a destination for literary lovers and contemporary writers alike…
Back in the Middle-Ages, Malbec was planted all over southern France. But it wasn’t known as Malbec. It had over a thousand synonyms, and besides Medieval wine drinkers knew precious little about grape varieties. But there was no doubt Malbec was highly thought of, especially up-river of Bordeaux, where it was blended with the even darker Tannat grape to make the famous ‘Black Wine of Cahors’…