| South American Sojourn | | | | By: Ron Kapon |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
“Wine is the force of youth and the milk of old age”
When Sir Edmund Hillary was asked why he decided to climb Mt. Everest, he said “Because it was there”. That was the raison d’etre for my recent South American sojourn. Plus the fact that there was only an hour difference in time between New York and Buenos Aires, eliminating jet lag. The last time I had been to Argentina and Chile was 1980 and boy has things changed.
My three week trip took me through five countries, although only the first three will be discussed here. There were two oceans (think A&P), the widest river in the world (200 miles), and a steak dinner for four costs $70, with two bottles of wine. It gets warmer as you go north, not south (the toilets flow the other way also) and mi espanol es muy malo. I was there to taste, visit and learn about the wines of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
Wines from the Southern Hemisphere countries may appear on the US market six months earlier than their Northern Hemisphere colleague’s. Harvest time is February/March rather than September/October. So, the first vintage 2005 wines reach US shores in the fall of 2005 instead of the spring of 2006. Also Southern Hemisphere producers use varietal labels (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay etc) instead of unprounceable place names. When I last visited South America there were lots of quantity but not much quality. This has also changed with new capitol investment by European and American wine companies (Kendall-Jackson, Beringer, Franciscan, Lafite & Mouton Rothschild, Grand Marnier, Moet Chandon & Torres to name just a sampling). Facilities have been upgraded or build from scratch with top-of -the line equipment and many winemakers are now trained at Europe or American viticulture schools. Because the harvest season differs from their Northern Hemisphere brethren often winemakers work their vintage and then move to Europe or the US for another harvest season. Or as often happens their counterparts finish their fall harvest and then come south for the spring vintage season. There are lots of experiments with new grape varieties for South America (Syrah, Pinot Noir, Carmenere and even Zinfandel) and they are not copies of another country’s style. I almost got my head bitten off when I mentioned New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as the winemakers here have a different style and are proud of it. Chardonnays are not heavily oaked; there are Bordeaux style blends (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec) and Tannat using 100% of the varietal or blending it with some other grape. I tasted exquisite single vineyard limited production wines at $75 and wine that retail at $6 wines that I enjoyed and would recommend both.
The wines of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay just need the guidance of a US marketing and PR person or agency. The various governments have to be creative and not hire the same old tired agencies that promise a lot but produce little. Forget all the grand tasting and fancy dinners and work the grass route circuit. Your wines are wonderful and deserve the proper showcases. Work together the way the Australian do. For years the Australian Wine Bureau has promoted the wines of the country first and brands second. Your fellow wineries are not your competition; every other wine producing nation is.
This article can not possibly cover the whole wine industry in the three countries so I have included a brief history and listed only the wineries I actually visited.
ARGENTINA- A plug for Aerolineas Argentinas which flew to Buenos Aires non-stop and besides giving me a very good media rate also upgraded me to Business Class where I slept 6 hours out of the 10 plus hours of the flight.
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