Vinos - Wines

O. Fournier's story

Spanish winery owner Jose Manuel Ortega has positioned himself in three of the best wine-producing regions in the world: Mendoza, Argentina; Rioja, Spain; and Maula Valley, Chile. The Argentine wines of O. Fournier come from grapes planted in the Valley de Uco, one of the high altitude regions that produce fruit touted to be some of the best in Argentina.

One of the more modern wineries in Mendoza, Tempus Alba combines technology with family-run pride, resulting in some delicious and affordable wines. One of the winery's main goals is to make the best Malbec in Argentina, a lofty goal where Malbec is one of the most popular varietals in Argentina. In search of the best Malbec grapes, the winery is testing and researching 370 vines to find ones that will produce a superior Malbec.

About the winery

In Luján de Cuyo region of Mendoza, Argentina lies the sprawling vineyards of Séptima against the backdrop of the Andes. The winery, surrounded by a selection of its grapes, is one of the bigger Mendoza wineries, and one recognized by Americans because of their large export business. 80% of Séptima wines are destined for export while the remaining 20% remain in Argentina.

A recent wine-related study by the California Institute of Technology concluded that people enjoy higher-priced wines more. It's not just our mental inclination to think a higher priced item is usually better, but a physiological one. Subjects in the study tasted the same wine twice: once with the understanding that the bottle of wine cost $10 and the other $90. When tasting the $90 bottle, more oxygen and blood was sent to the pleasure center of the brain.

The Vistalba winery

Tucked into the Vistalba neighborhood of Mendoza surrounded by grapevines and olive trees, the Vistalba winery is cutting edge yet boutique. The Pulenta brothers sold Trapiche winery, one of the biggest wineries and most well known internationally, and brother Carlos Pulenta started his own project, Vistalba. The winery was built in 2002 and is extremely modern and well-finished.

The Winery: Ruca Malén

With a sweeping view of the Andes beyond fields of grapevines stands winery Ruca Malén. Its beautiful modern facility, informative tour and picturesque location are matched by the quality of its wines.

Wednesday night is winemaker's night at The Vines of Mendoza in Argentina. For less than $7, the two hour interactive presentation showcases a particular winery, which in last night's case was Kaiken. The winemaker and head of exporting for the winery both presented information about the winery and the specific wines it produces, while we tasted Kaiken wines and snacked on cheese and bread in a lovely courtyard patio.

The American palette loves a deep, dark, smooth, fruit-forward red wine. Although gaining in popularity in the US (mostly for their prices), many people feel that Argentine Malbecs can taste almost too woody, earthy, and sharp. The other night at our new favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires Sette Bacco, we found the solution to the sometimes tannin-heavy Malbec, with a tasty Malbec Cabernet blend from the Uxmal winery.

The post-Sideways Pinot Noir craze in the US is about to get a new international fusion, from Patagonia, Argentina. Argentine wines usually bring to mind Malbec, a woody, earthy varietal imported from France over 100 years ago or Torrontes, light, white wines from the north of Argentina. According to our friends at lo de Joaquin Alberdi Vinoteca, a great wine shop in Palermo Viejo in Buenos Aires, it's time to start trying Argentine Pinot Noir, made from wineries in Neuquén.

I had planned to spend my whole time in Rioja with purple lips, bouncing from winery to winery until I just couldn't take it anymore. At the recommendation of our hotel director, I decided to branch out and start with a trip to the Dinastía Vivanco Museo de la cultura de vino (Vivanco family culture of wine museum) in Briones, Spain.