If you’d like to TASTE LIVE with us online (taste any Torrontés of your choice!), get those details @ http://tweettorrontes.eventbrite.com/

Afterwards, local trade, media & consumers are invited to join us in person at Churchill in San Francisco for a series of events featuring empanadas, chats with Jose Lovaglio, shuffle board, photo opps, and – of course – pours of great Torrontés!  Also featuring Hermanos, Finca las Nubes and Coquena Torrontes from the Vine Connections portfolio.

Trade & Media tasting details & RSVP (4-5:30pm) @ tastetorrontes.eventbrite.com

Consumer tasting details & RSVP (6-8pm) @ becometorrontes.eventbrite.com

Mendoza tasting details & RSVP (7-8pm AKA 3-4pm PDT)
@ mendozatorrontes.eventbrite.com

**Or **
TASTE LIVE with us online (taste any Torrontés of your choice!).
Get those details @ tweettorrontes.eventbrite.com

Susana and her two children Ana and Jose at Dominio del Plata

Q Where were each of your children born?
A Both in Salta City, at the north of Argentina. It’s another of our wine regions.

Q Where were you working at the time?
A I was working in Cafayate, Salta, at Sucesión Michel Torino Winery.

Cafayate Vineyards

Q Do remember what was happening in the winery or in the vineyards at the time?
A When Jose  was born (1984) I was grafting some vineyards of Merlot with Pinot Noir and we were improving the old vineyards of Torrontes, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon that were abandoned by the old owners; the company had just bought 80 hectares of these vineyards. In the winery we were rebuilding the winery that was almost 104 years old. It was founded around 1880.

When Ana was born (1986) I was fully focused in the development of new styles of wines and I was selecting yeasts from native wild yeasts so as to make my own selected yeast.

Q What was the best Mother’s Day present they ever gave you?
A It was a black pearl and gold necklace.

Q Can you tell us a bit about your mother?
A My mother, Delfina, or “Quiqui” which is her nickname, is a person full of energy and creativity.  When I was young she was also an authoritarian person. She is very skillful and a perfectionist and has always been a hard working person. In between her many skills I can mention that she is a great cook, a creative painter, and ingenious vitro artisan and a detailed seamstress.

Susana's mother and grandmother

Q What was the most important thing your mother taught you?
A Persistence and courage to change the facts.

Q You’ve met so many mothers in your travels around the world. Can you talk about a woman who really stood out for you?
A In the 9 years I lived in Cafayate, Salta when I was still very young (from my 24 until my 33 years old) my mother in law, my kids’ grandmother really stood out for me. She was a really kind and affectionate person, who was always present in a time I was far away from my family. She helped to raise my kids when they were very young and I had to work long hours. She also taught many really good recipes to cook .

Q What is one thing you dream for your children (and the next generation in general)?
A Happiness and balance in their lives.

General San Martin Park’s Main Gate

Thank you!  We have a few more pressing questions we’d love to share with readers:

Q Best Mendoza park?
A General San Martin Park

Q One thing (other than poverty) you’d like to change about Mendoza?
A I would love to change people’s way of being so as to not be so closed – to be more open to changes. And I would like to have more equity in the province.

Q Favorite place to buy wine?
A USA in Mendoza Winery Liquor store.

Q Cheap place for dinner?
A La Marchigiana in Palmares Mall. Great Italian food.

Q Favorite vineyard (not including yours)?
A Doña Paula Gualtallary.

Q Favorite scent?
A Magnolia flowers.

Q If you could rename yourself?
A Ana

Q Book you’re reading?
A “A Small Treatise of the Great Virtues,” André Compte-Sponville.

Q Ice cream flavor?
A Chocolate

Q Mac or PC?
A Mac

Q Food your mom made better than anyone?
A Homemade ravioli.

**

Learn more about Susana and her wine here.

Laura Catena with her mother Elena and her daughter Nicola

Q Where were each of your children born?
A San Francisco, CA

Q Where were you working at the time?
A UCSF Medical Center, Luca, and Bodega Catena Zapata

Q Do remember what was happening in the winery or in the vineyards at the time?
A Yes, when Luca was born in 1998, it was right after El Nino ravaged Mendoza and it rained for 3 weeks during harvest. Everybody was very quiet when I would call the winery because my father had forbidden them to tell me how bad everything was. Today, I would just look at the weather report on the internet but back then, we didn’t use the internet as much for information.

Q What was the best Mother’s Day present they ever gave you?
A Every year, I get the same thing – a hand made card from each child, and when Nicola and Dante were babies, Luca would make their cards and write down his siblings’ names. I’ve saved each and every one of them.

Q Describe your mother in 10 words or less.
A Strong, beautiful, loving, determined, passionate, energetic, unapologetic, free-spirited, brilliant, brave

Q What was the most important thing your mother taught you?
A That there was nothing that I couldn’t do.

Q You’ve met so many mothers in your travels around the world. Can you talk about a woman who really stood out for you?
A Maricel Presilla – Cuban chef, writer, and dear dear friend. Maricel has a way of bringing joy, love, fun, and creativity to every moment.

Q What is one thing you dream for your children (and the next generation in general)? 
A Happiness, whatever gives them happiness.

Thank you!  We have a few more pressing questions we’d love to share with readers:

Q Best Argentine public park?
A Plaza Chile in Mendoza

Q One thing (other than poverty) you’d like to change about Mendoza?
A Signs on every street and road

Q Favorite place to buy wine?
A Winery

Q Cheap place for dinner (in Mendoza)?
A El Cielo in La Consulta

Q Favorite vineyard (not including yours)?
A The Pizzella Vineyard

Q Favorite scent?
A Jasmine

Q If you could rename yourself?
A Francesca

Q Book you’re reading right now?
A La Sombra del Viento by Carlos Ruiz Ruizzafon

Q Favorite ice cream flavor?
A Dulce de Leche Granizado

Q Food your mom made better than anyone?
A Gnocchi

Q Mac or PC?
A Mac

Q Talent you wish you possessed?
A Dancing flamenco

**

Learn more about Laura and her wine here.

Anabelle (center) with her mother Lilli and her daughter Jordana

Q Where were each of your children born?
A Both my girls were born in NYC

Q Where were you working at the time?
A I was working at a financial magazine

Q What was the best Mother’s Day present they ever gave you?
A A Breakfast in Bed

Q Describe your mother in 10 words or less.
A Wonderful, Beautiful, Loving, Caring, Social, Modern, Kind, Considerate, Elegant, Loved

Q What was the most important thing your mother taught you?
A Humility

Q You’ve met so many mothers in your travels around the world. Can you talk about a woman who really stood out for you?
A I have met many wonderful women and mothers over the years. More than any one example, I’m impressed by how gracefully many women I have had the pleasure of working with can juggle the many pressures of professional and family life.

Q What is one thing you dream for your children (and the next generation in general)?
A Happiness

Anabelle with her daughter Amanda in Venice

Thank you!  We have a few more pressing questions we’d love to share with readers:

Q Best Argentine public park?
A El Rosedal, Palermo

Q One thing (other than poverty) you’d like to change about Mendoza?
A Cleanliness

Q Favorite place to buy wine?
A Internet

Q Cheap place for dinner (in Mendoza or Buenos Aires)?
A Primavera Trujillana. (Peruvian food in Belgrano)

Q Favorite vineyard (not including yours)?
A Cavas Wine Lodge

Q Favorite scent?
A Jasmine

Q Book you’re reading right now?
A Just started page one of …”In the Garden of Beasts” by Eric Larson

Q If you could rename yourself?
A Ana

**

Learn more about Anabelle and her wine here.

Jimena Lopez checking vines just before the birth of her 2nd child

Q Where were each of your children born?
A Both of them were born in Mendoza.

Q Where were you working at the time?
A Bodega Norton for my 1^st and Mendoza Vineyards for my 2^nd.

Q Do remember what was happening in the winery or in the vineyards at the time?
A It was spring time in both cases, fortunately before harvest time, so we were blending and bottling.

Q What was the best Mother’s Day present they ever gave you?
A In her daycare, Julieta made me a beautiful make-up bag with her little hand printed on top of it.

Q Describe your mother in 10 words or less.
A Brave, honest, smart, strong, faithful, full of love, always present.

Q What was the most important thing your mother taught you?
A Be free and fight for what I believe is worth it.

Q What is one thing you dream for your children (and the next generation in general)?
A I wish for happiness and good health.

Thank you!  We have a few more pressing questions we’d love to share with readers:

Q Best Argentine public park?
A Parque Nacional de Arrayanes, in Bariloche

Q One thing besides poverty you’d like to change about Mendoza?
A Lack of security

Q Favorite place to buy wine?
A In the country where the wine was made

Q Cheap place for dinner (in Mendoza)?
A Mr. Frog (cheap and good)

Q Favorite vineyard (not including yours)?
A I fell in love  with the vineyards of Cote d’Ór – in Burgundy, France

Q If you could rename yourself?
A I am happy with my name – my dad chose it fair-and-square

Q Book you’re reading right now?
A A book about making whiskey, vodka, rum, and tequila (I am teaching in a class at my university)

Q Mac or PC?
A PC

Q Favorite ice cream flavor?
A CHOCOLATE!!!!

Q Talent you wish you possessed?
A Patience

Q Food your mom made better than anyone?
A Goulash

**

Learn more about Jimena and her wine here.

“Vendimia En Las Nubes” – Harvest in the Clouds – is the only harvest experience of its kind in Cafayate, Salta.  It occurred this year on March 24.  Here is the story in the words of Finca las Nubes owner and Salta wine maven Mercedes Mounier:

It started 9 years ago, with just our family. Soon it was 50 people and now it is almost 600 people! With the winery team, we create invitations, design the programs, and reach out to local musicians and dancers about this singular annual celebration of all things wine.

There is no cost to attend – it is open to the public.  But because the event has become so popular, we usually are booked by February.  The program starts at 8:00 AM with breakfast. We begin with a fruit blessing and then we continue with a lesson on how to prune properly. We pass out pruning scissors, gloves, and aprons. Our guests head out to the fields and then return to have lunch.

After lunch filled with Cafayate specialties, there is ballet, folklore, dancing, wine tasting, and art classes. Every year we try to show something different. This year a jazz group played.

The idea started as a FAMILY Project. It was not created to promote our wines, but we knew that it would help, of course. We never imagined it would become such an event. At the end of day, it is our way of thanking Cafayate for the opportunity to make wine as a family. We love having people being around us and around our winery.

- Mercedes Mounier, Finca las Nubes

Here’s the week’s itinerary:

Sunday – Salta
Monday – Tacuil
Tuesday – Rupestre and Domingo Molina
Wednesday – San Pedro de Yacochuya and Finca Las Nubes

The post-run, pre-empanada view of Salta City
[editor’s note: Julie is an over-achiever; most wine people would be sleeping in after a 24-hour journey to Salta]

First stop: Tacuil

Beautiful color palette at this time of year – the autumn colors on top of the colors in Tacuil.

Locro at Tacuil

Raul Dávalos Sr. dictated the subtle nuances surrounding the Peruvian dish of Locro — a hominy based stew with or without pumpkin,  a mix of pork beef or other meats, finished with fresh scallions.  This dish we had at Tacuil had unctuous oil infused with local chilies and fresh scallions, dusted with a touch of vibrant dried crushed chilies.

Hermanos tasting at the Rupestre vineyard

Freshly baked rolls with salume, oregano-infused local goat cheese, egg filled copa, chili-infused pickles, sundries tomatoes and eggplant, tapenade

Checking out the vineyards at Rupestre – not having any fun at all

- Julie Kinnaird is our Associate Director of Sales.  When she’s not on Pinterest or adventuring in Salta she polishes her pastry chef skills, practices piccolo (seriously) and finds a reason to pair anything with bubbly.  She has never lost a limbo contest.

I have been living in Salta for a few months now…half-working, half on vacation. This is the place where I was born; my mother started her career here and met my father in these lands. My aim is to produce wines from different parts of this region and bring them back to Mendoza. We are doing this to widen the variety of blending components we use to make our wines. This place is also very charged of emotions for me. My father’s family lives here – they are the “gaucho” side of me.

Mi familia

Not only my family, but people that live in Cafayate are very welcoming in general. I think this is mainly because Cafayate has always been a very isolated place. People here are always glad to see new faces.  It used to be even worse in the past when the main roads were unpaved and rivers flooded them, which kept the town unreachable for weeks. This year was extremely wet and although all the main roads are paved now, the river changed its course a couple of weeks ago and swept the main road away!

Something missing from this picture?

Today I received a sheep as a gift… I would have considered it pretty awkward if I was in Mendoza, but this is Salta…so expect the unexpected!

A big issue in daily life around here is that mosquitoes don’t let you sleep at night. At my grandfather’s house you need to light these “spiral” things that are quite effective at keeping mosquitoes away – but they fill the air with smoke and don’t let you breathe.

2012 Harvest

Harvest went very well. I focused on Malbec, Torrontés and Tannat.

Grapes ready for harvest

These varietals have very different flavor profiles when being grown in such different soil, altitude and weather conditions. One of the clearest examples of this can be seen at my grandfather’s “parral” (pérgola):

The "perral" (pergola) at my grandfather's house

This is where a table grape variety we call “cereza” or cherry grape is grown. The striking difference is that in Mendoza and San Juan, this grape is pink. Here in Cafayate, radiation from the sun is much higher due to altitude, which encourages the vines to produce anthocyanin (color molecules) to protect the berries much like our skin gets tanned by producing melanin when sunbathing. For this reason grapes of this varietal are blue.

Cereza bunches under the parral

Here’s all that color I’m talking about…

This growing season had the highest rainfall in the last 20 years, which made fermentations difficult due to some botrytis. Tannat was especially challenging. It matured slowly and steadily in the beginning of the season, and although in the end its sugar levels spiked, the flavors still had green characters. I harvested a portion of the grapes a bit earlier to keep the alcohol levels low and left another part hanging on the vines to enhance fresh fruit and spice flavors.

The tannins of this variety can be quite aggressive if skins and seeds are left in contact with the wine for too long after fermentation, so I “de-vatted” earlier than usual and transferred a lighter Malbec to macerate on Tannat’s skins so as to take advantage of the tannins left in the Tannat skins.

Look at that color! Que color!

Doing harvest in Cafayate has been a very interesting experience. There is a lot of work to be done in terms of differentiation of the sub regions that Cafayate has to offer. Places like Chimpa, Animana, San Carlos, Rio Seco, Tolombon and Cafayate proper are extremely different from each other in their growing conditions – and not much has been done to vinify the grapes from each area individually year after year to define the characteristics of each terroir.

Hopefully we will be able to develop wines that bring new, exciting flavors that will help communicate the great diversity and possibilities that Argentine wine regions are capable of producing.

Cheers!

(And here are a few more pictures to share my experience.)

The courtyard at my family's house

The best way to see the country - on horseback in Cafayate

The blue in the sky is amazing

A great experience all around

¡Salud!

- Jose Lovaglio is winemaker for Bodini and Crios.  He has worked as a sommelier in Beijing, a winemaker for a small family winery in Mendoza’s Maipu and studied oenology at UC Davis.  You can follow his adventures on Twitter @josewinemaker.

PS turn up your volume!

Special thanks to Max Morse for editing.