Tastes Like Home - Jean Bosquet Winery

 

This story starts over 20 years ago when my wife Jan and I found out about the incredible bargains available on around-the-world air fares. We put it off for years but swore the day would come when we would sell everything and take off to circumnavigate the globe.

In May of 2008 our time came. We sold almost everything we owned and hopped on the plane for the adventure of a lifetime. As a wine writer and a trained chef my itinerary leaned heavily towards destinations with grapes and culinary delights. We tasted our way through Eastern Europe and headed for Southeast Asia where we were astounded to find wines being made in India, and even more amazed at the quality of the wines being made in Thailand. We ended our journey savoring the flavors of Chile and Argentina.

When we set out on our whirlwind adventure we were open to the

Belasco de Baquedano

Belasco de Baquedano

One of the province’s most interesting new wineries is called Belasco de Baquedano. Here you’ll find a long, scarlet hallway known as the Aroma Room. 48 perspex stands line the walls, each emitting its own distinctive odor from an oil capsule when you flip a lever. Butter, geranium, game and musk are just some of the olfactory delights.
Belasco is a state-of-the-art facility built in Mendoza’s finest vineyard zone Agrelo, a sub-region of Lujan de Cuyo. The winery is surrounded by 70 hectares of 100-year old vines in what is regarded as one of the best areas for Malbec, a source of grapes that is the envy of many a winemaker. 

Mil Piedras – One in a Million

Mil Piedras – One in a Million

Yet to try a good Sangiovese from Mendoza?  Get down to Valle de Uco where Katie Taylor visits Benvenuto de la Serna

It’s no coincidence the name ‘de la Serna’ should be so familiar. International icon “El Che” and Argentina’s own Ernesto Guervara carried it himself as his full family name. And indeed, so did winemaker Silvio Benvenuto de la Serna’s wife, as the grand-daughter of Che’s cousin.
As a family of grand connections and comfortable wealth, in the 1920s the Benvenutos ran a lucrative food shipping company operating between Genoa, Italy, and Argentina exporting fine premium produce such as Chianti wine, lemons and canned tomatoes. This was right up until Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, seized their vessels in the name of the war effort without compensating the family and leaving them with little of their former livelihood.
Unperturbed by the blow to their business, one of Silvio’s grandfathers remained in Genoa to begin an enterprise again using the tools left to him and the commodities available, this time canning fish. The second left for Uruguay and then later on to Argentina where he established the household brand, Campagnola canned foods, the nation’s answer and rival to Campbell. 

Benegas Lynch – Time Capsule Wines

Benegas Lynch – Time Capsule Wines

Step back in time and see the future. Wine Republic visits a jewel of a winery.

When Federico Benegas Lynch decided to renovate his beautiful 100-year old winery, he had trouble making the plaster stick.
“You just cannot get the adobe skilled workers anymore,” explained the wiry ex-banker with grey flecked hair and pixie-like meggle, “and I truly wanted to keep this winery in the traditional style.”
Looking around he seems to have made an excellent job of it. This winery, 20 minutes south of the city, has to be one of the most gorgeous boutique bodegas in Mendoza, combining tradition with modern flair and style. The plaster problem was solved with an old Mexican recipe of cactus juice. Now, warm, cappuccino-colored walls are topped with arched windows and hedged with lines of vines in an ample courtyard.
“Why all the doors?” I asked, noting the low building to the front that looked like an upscale stables.

Vintage Stuff

Vintage Stuff

Daina Paulin cannot decide if Pulenta Estate is the Rolls Royce of wineries, or the Porsche.  She takes a tour of the winery to decide.

Construction is almost finished at the new Pulenta Estate’s tasting room. Mirroring the winery’s character of quality and elegance while avoiding pretension, the new space was envisioned to welcome visitors interested in meeting the people behind the label. Nestled in between its original Malbec vines. Pulenta’s modern tasting room, located in the region of Luján de Cuyo, also provides the visitor with impressive views of the majestic Cordón del Plata and the Tupungato volcano.
I had long been eager to visit Pulenta Estate. For me, I will never forget the time I first placed my nose into a glass filled with their 2004 Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon blend with its complex nose of spices, leather, roasted red fruits and the subtle aroma of mint.  Until this day I had never made the comparison between wines and automobiles, but this was truly a true Rolls Royce of a wine.  With this memory in mind I was eager to see what other showcase pieces waited in Pulenta’s collection.

Gargantini – Mendoza’s Wine Dynasty

Gargantini – Mendoza’s Wine Dynasty

From rags to roble, the Gargantini family put Mendoza on the wine map. Helga Trim looks back on a wine saga and ahead to a new adventure with Clos de Chacras.

The legendary Bautista Gerónimo Gargantini, whose very name sounds destined for greatness, lived a fairytale.  He emigrated from Switzerland as a poor young mason in 1883 and returned to his homeland as a wine baron in 1911.  He helped transform Mendoza from a sleepy outpost into the wine capital of the world.  In fact, except for a Swiss Italian company in California, no one produced more wine than Gargantini and his partner, Italian native, Juan Giol.    To this day nobody has equaled their success.  They had the Midas touch.  But what was their secret?  Did it die with them or can this generation of Gargantinis/Giols revive the glory years?  That's what I asked Silvia Gargantini who recently returned to her roots when she opened Bodega Clos de Chacras.