Ash Wednesday looms. The 22nd of February is creeping up on us all and the ensuing 40 days of Lent when every South American religiously dons sack cloth, drinks bitter black coffee and munches on raw potatoes for over a month in contrition for the year’s sin, or at least thinks about it. To sweeten this bitter pill the entire continent gets down to serious partying the preceding 4 days and work up a serious hangover that requires 40 days to recover.This party is of course called Carnival and has put places such as Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Barranquilla in Colombia on every hedonist’s radar for sheer wildness, debauchery and salacious self indulgence.

“How do I ship my wine home?” It is a frequent question here in Argentina and the answer is not so satisfying.

Ordinary post does not shift alcohol and unless you are willing to haul a case home as luggage, the only choice is to pay for a very expensive courier who will not take responsibility if the wine goes missing as there is no insurance. Wine lover Greg McLaughlin encountered the same problem in South Africa when trying to send some cases home.

The truly indecisive could be ruthlessly efficient and follow the suggestions of what has become the World’s most prestigious travel club – the Unesco World Heritage list.To join this elite clique a location must be truly outstanding and go through  a painstaking process that takes years and is notoriously picky, as Buenos Aires City found out this year when it was flatly and unceremoniously rejected – the steel flower must not have been working the day the Unesco boffins did their city tour.

Wines of Argentina appointed a rather unique ambassador last week, Nati Serre takes a look at what lone of the country's best opera singers is going to do for Argentine wine.

The inextricable combination of art and wine is once more confirmed as Wines of Argentina recently appointed the opera singer Verónica Cangemi as its new ambassador. Verónica is a mendocinean musician who is recognised as being one of the three most prestigious in her genre across the world. Her appointment is not a minor event, since Verónica will be in charge of representing Argentinean wine in different events and tastings all around the globe; and therefore targeting international key markets.

Local governement's initiative Sabor a Mendoza declares the province a gourmet capital. Gwynne Hogan investigates what that might mean.

Mendoza could be set for gourmet greatness after a new initiative to promote the state as a gastronomy capital. Mendoza's Secretary of Tourism launched its "Sabor a Mendoza" [Taste of Mendoza] initiative aimed to establish the province as a gourmet capital within Argentina on 3rd October. With the help of the Association for Hotels and Gastronomy of Mendoza and the Mendoza's Association of Olive Oil Production, the project aims highlight four pillars of Mendocinian cuisine that they feel will help convert Mendoza into a magnet for gastronomic tourism: extra virgin olive oils, fruits and vegetables, regional cuisine, and lastly baby goat and trout.

I constantly lament the fact that the rest of the world ignores South America. Despite the fact that the region has growth rates that match Asia and a culture that is just as colourful, Latin America is sadly missing from news programmes around the World. Even the venerable BBC only sits up and notices Argentina when the topic is either Maradona or the Malvinas.

This is an old observation that I had to modify recently. The truth is South America also ignores South America even when the news is awful enough to warrant sensational headlines. Would any of us have heard about a recent Bolivian air crash that killed eleven people if one of the survivors had not survived four days in the jungle? A crash in Russia at the same time got maximum coverage.