Did you know...

• The vintage year on a wine label refers to the year the grape was harvested, not the year the wine was bottled.

Traveling in Argentina is always a worthwhile experience; there is always something to learn from it. Whether you are doing it in search of a great wine, like unfortunate people like I have to do, or whether you just have to go to Buenos Aires to meet with Bankers. Wherever you go or whatever you do there is a constant, good food, good wine and good company. People are friendly, and though very opinionated, very willing to learn and share.

But like the little vineyard that has yet to be discovered, there are other secrets in Argentina well beyond the confines of the wide avenues Buenos Aires and what is left of beautiful Belle Époque architecture. The immigrants who arrived in Argentina from all over Europe and parts of the Middle East kept going after arriving in Buenos Aires and either added to the centuries of Spanish presence in Argentina or created worlds where no one had settled before. The production of wine in Argentina goes back nearly 400 years but the perfection of this is really only recent. The same is true for much in the rest of the country. Go skiing in a modern ski resort or find a blanket knit in the same manner it was done centuries ago to keep you warm.

Visit Patagonia, no, not the store, Patagonia is the South of Argentina; you want to bring some warm clothes though, even if you do go in summer. Not much wine here.

If you are looking for wine, but are bored of going to Mendoza, go to the northwest of Argentina to Salta and Jujuy. Here you will find centuries of history in the dry and warm foothills of the Andes, where winemakers are trying to expand the production areas in to new parts of the country, quite successfully!!

Whatever you do do, don’t take Argentina at face value, and look deeper.

In June I will be receiving and delivering Mr. Philippe Menard's Cuvée Prestige Muscadet Serve et Maine Sur Lie. Within the last month the wine was awarded a Gold Medal in Paris and a Gold Medal at the Muscadet Wine Fair in the Maine e Loire District. These last two add to a long list of recognitions and accolades on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean for this and other of Menard-Gaborit Wines.

Winemaking is a process that can take anywhere from a few months to over twenty years. Though the basic process is the same for all wines, there are some subtle variations that result in Champagne, late harvest and ice wines and port wines, among others.

The following is an oversimplification of the winemaking process that will give you an idea of how it works:

1. plantation (or grafting) of a vine stock
2. growing of the grape-bunch
3. harvesting the grapes
4. de-stemming* and crushing the grapes
5. alcoholic fermentation of the liquid
6. maceration*
7. raking the wine
8. malolactic fermentation
9. maturation of the wine
10. bottling the wine
11. tasting the wine
    
    * only for red wine, normally

Some definitions:

• Must: the grape-juice produced by crushing.
• Alcoholic fermentation: the juice becomes wine under the natural action of yeast which changes sugar in alcohol.
• Maceration: the pomace (skin, pips and stems) impregnate the must giving body and color.
• Raking: pomace and must are separated. The must becomes "vin de goutte", the pomace becomes "vin de presse".
• Malolactic fermentation: under the action of natural bacteria, the harsh malic acid changes itself in lactic acid supple and stable.
• Maturation: the wine is clarified and put in casks or barrels to stabilize during which time it perfects itself.

In addition to these steps there are a number of factors which will greatly affect both the taste and quality of the wine:

• Terroir: a combination of climate, soil and exposure to the elements. Wind, shelter, irrigation and vineyard location all matter.
• The climate during the course of each vintage (year) as well as the time of the harvest.
• Combined with the two points above the selection of the grape variety is critical.
• The container in which the fermentation will take place in.
• The temperature at which the fermentation will occur.
• The duration of the fermentation.
• The container in which the maturation will occur.

Most winemakers disagree on which is the best method, and though thousands of years of experience has gone in to perfecting this process, it is still an art.