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Phone: 404.942.3340 | Fax: 404.942.3341
Finca ALMA is the result of a winemaking and commercial vision shared by Marcelo Manghi and Alejandra Lozano in early 1998 with the intention of presenting the consumers with limited quantities of fine wines of advanced concepts.
Located in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina, at the foothills of the Andes Mountain range. Within this vast region, several microclimates coexist making it the ideal zone for the growing of a vast variety of the finest winemaking grapes.
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The wine growing history and tradition of the Festa family goes back at least six generations. Originally from Northern Italy, the family has been cultivating in Europe and now in Argentina since the 18th century.
Fernando Festas' first varietal wine was in 1946. his son Eduardo, learned the love of the vine and decided to move away from hi-tec "flavoring" and the additions of "aromatizing elements". Today the Festa wines are all certified organic products as a result of this move.
In 1987, Eduardo Fernando Festa and his three sons purchased and rebuilt a second winery circa 1913, exclusively for the export markets.
Beautiful, Natural and very special.
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Established in Medoc since 1964 the Lapalu family today exploits several vineyards of name Médoc and High Medoc.
- 1964: Claude Lapalu returns from Tunisia or its family was installed since several generations and repurchases with friends the Château Patache d'Aux Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in the commune of Bégadan.
- 1972: Acquisition of Château Leboscq Cru Bourgeois at St Christoly.
- 1979: Jean-Michel Lapalu son of Claude Lapalu repurchases Château Lacombe-Noaillac located a little more at North on the commune of Jau-Dignac-Loirac, and replants the vineyard which had been abandoned.
- 1992: Jean-Michel Lapalu succeeds his father with the head of Chateau Patache d'Aux.
- 1995: Resumption of the exploitation of the Châteaux Liversan Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Haut Médoc in St Sauveur and of Château Fonpiqueyre<./li>
- 1999: Acquisition of the exploitation of Château Lieujean Cru Bourgeois du Haut Médoc et du Château Lagrave neighboring Château Liversan.
- 2001: The family entity becomes the company “Domaines Lapalu”, and manages the production and the marketing of the above mentioned estates.
- 2003: Marc Ferté after a long time in the champagne trade associates and re-joins Jean-Michel Lapalu with the direction of the group.
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The wine making of the "Clos de la Perrière" based on the tradition and know-how dating back to the twelfth century Citeaux monks work, is carefully run by the owners themselves at the Manoir. All the making process, low yield, vine care, hand picking, wine making in casks and bottling is using traditional methods at the Manoir.
It is Knowledge, flair and patience of Philippe Joliet and his son Bénigne, which guarantees the quality and authenticity of the wine. When tasting the wine it is easy to notice its unique body and bouquet.
The "Manoir" and the "Clos de la Perrière" rise above the village of Fixin near Gevrey-Chambertin. They have belonged to the Joliet family since 1853. This represents six generations of family ownership. Through generations the Joliet family has struggled to maintain the Clos as a unique piece of land, aiming at respecting family tradition of premium wine makers.
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The Ruet family estate, which is set on the remarkable terroir of Voujon in Cercié-en-Beaujolais at the foot of Mont Brouilly has been fuelled by a passion for Beaujolais wine and land for six generation since 1926.
This 16-hectare spreads over slopes that are superbly south facing. Here you will find the shallow, granitic, stony soils characteristic of the Northern Beaujolais region that give quality wines.
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Winemaking in Argentina
In recent years Argentina's wine industry has changed its production philosophy. Quality now trumps quantity, producing splendid results. Argentina is the 5th largest wine producer in the world, but up to 90% of its wine is consumed internally. In the last 10 years, nearly 1.5 billion US dollars have been invested in the Argentine wine industry, some of this has been in the form of land and winery purchases by foreign wineries, much of it has been in the upgrading of equipment and production methods.
Argentina's wine industry is over 400 years old, with the first recorded vineyard having been planted in 1557 and the first commercial vineyards having been established in the 20 years between the late 1560's and 1580's. With freedom from Spain having been achieved by 1820 and the subsequent influx of European immigrants Argentina's wine industry really became much more active. The European influx included many people from the Italian, Spanish and French wine growing who brought with them not only their techniques but also their vines.
Big Vintage has established a number of exclusive relationships with the vineyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. (View map)
Winemaking in France
Though the second half of the 20th century has shown a decline in the consumption of wine in France, it remains the country that produces the largest quantity of fine wine in the world. Nowhere in the world is wine embedded in the local culture the way it is in France. In the same way that wine influences French culture, French grapes have influenced world wines.
The history of grapes in France dates back to Greek settlement of Marseille in 600BC and evolved hand in hand with the affinity that the Celts developed for wine as well as the interaction that other cultures and nations have had with what is now France over the last 2000 years.
It is said that in France there are as many wines as there are vineyards, which may be true, but it does have more wine growing regions than any other country. Big Vintage works with vineyards in the regions of Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Loire. (View map)
Winemaking in Italy
People often associate central and northern Italy with winemaking, but most years Sicily produces more wine than any other region of Italy, with Apulia (the "heel" of the Italian boot) sometimes surpassing Sicilian production. Sicily is geographically the largest of Italy's twenty regions, and one of the most populated.
Into the 1990s, even more wineries evolved from being bulk suppliers for the Marsala makers or northern vintners to striking out on their own to produce high-quality wines under their own names. This meant that they had to confront the challenge of advertising and marketing, but European Union subsidies softened the financial blow of this expense. It also meant that they had to consult, or hire, professional oenologists if they were to produce fine vintage wines instead of the economical bulk wines that Grandfather had made. In a society decidedly geriatric and male, a new way of thinking was needed. Unlike their conservative, if not reactionary, parents and grandparents, many of the "new" vintners are from a newer generation now in their 40s, if not younger. A few even speak passable English --still a rarity in Sicily. It's a welcome change and a good sign of things to come.
Indeed, the Sicilian wine renaissance is one of the hottest topics on the international wine scene in recent years. (View map)