Out on the Pampas: Mendoza Winemakers Showcase their Wine with Pizzazz

Day Three (February 10, 2009) and Day Four (February 11, 2009)

No one will ever accuse winemakers of being boring or homogenous.In fact, on my third and fourth day touring Mendoza vineyards, as I moved between the female ER physician-turned-winemaker, the glitzy, Hollywood-esque celebrity magnet, and the caballero with his striking entourage, it became clear that good winemakers are always an interesting group of people…without fail.

Dr. Winemaker

What does an emergency physician with degrees from Harvard and Stanford ultimately choose to do? Why, make wine, of course. That was the case for Laura Catena whose family winemaking roots date back to the 1800s in Italy. Catena’s winemaking can be experienced under a few labels: Luca, named after her son, La Posta/Paulucci and Laborde, which we were tasting that day. Angel Paulucci, like so many others in this region emigrated from Italy. He and Luis Reginato, another winemaker in the process, were originally from Lazio.

In 1964, Angel bought property in Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina, planting vines in 1970. He didn’t have the money to pay the approximately $3/acre up front, so the seller told him to pay when his vineyards were producing.

Now, many of you reading this blog will recall the robust La Posta Malbec we featured recently in the Hinsdale Cellars wine club. I asked Angel why he chose to grow Malbec. His answer? Because he heard it did well with the climate and preferred the fruity flavors. However, he actually planted Montepulciano first, but found, surprisingly, it never ripened.

The funny thing is, as good as the La Posta Malbec tastes here in Hinsdale, I can report that when you are standing amongst grapevines in view of the Andes’ snow-capped peaks, even at 10 in the morning on a summer day so hot you are drawn to the limited shade of those vines, the wine tastes even better.

The best empanadas in Argentina!

I moved onto another vineyard where Laura Catena has made her mark, Laborde. If it weren’t enough that this Syrah vineyard is stunning and that Jay Laborde comes across as a fashionable wine grower better suited to a polo field than a farm, I could not help but surrender to this picture-perfect experience when a rugged Argentine gaucho and his trusty steed came sauntering onto the scene with a petite basket of piping hot empanadas. They’re always piping hot as if it’s an insult to serve one that won’t burn the roof of your mouth. Without doubt, these were the best empanadas from the entire trip, not filled with ground beef, but rather manly chunks of steak, tomatoes and wonderful spices that only highlighted the wine-tasting experience. Yes, I can now say that the Luca Laborde Double-Select Syrah seems to go well with empanadas!

All in the family

After lunch at Posada del Jamon with its own curing room that had literally hundreds of hams dangling from the ceiling, we moved onto Tikal Vineyard, which is run by Laura’s brother, Ernesto. He greeted us with a large entourage and gave a tour that included an interesting and challenging life-size labyrinth of grape vines.

The family fun didn’t stop there, as we moved on to a restaurant, Francesco’s to finish the day with a vertical tasting of Laura’s Luca Beso de Dante (2001-2005), cigars and casual conversation.

Home, home on the range

The next day was particularly interesting for two reasons: we experienced Vines of Mendoza, a quasi-coop wine-growing program, and we saw Mendoza via horseback.

Vines of Mendoza is an unusual concept. It’s a huge vineyard people buy into, offer planting and managing instructions, but let the people who work there do the farming to the “owners’” specs. If you wanted to get involved in the whole Argentine wine-growing/wine-making scene, this would be the perfect entrée as a hobby or otherwise.

And here, on this glorious sunny day, we stood next to a gorgeous fountain, gazing at the nearby Andes and drinking wonderfully refreshing sparkling wines before our horseback ride out into the desert. After a half-hour to an hour of trekking in the wilderness, we happened upon a beautiful asado, a kind of teepee-like Argentine grill, and a perfectly set table awaiting us. It certainly was like something out of a dream with great wines flowing nonstop, assorted smoky grilled meats at the ready and cooling ice cream topped with seasonal local fruits for dessert.

Our van ride back to the hotel started a free evening that we all decided was best spent in a local empanada house with some Quilmes beer and another Argentine drink of choice, Fernet liquor and coke. Yes, it was clear from our cowboy-like, wine-savoring days, this was a lifestyle we could all get used to.

- Sean Chaudhry