Savoring Argentina’s Mighty Malbec
By Cheryl Blackerby
The Palm Beach Daily News (Oct. 26, 2013)
MENDOZA, Argentina — I have to admit that I was feeling pretty mellow. A musician played classical music on a guitar as I relaxed in the courtyard of the Familia Zuccardi Winery in the dense shade of a canopy of grape vines. Clusters of plump, deep-red malbec grapes dangled above my head, and I wondered whether it would be a breach of etiquette to pluck one.
Chefs at Bodega Toneles’ restaurant greet guests at the recently restored winery founded in 1883 by an Italian wine family. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
Perhaps my contentment came from the exquisite crisp autumn day in May. More likely, though, it resulted from the six-course lunch that had lasted four hours. Even more probable, in all honesty, my delightful daze could have come from Argentina’s national drink — malbec wine, a blue-purple blast of full-bodied intensity and drama.
A Zuccardi Series A Malbec Rosé had been served with the pumpkin soup and sauteed prawns at lunch. And a Zuccardi Q Malbec had accompanied the asado beef served with truffled potatoes and gremolata. And then there was the Zuccardi Q Chardonnay presented with the eggplant tempura.
Last, but certainly not least, I had sipped the most romantic wine on the menu, the Zuccardi Malamado Viognier — fruity, fragrant and floral. Was there a whisper of lavender and perhaps a hint of apricots? It was served with cinnamon apples and chocolate crumble. ¡Fantástico!
The lively conversations of almost 100 guests grew livelier with every course as I chatted with winery owner José Zuccardi.
“Wine is an expression of the people, and it is related to pleasure,” he said, his sun-bronzed hand wrapped around a glass of malbec. “Your pleasure is complete when you share it with someone.”
His son, Sebastián, who is in charge of planting new vineyards at higher elevations, pulled up a chair and added, “Wines communicate the place, and when you drink it, you can imagine the place.”
And what a place the province of Mendoza is. Arid high-elevation plains that reminded me of New Mexico stopped at the foothills of the snow-topped Andes. The highest peak, Aconcagua, soars 22,837 feet into a usually blindingly blue sky.
From the winery’s terrace, I enjoyed the view of the vineyards across the dirt road. Heavy netting, which protects miles of vines from the fierce hailstorms that are pretty much the only enemy of the grapes, couldn’t hide the radiance of the orange and yellow autumn leaves.
Mendoza Province, the largest wine-producing region in South America, boasts more than 1,100 wineries. Napa Valley has only 450. How long would it take me to visit all of Mendoza’s fine bodegas, some founded in the 19th century by Italian and French wine-making families? Years, if I were really inspired.
The lovely city of Mendoza feels like a small town, even though it has about 150,000 residents (almost a million live in the greater metropolitan area). It is the gateway to the vineyards.
Sycamore trees shade the streets, sidewalks and the town’s many parks. And I will put a smile on every Argentine’s face when I say that it feels like a town in Italy or southwest France.
Vineyards stretch to the foothills of the snow-topped Andes Mountains. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
One of the easiest ways to explore the wine district is with the concierges at the five-star Park Hyatt Mendoza, the command center of the wine region. The hotel hosts prestigious wine and food festivals including one of the world’s premier wine events, the Masters of Food & Wine.
A few wineries are near the hotel including Bodega Toneles, an atmospheric, recently restored winery founded in 1883 by an Italian wine family. Lunch there is a happy half-day event. A Toneles Tonel 46 Malbec accompanied my aged T-bone steak, served with beef marrow on toast and quail eggs. A Torrontés Tonel 46, malbec’s white complement — aromatic, floral, seductive — was presented with my first course, barbecued duck and grilled quince.
Bodega Escorihuela Gascón, which was founded in 1884 by a young Spaniard, is also near the hotel. The night I dined there, a group of men including the bodega’s winemaker sang Argentine songs a cappella. It was a perfect complement to a grand dinner.
On a chilly evening at the Trapiche Winery, I stepped out onto a terrace and literally bumped into Charlie Arturaola, famed sommelier and star of the wine docu-drama “The Ways of Wine.” Arturaola played himself in the 2009 film, which was the toast of the Telluride, Napa Valley and European film festivals. It’s the funny and touching story of a famed sommelier who loses his palate, which the real Arturaola certainly hasn’t. Arturaola, who lives in Miami Beach, is now making a sequel in Italy.
The Rutini Winery, an hour or so outside Mendoza, is a great option just for the spectacular views of the Andes. Other favorite vineyards include the Casarena Bodega, about 20 minutes from Mendoza, which has a new Asian-Argentine restaurant, and the renowned Bodega Catena Zapata, founded in 1898, which offers some of the best wine-tasting events in the region.
On my last afternoon in Mendoza, I settled back in a chair on the terrace, in front of the Park Hyatt Mendoza’s impressive 19th-century Spanish colonial columns, and enjoyed the gentle buzz from a cup of thick maté tea — Argentina’s other national drink — and the view of the elegant Plaza Independencia across the street. Un día perfecto.
Details
The Park Hyatt Mendoza: Room rates start at $163, $315 for suites; www.mendoza.park.hyatt.com; (888) 964-9288. The best room is the Presidential Suite.