Feeling Wine & Food - El ABC del Vino in English

"The moon has just come out, tonight the grapes will sleep illuminated by the stars, and tomorrow the sun will bathe the magic vine ..." It is always a pleasure how new variants of great Malbec wines are still born. I have recently had the opportunity to taste this new wine from Viña Las Estrellas, which I have liked very much because of its authentic character, but even more for its elegance and softness. Without ceasing to be perfectly expressive, it is a Malbec that responds to the new trend. A subtle and friendly wine to seduce the palates of the world. With all the typical notes we can expect and coming from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, it offers in the nose a very perfumed bouquet with flowers, some cinnamon and nuts. In the mouth, although it has been for 6 months aging in new barrels, I must emphasize that this contact and influence of the oak is well assembled with the fruit, since it has a fresh, unctuous and balanced character. A Malbec with a delicious expressi...

By Marina La Forgia Many of you already know that one of my most fervent missions in this world of wines is to be able to discover and advise the ones that respond to my two main criteria: high quality and accessible to the public. Now I have added the crusade that these wines should be as natural, genuine and organic as possible. Here I share with you a nice selection of delicious, refreshing, well-made white wines, from my beloved Argentina, Spain and Romania. Thus, there are no excuses to not go to procure some bottles, available of course, at the SAQ gondolas. Bodega Piedra Negra Pinot Gris 2017 Francois Lurton - Mendoza - Argentina SAQ price: $ 14.60 A wine perfumed with aromas of the Andes terroir: cooked white fruits, jasmine and some mineral notes that remind us of its soil. The palate is friendly, with a slight acidity that makes it refreshing and alive. The Pinot Grigio Lurton in Argentina is one of those white classics that people adopt for their elegance, s...

By Andrea La Forgia - Special Contributor in Buenos Aires Sommelier de Cava Last week, at another interesting meeting organized by Asociacion Argentina de Sommeliers and thanks to Maru Barbero from Clusters, we gathered together again at Lo de Joaquin Alberdi, which was celebrating its eleven years as a wine store in Palermo. In this occasion, Trivento winery, having in mind the   writer Julio Cortazar, introduced the top of the line wines called " Lejanamente Juntos ", which means   " Far away Together ". Victoria Prandina, one of the winemakers of the team, who is in charge of the limited edition wines and exquisite products, guided us in the tasting. These wines were an original blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc 2016 and a wonderful classic blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. In this white blend made of 85% Semillon coming from an old vine and 15% of Sauvignon Blanc, we found a very expressive nose that reminded us of honey, lemon and...

By Andrea La Forgia - Special Contributor in Buenos Aires Sommelier de Cava While I was studying sommelierie I discovered that some wines could maintain the characteristics, evolve and even get better though time.  Not all   have this possibility, but they do those which have been thought since the beginning, made with dedication and with careful aging.  I thought that human beings are very much alike.  And I thought about my children.  So I decided to buy a wine for each, that can be stored and age well, made with grapes harvested in the year of their births.  So, while my little boys were growing, these wines were stored patiently.  The idea was that when they are eighteen years old, we could drink the bottle all together.  It was very exciting when we had this first experience two years ago with my oldest son and a few days ago with the youngest.  The wines I am talking about are Lagarde Henry Gran Guarda Ner. 1 ...

By Andrea La Forgia - Special Contributor in Buenos Aires Sommelier de Cava Cruzat is a winery which is dedicated exclusively to the production of sparkling wines only by champenoise or classic method. In this event, that took place at Ser y Tiempo, a small and warm wine bar and resto in Palermo, Buenos Aires city, we could taste 12 different sparkling wines of the three commercial segments. In this case we found Premier, which stays for a year on lees, that is to say, in contact with the yeast after finishing its second fermentation. Also Premier especial which has limited number of bottles produced and Cuvée which stays for two years on lees. These wines with bubbles come from different areas in Mendoza as well, making the characteristics of the terroir express clearly. The most interesting moment was when we could taste four base wines, that means, wines obtained after the first fermentation and before going under the second one, imagining the final result. And of cours...

By Andrea La Forgia – Special Contributor in Buenos Aires Sommelier de Cava Some days ago, I could participate in a tasting in a well-known wine shop, Lo de Joaquin Alberdi, in Buenos Aires. The wines, all red, called Melipal, which means Cruz Del Sur, like the stars, are very good examples of carefully and well-made wines. And they also show the place where they come from, in this case, Agrelo, Mendoza, Argentina. In the first place, we tasted Supernova I, 2015, Malbec and Cabernet Franc fermented together, 10 per cent aged in barrels, fruity and balanced and with limited number of bottles produced. Then the Blend, 2014, a complex blend of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Fermented and aged in barrels separately and with a good potential of storage. Later, we could have the honor  of doing a comparative tasting, from 2012, 2013, and 2014 of Las Nazarenas, a vineyard from 1923. These wines have the characteristic of being made at a low temperature contact wi...

It is always a pleasure to see that the offer of Argentine wines continues to grow in these lands. And even more so when they are wines that go beyond the already standard and emblematic pure Malbec. It is not at all my wish that this variety cease to be a registered quality mark for my beloved country. I only consider opportune to invite consumers to discover and to be seduced by different Argentine wines, some good blends or made from other grape varieties. In a wide proposal you will find hidden and infinite treasures. Since a few weeks, they are available on the SAQ shelves and I was curiously seduced by tasting these two wines from Finca Agostino, a winery whose history interconnects Argentina and Canada. Its owners are four brothers from Italian origin who lived their childhood in Mendoza and then emigrated in the 60s to Montreal. They promised to return and honor their grandfather and their lands, and thus was born this winery located in the beautiful andean lands of Maipú. ...

Santa Julia Chenin Blanc 2016 Santa Julia Winery – Familia Zuccardi Maipú – Mendoza SAQ Price: $ 11,65 Looking for a fresh, affordable and different white wine? Santa Julia offers this delicate Chenin Blanc that stands out for its perfume and its excellent price-quality ratio. In the nose it sourrounds us with its pleasant notes of peach, pear, white flowers and grapefruit. In the mouth it is also seductive, its fruity character persists besides being pleasantly refreshing. A wine that can be enjoyed on several occasions: as a simple appetizer or to marry with refined dishes such as risottos, pastas, seafood in lemon sauces or summer salads. I invite you to discover this variety a little underestimated. Perhaps it has not had in history the reputation and glory like other white varieties had, but it is very versatile, intense, perfumed and generous. Mendoza is one of those places where it was able to adapt splendorously and today, wineries like Santa Julia seek to launch ...

Ataliva Malbec 2016 Bodega Benegas – Mendoza Available IP (licenced): $ 18,70 Represented by PV Wine & Spirits A very good wine, great personality and style. Made from Malbec grapes from the Uco Valley, the Ataliva from Bodega Benegas offers in nose intense aromas of leather, spices and violets. In the mouth it maintains the character and the body that makes it generous, with quite present tannins, lots of fruit and a unctuous and very long finish. It has an oak aging of only three months, which has contributed with all the necessary to turn it into a wine with a lot of body and structure. Beyond its irreverence and seduction of youth, I dare say that it will be even more delicious and pleasant in about two or three years, when it reaches full maturity. Ideal for supplying ourselves with a box and discovering its evolution, one bottle at a time, very quietly ... On this occasion, it was an excellent companion for a delicious stew of meat and vegetables. A wine with thi...

By Marina La Forgia During my visit to the last edition of La Grande Degustation de Montreal , one of the biggest tasting events in town, I had the opportunity to taste some Argentine wines that I consider different to what we are used to seeing in Quebec. Some of them are hidden gems that need to show off in order to move forward with the typical image of Malbec or the "good and cheap" red wines. I have said it on countless occasions: The Argentine wine is a plenty world to discover because of the diverse wine regions we may find in an only country and because we can find almost all varieties from all over the world! In this list, my favorite ones and the reason why I chose them: La Chaya Torrontes Bodega La Riojana My choice: BECAUSE IS A GENUINE TORRONTES "RIOJANO" Martin Palacio, from La Riojana A fresh white wine from the particular Torrontés Riojano variety with a very nice and delicate floral perfume. This is a great white wine, v...