Feeling Wine & Food - El ABC del Vino in English

By Andrea La Forgia - Special Contributor in Buenos Aires Sommelier de Cava This week, we could meet Arnaldo and Marcos Etchart, who introduced us their wines from Valles Calchaquies. This tasting took place at a historical bar of Buenos Aires, Los Galgos, established 1930. Marcos told us that after the prestigious winery founded by his father, a new winery started business, named Yacochuya, and it was the first one that hired a French winemaker, Michel Rolland, as a consultant in 1988. They have old vines, which is one of the items needed for high quality wines. The first wine was San Pedro de Yacochuya Torrontes 2016, classic style, made with golden and ripe grapes, super expressive in the nose, fruity, floral and with balanced acidity. The second wine was Coquena Corte 2015, a blend made of the classical varietals of Salta which are Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat. Structured and powerful , from younger vineyards.  The third wine was San Pedro de Yacoch...

From the same wine group, DGB, one of the most prestigious in South Africa, I recommend these two entry level white wines, two chenin blanc of similar characteristics, but equally distinctive, that offer us all the elegance and freshness of this special grape. The chenin blanc is a very versatile variety, of great personality that can give us very fresh young wines or some more evolved, complex and elegant ones. Having also had the opportunity to taste them in the company of JC Bekker, the group chief winemaker is also a delight and a pleasure that I treasure in my baggage of professional experiences. Douglas Green Chenin Blanc 2016 Coastal Region - South Africa SAQ Price: $ 9.55 Harvest after harvest for more than 70 years is one of the emblematic wines of the winery, and in particular to me, it is a wine that I love! For its price I can not ask for more. With aromas of exotic fruits, some orange, ripe peaches and honey, in the mouth always seduces me with its unctuous bo...

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...

Arboleda Chardonnay 2016 Viña Seña DO Aconcagua Costa - Chile SAQ Price: $ 20.95 To the already diversified offer of very good Chilean wines that I have been tasting recently I would like to add the Chardonnay Arboleda of the Aconcagua Coast region. Delicate and unctuous, it has seduced me by its pleasant aromas of peach, pear and cinnamon. The fruity and caramelised character is also perceived in the mouth with a generous and enveloping body. The oak maturation brings some smoky notes that perfectly blend with the fruity ones, making it a very elegant wine and perhaps different from other young chardonnays of the new world, which can be fresher or lighter. In this case, Arboleda Chardonnay 2016 is a wine to enjoy and uncork now, without any doubt, but that can also be left to rest for about 2-3 years and thus it will reach, in my personal opinion, its maximum potential. Available as a specialty product in the SAQ shelves, this white wine with mediterranean profile and typical...

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. ...