Thanks Michael for this great note! Mendoza is the most beatuful city in the world ♥ Tierra del sol y del buen vino!! (Land of sun and good wine!!)
Congratulations Michael! Thanks for believing in Mendoza.
We´ll be so pleased to receive all the tourists who want to visit us and enjoy the best wine tours.
Make sure you contact a travel agent authorized by Argentinian Tourism Ministry. Ketek Events and Tourism is an authorized tour operator and also the official travel agency for Argentina at Great Wine Capitals Network. We can help to design your trip and explore the wine regions in our country and other viticulture regions around the world. Explore the wine region for which Argentina is on the world wine map; visit old and new Mendoza city and venture out into the countryside to visit wineries and enjoying wine tasting. Indulge in the finest wines from this area, tour the wineries, wander amongst the vineyards and learn about the winemaking process. We love good wine and want our clients to experience Argentina's best - tasting a wide range of varietals and styles, advising wine lovers of all ages and levels of knowledge for a unique experience With Argentinian wineries and wines. Over the years we have become friends with many owners, winemakers and guides at the wineries. Our tours are guaranteed to give you a glimpse "behind the scenes", where you can really get a feel of the soul and passion that goes into winemaking in Mendoza. We hope we can welcome you soon.
We´ll be so pleased to receive all the tourists who want to visit us and enjoy the best wine tours.
Make sure you contact a travel agent authorized by Argentinian Tourism Ministry. Ketek Events and Tourism is an authorized tour operator and also the official travel agency for Argentina at Great Wine Capitals Network. We can help to design your trip and explore the wine regions in our country and other viticulture regions around the world. Explore the wine region for which Argentina is on the world wine map; visit old and new Mendoza city and venture out into the countryside to visit wineries and enjoying wine tasting. Indulge in the finest wines from this area, tour the wineries, wander amongst the vineyards and learn about the winemaking process. We love good wine and want our clients to experience Argentina's best - tasting a wide range of varietals and styles, advising wine lovers of all ages and levels of knowledge for a unique experience With Argentinian wineries and wines. Over the years we have become friends with many owners, winemakers and guides at the wineries. Our tours are guaranteed to give you a glimpse "behind the scenes", where you can really get a feel of the soul and passion that goes into winemaking in Mendoza. We hope we can welcome you soon.
1
Beneath the sidewalks of Mendoza are irrigation channels, thus the beautifully shaded streets in this very dry locale irrigated from the 20,000-foot peaks to the west. In new neighborhoods, the trees and channels get installed before any other construction. The watercourses seemed like metaphors for community, and Mendoza's sunny friendliness no doubt had something to do with JMJ's investment of time and money. What an adventure! May they enjoy many vintages, but more importantly, may this attention help increase interest in Mendoza's many good wines.
Michael, what fantastic story. I followed yours and JMJ's progression from dream state to reality and a bottle of Lechuza in my hands. What a crazy journey.
Lechuza is very popular at Michael's Restaurant. We serve your 2013 Malbec.
Can't wait to see how the next vintage turns out! Congratulations!
Lechuza is very popular at Michael's Restaurant. We serve your 2013 Malbec.
Can't wait to see how the next vintage turns out! Congratulations!
1
Awesome story. My wife and I stayed at Cavas in 07', toured many vineyards and met with winemakers who were courting investors. Ultimately we didn't have the courage to invest in a country with a broken banking system. We followed our heads, not our hearts. You did the the opposite and your life is much the richer for it. The future belongs to the bold, enjoy the fruits of your labor of love!
1
What a dream come true. Mendoza is beautiful, like an untouched version of Napa. I recommend going during a festival (May 25, for example) for added festivities, like this traveler did: http://www.pinkpangea.com/2011/06/eat-drink-and-be-merry-in-mendoza-arge...
1
Thank you for telling us about an extraordinary venture you and your friends have delighted in over a number of years. Judging by your closing sentence, your 'investment' has yielded much more than the critical Commentators can gasp, much less appreciate. Thank you again !!
3
Q: How do you make a small fortune in the wine business?
A: Start with a large one.
A: Start with a large one.
3
having just visited Mendoza last September, two nitpicks:
1. mentioning the city without noting the fabulous tree-lined
streets is a shame
2. showing photos of the vineyards during a season when the magnificent Andes backdrop isn't capped with snow is a double shame
1. mentioning the city without noting the fabulous tree-lined
streets is a shame
2. showing photos of the vineyards during a season when the magnificent Andes backdrop isn't capped with snow is a double shame
1
If the Vines is selling acreage for $85,000 - why are the existing owners required to sell their properties for $60,000 per acre?
Good question; where does the $25,000.00 go?
1
I'm jealous! I also make wine, but my approach is much less sophisticated and a lot less expensive. I make kit wines in six gallon batches, and today happens to be my bottling day, six weeks after the start of fermentation in a plastic bucket. It doesn't have the romance or adventure of Mendoza, but hopefully it will turn out well. Cheers!
1
To be really authentic, you need to make that wine within one mile of an auto restoration shop slash hot rod mecca and within a half mile of a place that'll roast your chile peppers in season. When you are bottled, wait at least a week before taking a couple of cases to a warehouse party and try to compete with the local microbrews. Or you can forget about it, drop a couple hundred grand in Mendoza, and also have a ball.
As one fascinated with Argentina since reading "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" years ago and, more recently, becoming a lover of malbecs, I enjoyed this vicarious visit of the Vines. Good luck to the winemakers; what they may end up lacking in profits they will gain in pleasure.
3
Nice story but another example of amateurs confusing a hobby with a business.
My two oldest sons & I have a business in Chile producing grapes & wine for sale with the intention of making a profit. One son lives full time in Talca some 250 kms south of Santiago where he has lived for 13 years. We will harvest over 5500 tons of grapes this vintage on 900 acres of vineyards. 2/3 of the grapes are sold to big wineries while the rest is converted to 120,000 cases of wine which we export, mainly to China. It's a tough competitive business, not a hobby.
We wish the hobbyists in Mendoza luck & hope they get a lot of pleasure from their endeavor; profit they will never see.
My two oldest sons & I have a business in Chile producing grapes & wine for sale with the intention of making a profit. One son lives full time in Talca some 250 kms south of Santiago where he has lived for 13 years. We will harvest over 5500 tons of grapes this vintage on 900 acres of vineyards. 2/3 of the grapes are sold to big wineries while the rest is converted to 120,000 cases of wine which we export, mainly to China. It's a tough competitive business, not a hobby.
We wish the hobbyists in Mendoza luck & hope they get a lot of pleasure from their endeavor; profit they will never see.
7
So you and your family are grape growers in Chile mass producing enough grapes to make almost 400,000 cases a year. Wow!
I'm one of the partners in the little vineyard in this article...as it said, we bought a small plot to make less than 500 cases of wine a year for our own use and to give to friends and family.
I guess you didn't read that part, so thanks for reminding us we're not in it for the profit and that we're "amateurs".
By the way, I'm also a wine collector and enthusiast. Would I know your wine or is it only some mass produced (400 cases pre acre, huh? ) stuff that nobody would remember or pay much for?
I'm one of the partners in the little vineyard in this article...as it said, we bought a small plot to make less than 500 cases of wine a year for our own use and to give to friends and family.
I guess you didn't read that part, so thanks for reminding us we're not in it for the profit and that we're "amateurs".
By the way, I'm also a wine collector and enthusiast. Would I know your wine or is it only some mass produced (400 cases pre acre, huh? ) stuff that nobody would remember or pay much for?
5
Jack I would be happy to share a bottle of our wine with you. Just give me a call, I am in the NYC phone book.
Yes we have won several prizes including the best Carpenters in the Maule Valley this year. Actually we produce enough grapes to yield almost 500,000 cases. We're certainly not at all ashamed of that. By the way we create state of the art, drip irrigated, clonal vineyards for under $10,000 per acre, I guess the Argies saw a bunch of suckered when they saw you & your friends arrived.
I really hope that your wine is super good since it is costing you much more than the finest Chateau Lafitte.!
Yes we have won several prizes including the best Carpenters in the Maule Valley this year. Actually we produce enough grapes to yield almost 500,000 cases. We're certainly not at all ashamed of that. By the way we create state of the art, drip irrigated, clonal vineyards for under $10,000 per acre, I guess the Argies saw a bunch of suckered when they saw you & your friends arrived.
I really hope that your wine is super good since it is costing you much more than the finest Chateau Lafitte.!
1
This very interesting story is still a free promotion for their business venture in Mendoza. My hope is that they make it work because a new winery, especially so far away, is a major undertaking. And I love the better wines of that region.
What they're doing reminds me of the "land rush" in the Santa Ynez Valley (remember the film Sideways?) north of Santa Barbara, where LA folks with plenty of cash would establish boutique wineries (oh my, doesn't everyone have one?), spend a fortune on a status simple to improve their friends in Montecito or Malibu, and try to make some money from indifferent wines. Now I suppose people are looking further afield for ways to spend their money.
What they're doing reminds me of the "land rush" in the Santa Ynez Valley (remember the film Sideways?) north of Santa Barbara, where LA folks with plenty of cash would establish boutique wineries (oh my, doesn't everyone have one?), spend a fortune on a status simple to improve their friends in Montecito or Malibu, and try to make some money from indifferent wines. Now I suppose people are looking further afield for ways to spend their money.
5
Correction: "status symbol to impress their friends", not 'status simple to improve their friends'. Which proves the need for coffee before commenting, as well as having an option to edit one's comments after posting.
3
What's up with some of the other readers' sour-grapes attitude? I think this is a fabulous endeavor that appears to support the local wine-growing economy, foster the exchange of ideas, encourage interaction between two peoples/countries, and encourage tourism in the region. Win-win-win-win. And fun!
17
This "fabulous endeavor" will also include a haircut.
1
From the cascading falls of Iquazu in the north to the giant brown trout of Tierra del Fuego in the south, Argentina is one beautiful landscape. The colorful neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, the snow capped Andes, the grass fed beef and other sensual pleasures are unbounded. What a terrible shame that in their lifetimes the people of Argentina have selected incompetent leaders that have brought them shame and poverty. Cry for Argentina and pray that some day they will have leaders to match their mountains.
20
".....pray that some day they will have leaders to match their mountains."
Oh, I see. You meant Argentina.
Oh, I see. You meant Argentina.
Argentina is a faulty economic structure. No one could make it work.
Millions of urban dwellers have nothing to do-- nothing constructive, anyway.
Millions of urban dwellers have nothing to do-- nothing constructive, anyway.
Sorry but this article is about Mendoza and wine. Beautiful description of a region where I was born and proud of it. You want to talk about politics? I will be delighted to answer you, but I believe this is a wrong place.
4
Great experience! Thanks for sharing it. I´m proud and happy about my country. If anyone´s interested in experince a trip like this, please, contact me, I´ll be happy to assist you on making the ideal trip to Mendoza´s wine country come true.
Cheers!
Cheers!
4
Wow. This is about as far away from "locally grown", small agriculture as you can get. I am still a bit stunned after reading this that anyone would spend this much money and time traveling so they can try to impress their friends with "wine they made themselves from their own vineyard" when it is nothing of the sort. The people who created "VInes" were surely very familiar with PT Barnum's most famous saying. $85K an acre for a vineyard? You have been played.
8
Paul, it's just a publicity piece designed to drum up further investment. Somebody has a friend at the Times willing to run it as "travel journalism." By the way, I have the most wonderful time-share in the Dominican Republic, where I make rum once a year and sip it while watching the locals slaving away in the cane fields with machetes. It makes me and my various rich friends feel downright Hemingwayesque. We've decided to dub the rum "Cane Rat Reserve" after the huge rodents that bedevil the laborers, biting their ankles and spreading pestilence. It's hilarious, really, but also romantic and retro. Go ahead, do something a bit crazy, and buy me out. Please. I beg you.
6
This story is a caper movie in the making. The trailer is hilarious.
It appears that at the time of the writer's purchase, they paid $100,000 for 13 acres...not bad, I would say.
Wonderful story of the ancient relationship between wine, friendship and adventure.
7
My wife & I visited her brother in Mendoza last year. Had a chance to tour some of the wineries. The area is also noted for there high end olive oil.
Good food & nice people.
Good food & nice people.
8
I loved Mendoza (Salta is even better!) but I have to confess I cannot stand Malbec.
1
In my 10 years in Argentina I got to the point where I could not stand malbec and, almost exclusively, drank the wonderful Argentine pinot noir.
Salta La Linda!
Agree with you but I still like Malbec, although prefer those made with the ability to smooth out the "in your face" fruit of the varietal and develop a bit of character.
Agree with you but I still like Malbec, although prefer those made with the ability to smooth out the "in your face" fruit of the varietal and develop a bit of character.
I'm sorry, I'm not interested in any wine that "...has been fermenting in oak barrels for several months.." It would be really good vinegar.
4
these wines are AGED in oak. The standard 250 liter barrel costs $700+, it can be used for three fillings. So, the oak costs about $1/liter of yield. That's more than the juice. I do hope the intrepid investors have a few more shekels to cover the cost of oak.
1
---------- if the fermentation is cool enough, it can take several months to get to dryness . . .
1
Of course they have money. They are New Yorkers out for a good time.
I can say: Mendoza is another Argentina, because this country has a large human and geographical diversity, for good.
2