{"id":633,"date":"2011-07-18T22:01:17","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T22:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.menteargentina.com\/blog\/?p=633"},"modified":"2025-10-22T21:26:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:26:59","slug":"mente-on-malbec-un-blog-de-vino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.menteargentina.com\/blog\/mente-on-malbec-un-blog-de-vino\/","title":{"rendered":"Mente on Malbec: un blog de-vino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Budding wine connoisseurs of all (legal) ages start from the jumping off point of that well known adage, drink and be merry. Argentina has increasingly been getting more attention for its wine production, both in quantity and quality over the past years. This is why tourists, wine lovers, and the wine interested have started flocking to its thriving Capital, to take Wine and sommelier courses in Buenos Aires<\/a>. Unfortunately, some of us have yet to get the chance to learn all about the world of wines, and so until we can enroll in a class of our own, we will have to start with the basics and work our way up:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>According to Wine for Dummies, an admittedly guilty position i have taken, Argentina is the largest producer of wines in South America and 5th largest in the world. And what comes out of the country is even more impressive. Like the immigration history of the Argentine population, most of the grape-producing vines have come over from Italy and taken and impressive strong root in the wine-making country of Argentina. Provinces such as Mendoza<\/a>, Salta, and Jujuy are the pride of argentine wines and have attracted many visits by travelers and study abroad students in Argentina! Both the wine culture and the landscape there is beautiful and calming: Being near the mountains but still in a desert area keeps the vineyards warm by day and cool by night, and the ground is dry by nearby rivers from the Andes allow for easy irrigation.<\/p>\n

Compared to its neighboring competitor Chile, what really sets Argentine wines apart is its main grape: Malbec. The Malbec grape was originally only used for blending with Merlots and Tannat to make them darker and more full bodied; it is now a celebrated varietal wine (meaning a wine made only from one grape) in Argentina. It has particularly adapted to the Mendoza region and winemakers are toying with getting the same quality. Another great argentine wine is their Cabernet Sauvignon, but many wine professionals agree that sheer production of the argentine Malbec, and it\u2019s rareness as a quality variety has defined argentine wines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A little info on the Malbec: The Malbec grape is only successfully produced in Argentina and Cahors, a small wine region in southwest france. Originally from Bordeaux, many theories trace its origin, one (popular but unconfirmed) says that a Hungarian peasant by the name Malbec spread the variety throughout France, others trace it back to northern Burgundy under the original name C\u00f4t. In Argentina, Malbec wines have been thriving for over 100 years.<\/p>\n

Certain qualities jump out with Malbec wine. It is a very full bodied wine, very dark and with a strong concentration of flavors. The skin varies based on climate; in cooler conditions it produces a thick skin that raises acidity and tannins making it a more robust wine, and lower altitudes that have hotter climates lends to a thinner skin grape, more juice and lighter-bodied wines that are meant to be drunk young.<\/p>\n

The flavors that often jump out are those of<\/p>\n

Dark fruits:<\/p>\n