Sample Wines at Argentine Embassy
Boutique Wines of Argentina is a special adventure in tasting the wines and food of Argentina in the newly renovated Argentine Embassy in Washington DC.
The reception starts with a 30-minute class about the wines of Argentina and concludes with a wine tasting from some of the main wine producing areas of Argentina including Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, and Salta Cafayae.
The festival starts with a self-paced tasting of 10+ Argentinean boutique wines, including several reds, and a couple white wines:
- Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot – Bordeaux varietals that have exploded in Argentina’s wine regions.
- Malbec – the full bodied French grape that does wonders in the elevated vineyards of the Mendoza Valley.
- Bonarda - a medium-bodied northern Italian grape with great fruity flavors
- Malbec-based blends – Argentina’s wines have great potential for blending
- Argentinean Chardonnay – the classic white wine that is being successfully developed in the country
- Torrontes – made from a northern Spain grape, it delivers wonderful aromas of passion fruits, orange and papaya.
Light appetizers will be served including meat and vegetarian empanadas, grilled spicy sausage, tortilla de patatas, croquetas de pollo and more.
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. It was started by the Spanish when colonization of South America started in the 1550s. Vine cuttings were initially brought to Santiago del Estero in northern Argentina.
Until the 1990s, much of the wine the country produced was not of high enough quality to be exported. But a focus on quality and blending makes it the second largest wine exporter in South America behind Chile. Over 1,500 wineries are producing a wide variety of wines, but two market leaders, Bodegas Esmeralda and Peñaflor, both account for close to 40% % of all the wine produced in Argentina.
The regions where grapes are grown as known for sunny days and an almost total lack of harmful pests, allowing for more organic grape growing. With low levels of rainfall, irrigation using water from the annual snow melting from the Andes Mountains is often necessary.
The Argentinean wine region is also becoming a popular wine tourism designation.
Boutique Wines of Argentina — Embassy of Argentina, 1600 New Hampshire Av, NW, Washington DC (map)
Dates and Hours – October 7, 2010 at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Tickets – $69.00 and are available online. 21 or over only. Advanced tickets only, not at the door sales. Business or cocktail attire requested.
Nearest Metro Subway Station – Dupont Circle – Red line, then a 1–block walk.
Parking – Limited metered street parking or area paid garage parking is available one block fro the embassy on New Hampshire Ave., NW and Dupont Circle, facing the Jury’s Hotel.
