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Author Archives: grapefriend
the catena chain
One last post about Argentina wines (which makes me sad), and the family that has elevated it to a new place. On the last day of our whole trip, we landed in Buenos Aires and went straight to lunch where were greeted to the city by Nicolas Catena and his wife Elena. That’s basically like … Continue reading
drink me: michael david ancient vine cinsault
grape: Cinsault. Ths guy is usually part of a blend, especially popular in Chateauneuf du Pape and in the Languedoc, but rarely made on its own. Worth seeking out though. producer: Michael David. They also make 7 Deadly Zins, which a ton of people have tagged me while drinking. country: USA region: Lodi, CA. Lodi’s mostly known for Zin … Continue reading
belle epoque, bernardin, baller
Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Champagne is amazing. Match it with the incomparable food at Le Bernardin and it’s just complete insanity. We started out with some 2002 Blanc de Blancs (made only with Chardonnay grapes). This is only the fourth time they’ve ever even made a vintage Blanc de Blancs. Most people go crazy for BdB’s, … Continue reading
no siesta for grapefriends!
Wine tasting is exhausting work. Just look at us. This was at Ernesto Catena, this amazing vineyard in the Uco Valley in Mendoza. All we wanted to do was stay in these hammocks, sparkling Malbec in hand, and doze off into siesta land. Alas, we had lots to do! First up, lunch. We devoured these … Continue reading
cocktail friend: transatlantic fizz
A little break in the South American wine action to bring you some Argentinian cocktail love! On my last night in Buenos Aires, went to this super cool bar called Floreria Atlantico. You have to walk through a small flower shop/wine store and go down these rickety spiral stairs to get to the bar. Loved … Continue reading
things i love about renacer
1 duck, duck, grapes The guy and his son who own Renacer are both named Patricio but their nickname is Pato which means Duck. Obviously, they gotta have some ducks at the winery then. 2 they make an amarone style wine in argentina Renacer’s Amarone-style wine is called Enamore (a near-anagram for Amarone). Amarone is from … Continue reading
touch the sky with stones and bones
Touring Catena’s Adrianna Vineyard was awesome. They showed us the different soils that make two of their Chardonnay’s. One is called White Stones because there are tons of white stones in it (easy enough…); the other is called white bones because sea animals used to live in it and their shells (“bones”) now feed the … Continue reading
malbec, meat, and me
On our first day in Argentina, we went to Nieto in Luján de Cuyo, which is in northern Mendoza. They make a ton of Malbec (obv, since that’s what Mendoza is known for) but also some good Bonarda and Torrontes among a few others. One cool thing was to see how they train some vines … Continue reading
chillin (literally) in chile: day 2
It was the wrong day to wear a dress. We got to the coastal Leyda Vineyards in San Antonio, Chile and the morning fog had become the afternoon fog so it was freezing. Usually fog dissipates by noon but it hadn’t. We started to chat about the Pinot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc they specialize in. … Continue reading
