Patagonia.... the next Mendoza?

Being in the trade of importing wines from Argentina, I have the opportunity to source new and undiscovered wines from the many growing regions of this beautiful country. Recently, an area that has caught my eye is the Patagonia Region. This is a hot spot for tourist from all over the world and is well known by Argentine locals.

Instead of me lecturing about all the touristy aspects and beautiful characteristics this region has. Check out this link: http://www.interpatagonia.com./ It's eye candy for both the extreme adventure-driven tourist and the zenful ecotourist looking for peace and serenity. I have been putting aside a trip to "el Sur," as locals call this region, for some time now. Hopefully, I can make it down their next time around.

The Patagonia region has been creating a lot of buzz in Argentina with the large number of new wineries being constructed in a development strategy to attract wine loving tourists. In the northeastern part of the Province of Neuquen (Neh-oo-ken) sits a small desert valley called San Patricio del Chañar. Along "Routa #7" you will find "La ruta de los vinos" (The Wine road), where similar to Napa Valley, you can hop from one winery to the next on the same highway.


I have the privilege of commencing a relationship with one of these wineries. Bodegas Familia Grittini has introduced their new line of wines through the brand name of "Relieve Clasico" (Classic Relief), which offers the 6 classic varietals. Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Word has it that the Pinot Noir grown in this area is really really good.



I should receive the samples in the coming weeks in order to taste their 2006 vintage. As anxious to see what quality the Patagonia region provides, I will comment on my tastings once I finish my assessment. You can visit their web site at http://www.bodegasgrittini.com.ar/.

The Winery presentation in English:




The Winery presentation in Spanish:







Here's the presentation of the "Relieve Clasico" varietals (this one has really nice music) :







Another leading winery from this region is Bodega Fin del Mundo (Winery Ends of the Earth). They have a large establishment and is just breaking into the U.S. marketplace, on the east coast. A real eye cacher is their labels for their line of "Postales del fin del Mundo" (Postcards from the ends of the earth). Unique and interesting blends are shown on their web site: http://www.bodegadelfindelmundo.com/, can't wait to try this winery's selection!


Here's they video spot for their winery (Spanish only):






A charming presentation with two categories for their varietals; "Picada 15" and "Malma." The Picada 15 has two blends (white and red) along with the big the 3 Stand alone Varietals (Malbec, Cab-Sauv, Merlot). The white blend consists of 55% Chardonnay, and 40% Sauvignon Blanc, and 5% Pinot Noir, and the Red Blend has 40% Cab-Sauv, 30% Merlot, 20% Malbec, and 10% Pinot Noir. "Malma" has a larger range of varietals that have penetrated the U.S. with a range of $12 to $15 retail for their classic line and $20 to $25 for their Reserva lines. The website is nice with great photos of the winery (http://www.bodeganqn.com.ar/). The also have a vidoe spot for their winery:

Check it out:

Here are other wineries from the Patagonia Region that you can visit with the links below:

Bodega Familia Schroeder
http://www.familiaschroeder.com/

Bodega del Añelo
http://www.bodegadelanielo.com/

Bodega Valle Perdido
http://www.mdtwines.com/

I will revisit the Patagonian wines once I have tasted a good selection from these wineries and be on the look out for wines from this region. Chau!

Here we go!

I finally decided to throw myself into blogging all my unique and tantalizing experiences with my Wine Importing Business and with my Weimaraners. So, welcome as a witness to my passions by the means of words and I hope you enjoy my critiques, observations, informatives, and rants. Who knows where this can lead to!

Diogo (Blue Weim) and Bruno (Silver-Grey Weim)

8 weeks old

Let me introduce the two most loveable and charasmatic individuals that stimulates our lives day to day... Bruno and Diogo. They were born on October 15, 2005 in Adelanto, California, which if you Google it, it's in the high desert of the San Bernardino Forest, west of the 15 Freeway by Hesperia.

It was almost destiny that found these guys. The breeder is a really cool guy who has a huge ranch full of Weimaraners and post ads in the L.A. Times when he has a litter. Coincidently, my wife was at work and was browsing the classifieds section. Sure enough, she came accross the add of a new litter of Weimaraners and we called that very same day. The breeder told us that he just placed the add the day before and if we came by we would have first pick of the litter. After work, we made the 2 hour drive from Chatsworth to Adelanto in our Honda Civic in the night.

Now I'm not sure if anybody has been to Adelanto, but in the night it can be quite a challenge finding a ranch on dirt roads with no real street signs, in the middle of the high desert. After probably an hour finding the right road to the entrance of his ranch, we got to the gate and were greeted by these massive Weimaraners. We were surprised that they were this big, because AKC standards described them as 50 to 70lbs dogs. Well, this breeder has the German line of the breed which can go well over 100lbs.

As we were escorted to his house from the entrance gate, approximately 20 of his Weimaraners we dancing, jumping, howling, sniffing all around us until we made it to the door. That was quite a warming welcome given the size of his dogs. We were so anxious to see what was waiting for us in the Weimaraner house, that once we saw the litter, our hearts melted right then and there. Well, to make a long story short, we fell in love with Bruno first and then decided to pair him with his Blue Weim brother, Diogo, and after they turned 6 weeks we went back and picked them up to bring home.

They have been a joy since the first night they spent with us at our home, and to be honest I cannot see myself having another breed of dog other than the Weimaraner. These guys have instilled inside of me passion for this breed that has made me a big fan. Bruno and Diogo just turned 2 years last month and have developed into such great dogs, that they are loved by all our neighbors and their children, and everyone who meets them.